Undeterred by the coronavirus pandemic, one of Asia's largest short film festivals on Sunday wrapped up its nearly two-week run in Tokyo with online screening, with the top prize awarded to a story of a woman traveling to witness the execution of her son's murderer. (Kyodo)

The coronavirus pandemic has heightened distress felt by unmarried Japanese couples in long-term relationships as they face the prospect that, should one become ill, they would not be afforded the same rights as married couples. (Kyodo)

Japan could face a resurgence of coronavirus infections, although the number of cases has been on a downward trend since late July, a group of experts on virus prevention said Thursday. (Kyodo)

The Japanese government has decided to set up a system to exempt athletes competing at next year's Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games from entry restrictions currently placed on 159 countries and regions due to the novel coronavirus that forced the games' postponement, sources familiar with the matter said Friday. (Kyodo)

Yoshihide Suga's hometown In northeastern Japan and his constituency in Yokohama, near Tokyo, were in festive moods Wednesday as supporters celebrated his election as Japan's new prime minister. (Kyodo)

Japan's Hayabusa2 space explorer will aim to probe the asteroid "1998KY26" located between the orbits of Earth and Mars in 2031 after completing its current mission of collecting samples from another asteroid, the country's science minister said Tuesday. (Kyodo)

Japan will consider raising the upper limit for the number of spectators at sports, concerts and other events to up to 20,000 from the current 5,000, as coronavirus cases have been moderating recently, a senior government official said Wednesday. (Kyodo)

The Tokyo metropolitan government plans to end next week its policy of asking establishments serving alcohol in the capital's central 23 wards to close by 10 p.m., as the number of coronavirus cases has been trending downward in recent days, a source familiar with the situation said Wednesday. (Kyodo)

Japanese actor Iseya Yusuke, who has starred in numerous movies and TV dramas, has been arrested by Tokyo police on suspicion of possessing marijuana. (NHK)

All Nippon Airways Co. will resume flights from Japan to Hawaii in October after suspending its service to the popular U.S. destination about six months ago due to the coronavirus pandemic, sources familiar with the plan said Monday. (Kyodo)

A Tokyo man has been arrested on suspicion of kidnapping a 9-year-old schoolgirl he met through an online game and confining her for more than two days, with investigative sources saying he had invited her to play together via the game's voice chat function. (Kyodo)

The central Japan city of Sanjo registered a temperature of 40.4 C on Thursday, a national record high for September, as a wide area along the Sea of Japan coast witnessed extraordinary heat. (Kyodo)

Japan's space agency says its probe Hayabusa2 is scheduled to release in early December a capsule believed to contain samples of an asteroid. (NHK)

Tokyo confirmed on Monday a monthly record 8,126 new cases of the novel coronavirus in August, exceeding the 6,466 infections logged in July. (Kyodo)

A family-friendly amusement park in Tokyo is closing its doors after 94 years in operation. (NHK)

Japan's Prime Minister Abe Shinzo has formally announced his intention to resign due to a relapse of an inflammatory bowel disease. (NHK)

The body of a 62-year-old construction worker was found Friday in a 30-meter-deep oil tank at a construction site in Yokohama, near Tokyo, after an apparent accident earlier this week, police said. (Kyodo)

A teenage boy was arrested Friday as a suspect in the fatal stabbing of a woman in her 20s at a shopping mall in southwestern Japan, police said. (Kyodo)

The Environment Ministry said Thursday that a species of small butterfly endemic to southern Japanese islands is feared to have gone extinct as all artificially-bred butterflies and worms of the type have died. (Kyodo)

Japan raised its travel advisory Wednesday for 13 countries mainly in Africa, warning against traveling to them amid concerns about the spread of the novel coronavirus. (Kyodo)

The requirement by many hospitals in Japan that women wear face masks while in labor to prevent coronavirus transmission has stirred debate among new mothers online, with some saying it was distressing while others argue it is essential to reduce infection risks. (Japan Today)

Shiori Ito, a journalist and symbol of Japan's #MeToo movement, sued ruling party member Mio Sugita for damages on Thursday for allegedly clicking the "like" icon on several tweets she says defamed her. (Kyodo)

Teenage shogi sensation Fujii Sota has become the youngest-ever holder of two major professional titles for the chess-like Japanese board game. (NHK)

The last of the Kounotori unmanned cargo vessels ended its final mission Thursday as it burned up re-entering the Earth's atmosphere after transporting supplies to the International Space Station, the country's space agency said. (Kyodo)

The Japanese government has been criticized by environmental groups for its weak presence and slow response in tackling an oil spill disaster caused by a Japanese freighter that ran aground off Mauritius in the Indian Ocean last month. (Kyodo)