Researchers warn that Japan could swelter under extremely high temperature every year due to global warming. (NHK)

Forty-six Chinese construction workers in Japan's northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido have gone missing after 11 compatriots were arrested over their eligibility to stay in the country, sources related to their work said Monday. (Kyodo)

Pagers are set to be finally phased out of use in Japan. The last remaining carrier says it will be stopping its service at the end of next September. (NHK)

Theme park operator Huis Ten Bosch Co. plans to accept an investment from Chinese conglomerate Fosun Group as part of efforts to attract more Chinese visitors. (Japan Times)

Leading convenience store chain Seven-Eleven Japan Co. has asked franchise outlets in Tokyo to remove ashtray receptacles from the store premises, it was learned Sunday. (Japan Times)

Shizuoka Prefectural Police launched a criminal investigation after the body of a 78-year-old man was found at his residence in Numazu City last week, reports the Asahi Shimbun (Dec. 2). (tokyoreporter.com)

Princess Aiko, the only child of Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako, turned 17 on Saturday, enjoying her life in high school, including attending summer school at Eton College in Britain as her first overseas stay on her own. (Japan Today)

Hitomi Yoshizawa, a former member of the all-girl J-pop group Morning Musume, was sentenced Friday to two years in prison suspended for five years for injuring two people in a hit-and-run incident in September while driving under the influence of alcohol. (Japan Times)

SoftBank Group's mobile unit on Friday set an indicative price of 1,500 yen per share ahead of what would be Japan largest-ever initial public offering in December. (Nikkei)

A Japan Airlines pilot was jailed for 10 months on Thursday after being caught 10 times over the alcohol limit shortly before take-off from London Heathrow Airport. (Japan Today)

Japanese prosecutors said Thursday they will detain former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn for as long as is needed to finish their investigation into suspicions of financial irregularities, as the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance reaffirmed its partnership. (Japan Today)

Cases of syphilis infections this year totaled 6,096 as of Nov. 18, exceeding an annual amount of 6,000 for the first time since 1970, the National Institute of Infectious Diseases said Wednesday. (Japan Times)

Huge maglev shinkansen emergency exit shaft unveiled in Tokyo (Japan Times)

A patrol robot equipped with artificial intelligence is being tested at a Tokyo railway station. (NHK)

Japan's government is considering tweaking its method for calculating defense spending, amid calls by the United States for allies to shoulder more of the burden. (NHK)

Japan will make companies responsible for explaining decisions made by artificial intelligence software they use, according to a government draft of legal guidelines shared with Nikkei. (Nikkei)

NHK has learned that former Nissan Motor Chairman Carlos Ghosn has denied underreporting his earnings in the company's securities reports. Sources say Ghosn told prosecutors in Tokyo that he had no intention of falsifying the financial statements. (NHK)

Japan plans to give a 5 percent reward-point rebate to consumers on some payments made through credit cards and other cashless means as a way of underpinning domestic demand after a planned tax increase next October, government officials said Thursday. (Japan Today)

Officials at Japan Airlines apparently started asking passengers on an overbooked flight if they were willing to take other planes only about 45 minutes before the scheduled departure time. (NHK)

A man who suffered severe burns after having his head shoved into a pot of boiling liquid at a year-end party in 2015 said Thursday that he plans to sue his former boss over the incident. (Japan Times)

Nissan Motor's board of directors has voted unanimously to oust Carlos Ghosn as chairman. The executive was arrested earlier this week on suspicion of underreporting his income by tens of millions of dollars on corporate financial statements. (NHK)

Tokyo Medical University has been stripped of its accreditation, following recent revelations that the university rigged entrance examinations against female and older applicants. (NHK)

As a part of the investigation into the distribution of adult video (AV) content deemed illegal, Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a third person for ordering the production of the material, reports TV Asahi (tokyoreporter.com)

Ibaraki Prefecture is developing a series of new PR strategies after struggling for years to move up in a private think tank survey that ranks the appeal of all 47 prefectures. (Japan Times)

Organizers of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics say applications for volunteers for the Games have surpassed the needed number of 80,000. (NHK)