The likes of Tokyo and Kyoto may still be top of many visitors' itineraries, but Japan's tourism industry is changing as more and more people head west in search of new experiences. (Nikkei)

Prosecutors in Tokyo have dropped charges against an actor who had been arrested on suspicion of sexually molesting a woman on a street in Tokyo. (Japan Today)

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency announced Friday that its SS520-5 has been recognized as the smallest orbital rocket by Guinness World Records. (Japan Times)

Japan's fast food sector is set to get more competitive with the arrival of another player from the US. Fatburger is the latest in a line of foreign chains aiming to take a bite out of the market. (NHK)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested the manager of a so-called “JK” school girl business who is suspected of employing minors to provide sex, reports the Sankei Shimbun (tokyoreporter.com)

Teary-eyed and his voice shaking, pop star Tatsuya Yamaguchi apologized Thursday for kissing and engaging in indecent behavior with a high school-aged girl in a career-crushing scandal leading to his indefinite suspension from show business. (Japan Times)

A court sentenced on Wednesday a 29-year-old former reporter for public broadcaster NHK to 21 years in prison for raping three women. (Japan Times)

Gunma Prefectural Police are hunting for a man who assaulted a male Peruvian national in the town of Oizumi on Tuesday, reports TV Asahi (tokyoreporter.com)

Japan's Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko hosted their annual spring garden party at the Akasaka Imperial Gardens in Tokyo on Wednesday. (NHK)

Police have sent prosecutors papers on a 14-year-old boy for allegedly threatening a public elementary school in Tokyo’s upscale Ginza district that introduced uniforms designed by high-end Italian brand Armani. (Japan Times)

NHK has learned that Kobe Steel submitted to the Tokyo District Prosecutors Office documents related to the firm's falsified product inspection data. (NHK)

Education minister Yoshimasa Hayashi has used an official ministry car to visit a "sexy yoga" studio in Tokyo, a weekly magazine said Tuesday, in another apparent scandal to hit the government. (Japan Today)

Kanagawa Prefectural Police suspect that a 24-year-old man committed suicide at a dam in the village of Kiyokawa in 2003 after murdering a woman at the restaurant where she worked, reports the Yomiuri Shimbun (tokyoreporter.com)

Convenience store and retail chain Seven-Eleven Japan Co in a joint project with travel agency JTB Corp will launch an automated service for minpaku (private temporary rented lodging) that allows guests to check in, collect and leave room keys 24 hours a day at 7-Eleven convenience stores. (Japan Today)

King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden has expressed his hope to maintain good relations with Emperor Akihito and the rest of the Japanese Imperial family after the Emperor abdicates. (NHK)

Robots that can weld, lift and bolt are being developed to help bridge labor shortages at domestic construction sites, though their use will be limited to night shifts when no human workers will be nearby due to safety and regulatory concerns. (Japan Times)

A 43-year-old man and his 34-year-old wife have been arrested at Tokyo’s Haneda airport on suspicion of smuggling methamphetamine with an approximate street value of ¥1.8 billion ($16.7 million), police and customs officials said Monday. (Japan Times)

Japan's Emperor and Empress have joined Sweden's King and Queen in visiting an exhibition on the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in Tokyo. (NHK)

The organizer of the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan has started recruiting about 10,000 volunteers. (NHK)

With sakura season done in the Tokyo area, it’s time to switch from pink to blue and the 4.5 million Nemophila flowers of this amazing park. (soranews24.com)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police arrested a member of a comedy duo over illicit filming of a woman at a subway station the day before the unit broke up, reports Nippon News Network. (tokyoreporter.com)

The Tokyo Summary Court ordered a former taxi driver to pay a fine of 300,000 yen for stalking actress Momoko Kikuchi at her residence, reports TV Asahi (tokyoreporter.com)

A summer-like spell of hot weather has gripped Japan, with temperatures soaring above 30 degrees Celsius across the country. (NHK)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have re-arrested a 30-year-old actor in the “Kamen Rider” television series for molesting a second woman in Setagaya Ward last month, reports Jiji Press (tokyoreporter.com)

A company that developed a smartphone application for the Japanese board game shogi has been listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. But the initial public offering ended without an opening price as there were too many orders to buy its shares. (NHK)