Several of the McDonald's locations in Japan offer cakes and Starbucks-like beverages. Matcha green tea drinks and Oreo cakes are available. (SAMURAI JUNJIRO Channel)

Former Yankees slugger Hideki Matsui was honored in New York City for his contributions to baseball and helping build cultural connections between the U.S. and Japan through the game. (NBC News)

A Japanese high court on Thursday rejected an appeal by a former brokerage manager alleging on-the-job harassment and unlawful dismissal after he took parental leave while working at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley. (Japan Today)

If you thought you’d seen it all, wait till you go out to eat in Japan. Some restaurants have rotating conveyor belts of food. As a hungry American, I think this is a fantastic way to eat lots of food way too quickly, plus its cheaper as there is no server as more and more food is delivered automatically. (Cash Jordan)

Consumer prices in Japan rose by more than 2 percent in May from a year earlier. Higher energy costs were a big factor behind the increase. (NHK)

Japan's health ministry says in the last fiscal year that ended in March, a record 629 cases of depression and other mental health issues were recognized as work-related and eligible for compensation. (NHK)

Japan's top court on Friday overturned a lower court ruling that dismissed a man's demand that Twitter Inc. delete posts showing his arrest history, ordering the U.S. social networking service to remove 14 tweets. (Kyodo)

There can’t be a household in Japan that doesn’t own a few items from a 100-yen shop – anything from chopsticks and teacups to air freshener and bin bags. (theguardian.com)

This is the first restaurant in Japan to introduce a curry-like sauce with crushed ingredients: Tonkatsu curry Katsuya (Japanese food craftsman)

世界91カ国でTOP1獲得した「ストレンジャー・シングス 未知の世界」シーズン4がついに完結！ (Netflix Japan)

Scientifically named Stylobates calcifer, the new sea anemone species lives in a symbiotic relationship with a species of hermit crab called Pagurodofleinia doederleini. (sci-news.com)

Crunchyroll confirmed that One Piece Film: Red will be heading to theaters outside Japan. There’s no exact release date yet for the showings. However, it did confirm One Piece Red will appear in Australia, Canada, the US, and Australia in Fall 2022. It also promised additional details at Anime Expo on July 2, 2022. (siliconera.com)

Japan's Sapporo Holdings on Friday announced that it will acquire U.S. craft beer maker Stone Brewing for $168 million, in a foray into the country's growing microbrew market. (Nikkein)

Sharp plans to adopt English as its official language next year, CEO Wu Po-hsuan said Thursday, as the company ramps up efforts to bolster its TV and home appliance business in the U.S. and Europe. ()

A Japanese government survey shows that nearsightedness is starting to occur at an early age, affecting 6th-graders at the same level as adults. (NHK)

Maid cafes first appeared in Akihabara in 2001. The prices for food and drinks are relatively higher than normal coffee shops. (Japan explorer)

Motor industry giant Toyota is recalling 2,700 of its first mass-produced all-electric vehicles over concerns their wheels may fall off. (BBC)

ULTRA Japan will make its return on Saturday, September 17 – Sunday, September 18, 2022, for the festival’s seventh edition. (edmtunes.com)

Cannabis is increasingly being smuggled into Japan in liquid form, according to Tokyo Customs authorities. (Asahi)

The city of Amagasaki in Hyogo Prefecture, western Japan, has lost a USB device containing the personal information of more than 460,000 residents. (NHK)

Mizuho Research Institute Chairman and former Japanese Vice Finance Minister for International Affairs Takehiko Nakao discusses the weakness in the yen, the Japanese economy and what he thinks the BOJ should do. (Bloomberg Markets and Finance)

Honda Motor and three Japanese rivals plan to discontinue about 20 motorcycle models by the end of this year, Nikkei has learned, in response to tougher emissions standards to be implemented in Japan in the fall. (Nikkei)

Hulu Japan is on board for the second season of The Mediapro Studio’s drama series The Head, which recently began filming in Tenerife in the Canary Islands. (c21media.net)

Japan is so different from what most Americans are used to that its very easy to get lost just by walking around. (Cash Jordan)

Police have arrested a 24-year-old journalist on suspicion of stealing food items from a convenience store in Shari, Hokkaido, where she had been assigned to cover the sinking of a tour boat. (Japan Today)