Beauty pageant contestants from across the world have visited Japan's northern island of Hokkaido, which is still reeling from the impact of a major quake last month. (NHK)

Several people were injured Friday after a man sprayed chemical compounds appearing to be tear gas near JR Shinjuku Station in Tokyo, police said. (Japan Times)

Emmanuel, Stephane, Henrik and James come from very different backgrounds, but they share the same painful experience of battling Japan's legal system - in vain - for access to their children after divorce. (straitstimes.com)

Among low-income households with children in their early teens, 34.7 percent have experienced difficulty buying food for financial reasons, a survey by a Tokyo-based nonprofit organization showed Monday. (Japan Times)

Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings Ltd. reopened its flagship Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi department store Wednesday, after a renovation that includes a new first floor designed by architect Kengo Kuma. (Japan Times)

Women who applied unsuccessfully to Tokyo Medical University intend to demand compensation from the school for manipulating entrance exam results in favor of male applicants and hiding the discriminatory practice, their lawyers said Wednesday. (Japan Times)

Japan is to stop providing China with government aid next year and start jointly helping developing countries. (NHK)

Unfair admissions are suspected at several universities in Japan, the education ministry said in an interim report on its emergency investigation on Tuesday. (the-japan-news.com)

The award-winning Japanese director Naomi Kawase will produce the official film of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. (NHK)

Two major construction companies were Monday ordered to pay fines totalling 380 million yen for colluding to win contracts on the Japan's maglev project. (Japan Today)

On Monday morning, the Nozomi 114 bullet train was making its regularly scheduled run from Hiroshima to Tokyo. Its route along the Sanyo/Tokkaido Shinkansen line provides views of some of Japan’s largest cities and, if the weather is clear, even Mt. Fuji, but one passenger spotted something much more startling. (soranews24.com)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have revealed that the woman whose corpse was found in a residence of an apartment building in the Roppongi entertainment district of Minato Ward died as a result of a skull fracture, reports the Yomiuri Shimbun (tokyoreporter.com)

The entire Cabinet along with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe refrained from visiting Tokyo’s war-linked Yasukuni Shrine during this year’s four-day autumn festival that ended Saturday. (Japan Times)

The head of a school that teaches the art of picking up women and a former student have been arrested on suspicion of rape, the fourth such case to emerge since an investigation began earlier this year, reports the Sankei Shimbun (tokyoreporter.com)

Scandal-hit KYB Corp. on Friday disclosed the names of 70 government and municipal office buildings that used, or are suspected of having used, substandard earthquake shock absorbers in their construction. (Japan Times)

Around 70 Japanese lawmakers from both ruling and opposition parties visited the war-linked Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo during its annual autumn festival Thursday, a day after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sent a ritual offering to the shrine. (Japan Times)

Investors who collectively placed approximately 100,000 failed share trades may seek compensation after a systems glitch at the Tokyo Stock Exchange last week left some 40 brokerages temporarily unable to place orders, sources said Thursday. (Japan Times)

Yokozuna Hakuho underwent successful endoscopic surgery on his right knee at a hospital in Tokyo on Thursday, sources close to his Miyagino stable said. (Japan Times)

Thursday marks a week since Tokyo's new wholesale food market opened at Toyosu. The new market was initially beset by traffic jams, but wholesalers and buyers are gradually learning how to get around. (NHK)

Tokyo's Shibuya Ward is asking people not to disturb others when celebrating Halloween. (NHK)

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed Wednesday to step up their countries' cooperation in promoting stability in the Indo-Pacific region where China has been increasing its influence. (Kyodo)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a teenage boy who seriously injured a male acquaintance by striking him with a metal baseball bat in Kita Ward earlier this year, reports TV Asahi (tokyoreporter.com)

The landmark Tokyo Skytree tower, facilities for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games and more government offices are among the nearly 1,000 buildings using earthquake shock absorbers produced by KYB Corp, which admitted cheating quality inspection data for more than a decade, officials said Wednesday. (Japan Today)

Preferred Networks Inc., a Japanese venture specializing in artificial intelligence, unveiled on Tuesday a fully autonomous tidying-up robot for home use. (Kyodo)

Kanagawa Prefectural Police have arrested a popular male Keio University student over the alleged rape of an intoxicated woman in Yokohama last month, reports the Sankei Shimbun (tokyoreporter.com)