Maisa Tsuno, a member of popular Japanese rock band Akaiko-en, has died, the group's agency said Monday, with police suspecting suicide. (Kyodo)

A collection of newspaper comic strips by the late Japanese manga creator Osamu Tezuka featuring handwritten dialogue as well as previously unreleased works will be published as a set of books in November. (Kyodok)

Tokai University, a four-time Japanese national university baseball champion, said Saturday it has suspended all activities of its baseball club indefinitely due to illegal drug use by several members. (Kyodo)

The Japanese government on Friday created an official YouTube channel to provide information about North Korea's abductions of Japanese nationals in the 1970s and 1980s, with a video featuring Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga vowing to bring them back home promptly. (Kyodo)

A Japanese tourist left stranded for over 200 days at the foot of the ancient Inca ruins of Machu Picchu due to the coronavirus pandemic had the site all to himself when he was finally able to visit this month. (Kyodo)

The Japanese government plans to release into the sea treated radioactive water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant crippled by a powerful earthquake and tsunami in 2011 amid concerns over the environmental impact, sources close to the matter said Thursday. (Kyodo)

Saitama Prefectural Police have arrested a 27-year-old man for allegedly kidnapping a girl he met online and holding her for five months, reports Kyodo News (Oct. 15). (tokyoreporter.com)

Japan's education ministry has requested national universities and other official institutions to join the central government in mourning for former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone during his state memorial service this weekend, school officials said Wednesday. (Kyodo)

The parent company of All Nippon Airways Co. plans to acquire 400 billion yen ($3.8 billion) in loans from five Japanese banks as the airline operator's earnings have sharply deteriorated under the novel coronavirus, sources close to the matter said Wednesday. (Kyodok)

Japan is considering an additional economic stimulus package focusing on boosting consumption dampened by the novel coronavirus pandemic, government sources said Tuesday. (Kyodo)

Japan joined a U.S.-led international agreement Wednesday that outlines the exploration and utilization of resources in space, the government said. (Kyodok)

A total of 26 players of the men's volleyball team at Nihon University have contracted the novel coronavirus but none are showing serious symptoms, sources close to the matter said Monday. (Kyodo)

Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said Thursday that Japan will contribute more than $130 million to an international framework to ensure that developing countries have fair access to coronavirus vaccines. (Kyodo)

Arashi, a popular Japanese boy band who will suspend their activities next year, will stream a postponed concert on Nov. 3 online, their agency Jonny and Associates Inc. said Thursday. (Kyodo)

Japan is set to conditionally exempt business travelers and returnees from the 14-day quarantine policy currently imposed on all overseas arrivals to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus, government sources said Wednesday. (Kyodo)

Popular Japanese actress Suzu Hirose has been infected with the novel coronavirus without experiencing any symptoms so far, her agency said Tuesday. (Kyodo)

The government of Japan is reportedly considering ways to let people into the country next year when it hosts the Olympics. (ARIRANG NEWS)

Japan's science council which makes policy recommendations to the government sent a letter to Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Saturday asking him to explain his recent refusal to appoint some of the body's nominees as new members. (Kyodo)

A number of ski resorts in the popular Niseko area in northern Japan's Hokkaido are set to delay the start of their operations for this winter season due to the lack of foreign visitors amid the continued novel coronavirus pandemic. (Kyodo)

Popular Japanese actress Satomi Ishihara is set to marry her non-celebrity boyfriend within the year, her agency said Thursday. (Kyodo)

A range of price changes will take effect in Japan starting Thursday, from alcoholic beverages to minimum wages, as revisions were made to the tax and social welfare systems. (Kyodo)

Japan will consider easing a rule on eating at movie theaters, economic revitalization minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said Monday, in an additional relaxation amid a recent decline in the number of novel coronavirus infections. (Kyodo)

Mt. Fuji got its first snowcap of the season on Monday, 24 days earlier than last year and two days earlier than average, a local weather agency said. (Kyodo)

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. is planning to turn Japan's largest mobile carrier NTT Docomo Inc. into a wholly-owned company through a takeover bid, sources close to the matter said Monday. (Kyodo)

Princess Yuriko, the oldest member of the imperial family and great-aunt of Emperor Naruhito, has been diagnosed with heart failure, the Imperial Household Agency said Monday. (Kyodo)