In Japan's ancient capital Kyoto, spectators braved sweltering heat to watch a series of colorfully decorated floats at the annual Gion festival on Tuesday. (NHK)

Japan and the European Union have signed a free trade deal in Tokyo after years of negotiations. The economic partnership agreement covers about 40 percent of the world's trade and 30 percent of its gross domestic product. The EPA calls for Japan and the EU to remove tariffs on most of each other's goods in phases. (NHK)

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government invited the media to observe the construction sites for the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics venues on Tuesday, 2 years ahead of the games' opening. (NHK)

Many retailers and consumers in Japan are welcoming the free trade pact with the European Union. They are expecting it to lower prices for a range of gourmet products and provide a boost to the economy. (NHK)

The government has launched a nationwide probe into allegations that foreign residents are abusing the public health insurance system, according to sources familiar with the matter. (Japan Times)

People in many parts of Japan are sweltering as temperatures have soared to nearly 40 degrees Celsius. The heatwave is likely to continue this week with the risk of heatstroke remaining high in areas including those hit by recent heavy rain. (NHK)

Five people died and more than 1,500 others were taken to hospitals for heat exhaustion, as a heat wave covered Japan on Saturday, a Kyodo News tally showed. (Japan Today)

Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko have cancelled their planned summer retreat north of Tokyo following last weekend's deadly torrential rain in western Japan, the Imperial Household Agency said Friday. (Japan Today)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a 22-year-old male resident of Yokohama who is alleged to have repeatedly molested a female university student across two municipalities earlier this year, reports TBS News (tokyoreporter.com)

Law enforcement has accused a married couple of cultivating marijuana and possessing a special form of the same banned drug at their residence in the town of Tobetsu, reports the Hokkaido Shimbun. (tokyoreporter.com)

Japan's government is counting on foreign workers to ease the labor shortage in a range of industries. (NHK)

NHK has learned that scientists now believe the asteroid Ryugu was likely formed from a collection of asteroid fragments. (NHK)

A small eruption has been confirmed on an uninhabited island in the Pacific around 1,000 kilometers south of Tokyo, the weather agency said Thursday. (Kyodo)

A woman stabbed by a male Filipino national at her residence in Hamura City earlier this week has died, police said on Wednesday, reports NHK (tokyoreporter.com)

Japan's population has fallen for 9 years in a row, while the capital, Tokyo, keeps growing. (NHK)

Yahoo Japan Corp. is blunting the impact of a large stock sale by a big shareholder, buying back about ¥221 billion ($2 billion) worth of its shares in a complicated deal with SoftBank Group Corp. (Japan Times)

Gunma Prefectural Police arrested a man after a stabbing incident at a supermarket in Maebashi City on Tuesday left two employees hurt, reports NHK (tokyoreporter.com)

In what is believed to be a first in Japan, a prestigious national women’s university officially announced Tuesday its new policy to open doors from 2020 to people who were assigned as male at birth but identify as female, saying it’s a natural decision that takes gender diversity into account. (Japan Times)

ANA Holdings Inc. said Monday it will cancel 176 domestic flights between Friday and July 22 to inspect Rolls-Royce engines on Boeing 787 aircraft, after calling off 113 domestic flights for July for the same reason. (Kyodo)

Haruka Kuwabara, at 31 currently the youngest mayor in Japan, was welcomed with flowers and applause by municipal employees in Tsunan, Niigata Prefecture, on Monday, her first day in office. (Japan Times)

SoftBank Group has filed for the listing of its mobile service unit SoftBank Corp., in an apparent bid to raise about 2.5 trillion yen ($22.6 billion) from the stock debut. (Nikkei)

In the busiest city in a country famous for working employees to death, Tokyo Workers hopes to help people find the work/life balance they desire. (soranews24.com)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a member of a yakuza organization over the sale of a fake remedy for the infectious disease hepatitis C, reports TV Asahi (tokyoreporter.com)

A Japanese court sentenced the former head of a parents' group at an elementary school near Tokyo to life in prison on Friday over the 2017 murder of a 9-year-old Vietnamese girl who attended the school. (Kyodo)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a 34-year-old male glasswork artisan over the alleged sale of marijuana in Kanagawa Prefecture, reports Nippon News Network (tokyoreporter.com)