A 6.0 magnitude earthquake shook Chiba Prefecture east of Tokyo on Saturday. (NHK)

An agency whose clients include the popular Japanese dancing and singing group EXILE has been found to have failed to declare about 300 million yen ($2.7 million) in income for the four years through March 2017, a source close to the matter said Thursday. (Kyodo)

Shoko Asahara, founder of the doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo and mastermind behind the deadly 1995 nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway system - and a number of other horrific crimes in the 1980s and ’90s - was executed on Friday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said. (Japan Times)

A Japanese court has ordered the government to grant refugee status to a Sri Lankan man who entered Japan 12 years ago after fleeing his country's civil war. (NHK)

Some 130 people who had been stranded at a hot spring resort in Hokkaido were rescued Wednesday after torrential rains triggered landslides in the area the previous day. (Japan Times)

The organizing committee of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics says it plans to sell tickets for children, senior citizens and people with disabilities for 2020 yen, or about 18 dollars. (NHK)

The operator of the main train network in Tokyo says it will install security cameras on all trains before the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games to prevent terrorism and other crimes. (NHK)

Princess Ayako and her fiance-to-be have jointly met with reporters after Japan's Imperial Household Agency formally announced plans for their engagement. (NHK)

Demand for new offices pulled up land values in Japan's largest cities, but the country is witnessing polarizing demand as rural areas that lack tourist attractions are left behind. (Nikkei)

One of Japan's best-known rakugo storytellers, Katsura Utamaru, has died. He was 81 years old. (NHK)

A national women's university in Tokyo said Monday it will start from April 2020 accepting students born male but who identify themselves as female. (Japan Today)

Ryohin Keikaku Co., the operator of Japan’s Muji brand household goods stores, opened a second hotel under the brand in downtown Beijing on Saturday in a join venture with a unit of Odakyu Electric Railway Co. (Japan Times)

A millennium-old temple in Kyoto is offering travelers an exclusive overnight experience for a cool 1 million yen ($9,100), hoping to shore up its dwindling income by capitalizing on the city's booming tourism trade. (Nikkei)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have over the robbery of an elderly woman who was dragged for several dozen meters by the suspect’s truck in Katsushika Ward earlier this year, reports TBS News (tokyoreporter.com)

Sharp Corp scrapped a plan to issue up to $2 billion in new shares, changing its mind in a matter of weeks after the initial announcement prompted investors to dump its shares on fears of earnings per share dilution. (Japan Today)

Trading volume on the Tokyo Stock Exchange has slumped to the lowest level in 14 years, while Shanghai shares have fallen six weeks in a row, underscoring investor concern over U.S.-China tariff tensions. (Nikkei)

Jubilant soccer fans have overrun a famous intersection near Tokyo's Shibuya Station in reaction to Japan's advance to the knockout stage of the World Cup finals in Russia. (NHK)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a 32-year-old man over the alleged theft of women’s underwear, a crime for which he was imprisoned until earlier this year, reports Nippon News Network (tokyoreporter.com)

Japan's Lawson will do away with the delivery of fresh food to online shoppers at the end of August, as rising costs and slow demand have rendered the service unsustainable. (Nikkei)

Police arrested on Monday a 42-year-old man for allegedly stabbing to death a lecturer at an information technology seminar in Fukuoka the night before over what he claims to be trouble online. (Japan Today)

A leading Liberal Democratic Party official on Tuesday criticized people opting not to have children as being "selfish," in the latest remark from a politician of the ruling party urging people to have babies. (Japan Today)

Japan's Imperial Household Agency will announce plans for the engagement of Princess Ayako. (NHK)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have busted a sex parlor for providing sex services that exceeded those allowable under the law, reports TBS News (tokyoreporter.com)

A man armed with a knife was arrested Monday after holing up at a pub in central Tokyo while throwing objects out of a window he shattered, in a standoff set off by a call he made to police saying he had eaten without having money to pay for the meal. (Japan Today)

Fukuoka Prefectural Police have launched an investigation after several cats have been found to have been either beheaded or poisoned in Fukuoka City this month, reports TV Asahi (tokyoreporter.com)