Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested the female manager of a club in the Roppongi entertainment district and two male foreign nationals in connection with the alleged sale of cocaine last year, reports TV Asahi (Jan. 8). (tokyoreporter.com)

Japan is stepping up efforts to expand automatic train operations to cope with a possible shortage of drivers amid its declining population, with East Japan Railway Co. conducting its latest self-driving test on Tokyo's Yamanote loop line on Monday. (Kyodo)

Japan started collecting a ¥1,000 departure tax Monday from each traveler leaving the country in an effort to fund measures to attract more foreign visitors in the run-up to and beyond the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. (Japan Times)

Flight cancellations due to heavy snow in Hokkaido, northern Japan, left around 2,000 travelers stranded overnight at a key airport through Sunday, right at the end of the country's New Year holidays. (Kyodo)

In tennis, Japan's Kei Nishikori has clinched his first title in almost three years by winning the men's singles final at the Brisbane International tournament in Australia. (NHK)

Sky watchers across Japan have enjoyed the first partial solar eclipse over the country in three years. (NHK)

Heavy snow has forced cancellation of flights to and from Hokkaido, keeping holidaymakers from leaving the northern main island amid the peak of the "U-turn rush." (NHK)

A Japanese sushi tycoon paid a record $3.1m for a giant tuna at the first predawn New Year auction in Tokyo's new fish market on Saturday. (aljazeera.com)

A Japanese legislator is drawing criticism for his comment that "a nation would collapse" if everyone became LGBT. (Japan Today)

More Japanese companies went under for lack of personnel last year, reflecting the growing toll of the country's ongoing labor crunch on businesses that fail to secure or keep workers. (Nikkei)

The arrested driver of a car that plowed into a New Year crowd in Tokyo's Harajuku district has said he was planning to spray kerosene at people at a popular Shinto shrine and set them ablaze, investigative sources said Friday. (Japan Today)

Former Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn is set to appear in a court in Tokyo next Tuesday to hear the reason for his detention. (NHK)

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Wednesday he was able to "tee off to a good start" as he played his first round of golf in 2019. (Japan Today)

Japan's Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko have given their last New Year greetings to members of the public before his scheduled abdication in April. (NHK)

In Tokyo, members of the Imperial family and state dignitaries have presented their New Year's greetings to Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko. (NHK)

A car plowed into pedestrians on a crowded street in Tokyo on New Year's Day. Police say eight people were injured and rushed to hospital. One is reportedly in a coma. (NHK)

A duck with a metal arrow protruding from its back has been seen twice over the last few days in a pond in Tokyo’s Suginami Ward. (Japan Today)

People in Japan have rung in the New Year with celebrations across the country. In Japan, 2019 is a special year, as Crown Prince Naruhito will ascend the throne in May. That will mark the start of a new era and the end of the current one, which is called "Heisei." (NHK)

Thousands stranded for hours during Japan’s peak holiday travel period. (soranews24.com)

A Tokyo court on Monday approved prosecutors' request to extend the detention of former Nissan Motor Co Chairman Carlos Ghosn until Jan. 11 due to the latest allegation of financial misconduct. (Japan Today)

If partying all night is your idea of fun, then one of the most exciting ways to welcome the new year in Japan is to join the massive countdown event held at the Shibuya Scramble Crossing in Tokyo. (soranews24.com)

Japan's roads, railways and airports are packed on Saturday as people return to their hometowns or head elsewhere for the holidays. (NHK)

The benchmark Nikkei average snapped a six-year winning streak Friday to end 2018 down more than 12 percent after being pressured by selling following a spike the previous day. (Japan Times)

Kanagawa Prefectural Police have arrested a 43-year-old man after more than 120 marijuana plants were found in a residence in Yokosuka City, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Dec. 27). (tokyoreporter.com)

Police were called out to deal with traffic congestion and noise disturbance in the early hours of Thursday after a huge crowd gathered to watch a popular entertainment TV program being filmed at an amusement park in Tokyo. (Japan Today)