A Japanese government panel says the maximum probability of a magnitude-seven earthquake occurring along the Japan Trench in the next 30 years is more than 90 percent. (NHK)

Two leading Japanese firms plan to launch an on-demand ride-sharing service. Toyota and Softbank see a promising market in the growing number of people who think of cars as something to use, but not to own. (NHK)

Aichi Prefectural Police have arrested two women for allegedly abandoning the corpse of a female acquaintance in a forest in Toyota City earlier this month, reports the Sankei Shimbun (tokyoreporter.com)

Golf returned to the Olympics three years ago in Rio de Janeiro after a 112-year absence. But few play golf in Brazil, which kicked up problems from the start when a top-notch course had to be built amid protests from environmentalists and ensuing court cases and charges of corruption. (Japan Today)

Power outages disrupted train services between Tokyo and Chiba Prefecture for more than four hours on Monday morning, affecting about 280,000 commuters. (NHK)

Japan's transport ministry says it will be testing body scanners at a busy Tokyo subway station next month. The scanners will screen dangerous objects hidden beneath clothing. (NHK)

A ceremony to celebrate 30 years of Emperor Akihito's reign has been held in Tokyo, with the attendance of the Imperial couple. (NHK)

Prominent U.S.-born Japanese literature scholar Donald Keene, who introduced a roster of talented writers from Japan to the world, died of cardiac arrest at a Tokyo hospital on Sunday. He was 96. (Japan Times)

Human bones believed to be from some 500 bodies were found at a house in Tokyo in November last year, police sources said. (Japan Times)

A 30-year-old man was sent to prosecutors last week over the alleged smuggling of liquid cannabis from the U.S., reports Kyodo News (tokyoreporter.com)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police are investigating what is believed to have been a murder-suicide after a woman and what are believed to be her children were found dead in a residence in Edogawa Ward on Friday, reports Fuji News Network (tokyoreporter.com)

Japan's Crown Prince Naruhito marks his 59th birthday on Saturday. He will ascend to the throne on May 1st, one day after his father, Emperor Akihito, abdicates. (NHK)

Japan on Friday stepped up its claim to a pair of South Korea-controlled islets, amid escalating tensions with its neighbor resulting from disputes over wartime issues. (Japan Times)

All Nippon Airways said Friday it was forced to delay a domestic flight earlier this week after a co-pilot failed an alcohol breath test despite new rules. (Japan Today)

Elin McCready, a transgender woman, has been married for 19 years, but registering her female identity and name has thrown her union into jeopardy because Japan doesn't recognize gay marriage. (Japan Today)

With seven months until the opening of the Rugby World Cup, organizing committee CEO Akira Shimazu said Thursday the number of foreign fans at the quadrennial tournament has far "exceeded his expectations." (Japan Today)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police on Thursday arrested two former employees of a hostess club in Edogawa Ward for allegedly dumping the corpse of a man who died after excessive drinking, reports the Sankei Shimbun (tokyoreporter.com)

Kanagawa Prefectural Police arrested a 56-year-old man after he was found wielding scissors inside a Tokaido Shinkansen train on Wednesday, reports NHK (tokyoreporter.com)

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has spoken over the phone with US President Donald Trump ahead of next week's US-North Korea summit. (NHK)

Carlos Ghosn's new lawyer took aim at Nissan, prosecutors and courts on Wednesday, dismissing the charges against the ousted chairman as an internal company matter and saying Japan was out of step with international norms by keeping his client in jail. (Japan Today)

There have been several horned owl sightings in residential areas of Tokyo. Police are looking for the bird to protect it and prevent it from harming people. (NHK)

The Tokyo High Court on Wednesday sentenced a man to 12 years in prison for abducting a teenage girl and keeping her in captivity for two years from 2014, annulling the lower court ruling that gave him a nine-year jail term. (Japan Today)

Osaka Prefectural Police have arrested former professional boxer Tomoaki Hashizume over the alleged fatal assault of a male bar patron in Matsubara City over the weekend, reports the Sankei Shimbun (tokyoreporter.com)

A policeman was referred to prosecutors last week for allegedly driving at 145 kilometers per hour (approx. 90 miles per hour) near Tokyo in January while off duty in a rush to get to the dentist, police said Tuesday. (Kyodo)

Rising resource costs, a worsening labor shortage and a flood of easy money are pushing property prices in Tokyo to near-historic levels. (Nikkei)