Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says he's determined to settle the country's territorial issue with Russia and conclude a peace treaty. (NHK)

Rental unit provider Leopalace21 said Thursday that possible construction code violations were found in an additional 1,324 of its apartment buildings, a discovery that will require the relocation of roughly 14,000 tenants. (Nikkei)

The father of a 10-year-old girl who died last month at their home near Tokyo forced her to write a letter stating he did not hit her so she would be returned home, a child welfare center said Tuesday, revealing more apparent missteps by authorities in protecting her life. (Japan Today)

Lawson Inc. said Wednesday it closed two of its franchise convenience stores after discovering they had systematically falsified expiration times on some food items prepared in the stores over a period of several years. (Japan Times)

Japan's swine fever epidemic is spreading, with local authorities in five central and western prefectures saying Wednesday they are struggling to contain the highly contagious virus that was first reported in September. (Japan Today)

Japan's Foreign Ministry has ordered freelance journalist Kosuke Tsuneoka to hand over his passport as he attempted to travel to Yemen. (NHK)

Police have decided not seek an indictment against former coaches of Nihon University’s American football team over accusations that they instructed a player to commit a dangerous tackle on an opponent, investigative sources said Tuesday. (Japan Times)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a 56-year-old male employee of the Toshima Ward office over the alleged rape of a middle school girl last year, reports Jiji Press (tokyoreporter.com)

Tokyo Tower, an iconic landmark in the capital, has been illuminated in red as part of the efforts to welcome Chinese visitors to Japan during the Lunar New Year holiday. (NHK)

Tokyo’s Nakano Ward said Friday that it has decided to allow female students at all municipal junior high schools to pick pants for their uniform from April. (the-japan-news.com)

A body found buried in a field in Kamisu City earlier this week belongs to a missing female university student, police said Thursday, reports NHK (Feb. 1). (tokyoreporter.com)

Major hamburger chain operator Mos Food Services Inc. has said it will switch from plastic to paper cutlery for takeout food at its corporate-owned outlets as it joins growing efforts to tackle the issue of plastic waste littering the oceans. (Japan Times)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police are seeking a warrant for the arrest of Hirofumi Arai over the alleged rape of a masseuse at his residence last year, reports TBS News (tokyoreporter.com)

Flights remain disrupted at Narita airport near Tokyo. One of its runways was shut down for seven hours on Friday due to a stranded plane. (NHK)

A comprehensive free trade deal between Japan and the European Union has come into force. The pact will eventually remove tariffs on more than 90 percent of imports from both sides and liberalize rules in a broad spectrum of fields. (NHK)

A 35-year-old man was arrested Thursday after the exhumation of a body, confirmed later to be that of a missing 19-year-old female university student, east of Tokyo. (Japan Times)

The Tokyo District Court on Thursday handed a 42-year-old man a suspended prison term for stalking of a former member of all-girl idol group AKB48, reports Jiji Press (tokyoreporter.com)

In a first for Japan, the city of Chiba held a ceremony Tuesday to issue certificates recognizing the partnerships of sexual minority and common-law couples. (Japan Today)

The hallmark of the Heisei Era has been peace. Yet the past three decades have been rattled by a quiet revolution in social norms, from a steady decline in the allure of marriage to a rise in the number of households with only one person. (Japan Times)

Chiba Prefectural Police have arrested a 41-year-old man who is suspected of regularly abusing his 10-year-old daughter prior to her death at their residence in Noda City last week, reports Jiji Press (tokyoreporter.com)

Breaking with precedent, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday removed from his annual policy speech a paragraph outlining his vision for Japan’s ties with South Korea, in a possible reflection of the neighbors’ increasingly tumultuous relationship. (Japan Times)

Narita Airport, near Tokyo, is expected to extend its operating hours until midnight, starting in October. (NHK)

Tottori Prefectural Police have arrested a 34-year-old man in the murder in 2011 of his then girlfriend in Sakaiminato City, reports the Yomiuri Shimbun (tokyoreporter.com)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a 46-year-old man who wielded scissors at a police box in the Kabukicho red-light district in an attempt to take a gun, reports the Sankei Shimnbun (tokyoreporter.com)

Japan's once-buoyant real estate market has seen a sharp pullback in foreign buying, sending property deals falling by a third in the second half of 2018. (Nikkei)