Five-year prison terms were sought Wednesday for three former executives of Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. for their alleged failure to prevent the Fukushima nuclear disaster triggered by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami. (Japan Times)

A total of seven women have come forward to claim that they were sexually abused by famous photojournalist Ryuichi Hirokawa, a weekly tabloid reports in its latest issue. (tokyoreporter.com)

The Japanese government officially announced on Wednesday to withdraw from the International Whaling Commission, a move that drew criticism from a global community worried about depleted whale populations. (Nikkei)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police arrested an intoxicated 36-year-old man over the alleged theft of a wallet from a woman in Toshima Ward on Tuesday, reports Fuji News Network (tokyoreporter.com)

A close aide to former Nissan Motor Chairman Carlos Ghosn has been released from detention. Greg Kelly posted bail of about 635,000 dollars. (NHK)

Japan Airlines Co. said Tuesday an internal probe has concluded that a female flight attendant who tested positive for alcohol last week consumed alcohol while on duty. (Kyodo)

Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei Average plummeted more than 1,000 points. The index finished below the key 20,000-mark for the first time since September 2017. (NHK)

Nearly 83,000 people visited the Imperial Palace in central Tokyo on Sunday to celebrate Emperor Akihito's 85th birthday. (NHK)

Sources say former Nissan Motor chairman Carlos Ghosn deceived the board of directors to obtain their approval for transferring the latent losses from his personal currency trading to the automaker. (NHK)

Two men have been arrested over the alleged cultivation of marijuana after nearly 400 plants were seized from residences in the metropolis, reports TV Asahi (tokyoreporter.com)

To prepare for the upcoming New Year’s countdown event, Shibuya Ward in Tokyo is asking convenience stores to refrain from selling alcoholic drinks in glass bottles from 9 p.m. on Dec 31 until 6 a.m. on Jan 1. (Japan Today)

Japanese prosecutors re-arrested Nissan Motor Co Ltd's ousted chairman Carlos Ghosn on Friday on fresh allegations of making Nissan shoulder 1.85 billion yen in personal investment losses, dashing chances he would be released on bail imminently. (Japan Today)

A former police officer who is out on bail over the possession of stimulant drugs has been arrested again for the same crime, reports the Sankei Shimbun (tokyoreporter.com)

Honda Motor delivered Thursday its first HondaJet business plane in Japan to prominent investor Kotaro Chiba, co-founder of game company Colopl. (Nikkei)

It’s been the most radical cash injection in history — nearly ¥400 trillion pumped into Japan’s economy over more than five years to slay deflation and kick growth into higher gear. (Japan Times)

East Japan Railway Company (JR East) has begun a campaign to encourage commuters to stand still on escalators. The campaign began at Tokyo Station on Monday. (Japan Today)

A 19-year-old naked Thai woman died after she was found unconscious in a hotel room in Tokyo, police said Wednesday. A 20-year-old male acquaintance of the woman was found collapsed on the sidewalk below the hotel near JR Uguisudani Station. (Japan Today)

The benchmark Nikkei average closed below 21,000 for the first time in nearly nine months on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Wednesday amid concerns over a slowdown in the global economy. (Japan Times)

A month since his arrest in Japan, former Nissan Motor Chairman Carlos Ghosn continues to deny allegations of understating his compensation as prosecutors grill him on evidence they say shows his pay was set and thus legally required to disclose. (Nikkei)

Toyama Prefectural Police are investigating what is believed to have been a hit-and-run incident after the corpse of a man was found inside a smashed display window at a store in Toyama City, reports Sankei Sports (Dec. 15). (tokyoreporter.com)

Rino Sashihara, a leading Japanese idol singer, will leave the all-girl musical group HKT48, an affiliate of the country's entertainment giant AKB48, next year, she said Saturday. (Kyodo)

Japan's central government is pushing ahead with a controversial plan to relocate an American military base within the southern prefecture of Okinawa. They've started full-scale land reclamation work despite strong local opposition. (NHK)

The Japanese government plans to take measures to make regional labor markets accessible to foreign blue-collar workers to avoid them concentrating in large cities such as Tokyo when the country starts accepting them under the new visa system next year, the government's top spokesman said Thursday. (Japan Today)

An officer who was on duty when a 30-year-old suspect escaped from a police station in Tondabayashi City earlier this year was watching an adult video (AV) clip, it was learned on Thursday, reports Nikkan Sports (Dec. 13). (tokyoreporter.com)

Prosecutors sought a 23-year prison term for a 26-year-old man on Monday over an alleged road-rage incident near Tokyo last year that left a couple dead and their children injured. (Japan Times)