The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has submitted an amendment that would oblige cyclists in the capital to purchase liability insurance policies, following a series of bicycle accidents in which pedestrians were severely injured and secured huge compensation payments. (Japan Times)

Empress Emerita Michiko will have surgery for breast cancer on Sunday, the Imperial Household Agency announced Tuesday. (Japan Times)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a male Russian national and one other man over the alleged theft of a bag from an intoxicated man in Musashino City last month, reports NHK (Sept. 3). (tokyoreporter.com)

Tokyo's municipal government is preparing a pilot program that will grant electronic money to people demonstrating acts of good citizenship. (Nikkei)

Japanese consumers are rushing to buy expensive appliances, clothing and jewelry before the country's consumption tax increase on Oct. 1, retailers say, and the trend portends a drop-off in spending afterward. (Nikkei)

The Japan Olympic Museum will open in Tokyo on September 14. Members of the media were given a preview on Monday. (NHK)

Seven countries including China, Russia and Australia have won 26 of the 50 new international slots created at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport in the run-up to next year’s Olympic and Paralympic Games, transport ministry officials said Monday. (Japan Times)

With the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics less than a year away, Tokyo police are stepping up efforts to strengthen their foreign language assistance. (Japan Times)

Kanagawa Prefectural Police have arrested a emergency personnel member over the alleged molestation of a woman in Yokohama City, reports TV Asahi (Aug. 31). (tokyoreporter.com)

Police in Tokyo have arrested an 87-year-old man on suspicion of molesting an 8-year-old girl in a park in Edogawa Ward. (Japan Today)

Tokyo's Haneda Airport has begun testing new flight paths over the city. It's part of preparations for the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics. (NHK)

Train and bus operators announced on Thursday plans to run more nighttime trips between Narita Airport and nearby Tokyo and Chiba to accommodate travelers taking advantage of the hub's service extension this fall. (Nikkei)

Passengers on Shinkansen trains with large pieces of luggage will be encouraged to make reservations from May of next year. The change is part of the imposition of stricter security preceding the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. (NHK)

Tokyo has been ranked the world's safest city for the third year running, followed by Singapore and Osaka, according to the latest report by the Economist Intelligence Unit released on Thursday. (Japan Today)

Tokyo Customs on Tuesday started to make electronic customs declaration gates at Narita International Airport available to foreign nationals visiting Japan. (Japan Times)

Seoul said Wednesday it will file a World Trade Organization complaint against Japan, hours after Tokyo formally imposed additional trade restrictions on South Korea. (Nikkei)

A South Korean man who was on a nationwide wanted list for alleged theft and intrusion gave himself up to police in Tokyo on Tuesday, 10 days after fleeing from a hospital. (Japan Today)

The US State Department has criticized South Korea's recent military drills near the Takeshima Islands. South Korea controls the islands. Japan claims them. (NHK)

It was an historic weekend for sumo in Japan as the first-ever Wanpaku national championships for elementary school-age girls took place at Okudo Sogo Sports Center in Tokyo’s Katsushika Ward on Aug. 25. (Japan Times)

After an intruder fatally stabbed a 76-year-old man and injured his wife after their residence in the town of Yachiyo early Saturday, police have revealed that a suspicious person was spotted nearby before the incident emerged, reports TBS News (Aug. 26). (tokyoreporter.com)

Japan's top government spokesman denied on Monday that Tokyo made too many concessions in trade talks with the United States, saying the fact the two countries were able to reach a broad agreement was "very valuable." (Japan Today)

New threats from the US and China to hit each other with additional tariffs have been shaking up financial markets in the Asia-Pacific region. Share prices and Japanese bond yields are down -- while the yen has climbed against the US dollar to around a seven-and-a-half month high. (NHK)

From kimono rentals to luggage storage apps to language training, Japan's long tourism boom is giving rise to a growing number of niche businesses that cater to the needs of overseas visitors. (Nikkei)

Japan's Foreign Minister Taro Kono has summoned South Korea's ambassador and lodged a protest at Seoul's decision to end an intelligence-sharing agreement between the two countries. (NHK)

Kanagawa Prefectural Police have arrested a woman and a man for allegedly introducing a teenage girl to men for prostitution last year, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Aug. 21). (tokyoreporter.com)