The organizers of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government have begun inviting volunteers for the events. (NHK)

Prosecutors on Wednesday indicted Hitomi Yoshizawa, a former member of the all-girl J-pop group Morning Musume, for injuring two people in an alleged hit-and-run incident while driving under the influence of alcohol. (Kyodo)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a former taxi driver over the alleged robbery of a current cabbie earlier this month, reports TBS News (Sept. 26). (tokyoreporter.com)

A 36-year-old woman and her three children -- a 10-year-old daughter, 5-year-old son and 8-month-old daughter -- were found dead in their apartment in Tokyo’s Bunkyo Ward on Wednesday morning in an apparent murder-suicide, police said. (Japan Today)

A record 103 Japanese universities made it onto this year’s Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings list, with the nation’s two top universities — the University of Tokyo and Kyoto University — moving up in the standings. (Japan Times)

Japan rugby international Takuma Asahara was run over by a car early Sunday, but only sustained light injuries, police said Tuesday. (Japan Times)

A medical school in Tokyo that recently admitted to rigging entrance exams to discriminate against women has approved its first female president. (NHK)

Tokyo's Ameyoko Market is the city's street food paradise. There is no debate. The market street runs for 400 meters along the Yamanote Line from Okachimachi to Ueno Station. (ONLY in JAPAN)

Police in Tokyo said Tuesday they have arrested a 49-year-old woman on suspicion of abandoning a body after she left the corpse of her newborn baby in coin lockers for 4-5 years. (Japan Today)

Japanese tennis sensation Naomi Osaka not only hit the cash jackpot with her historic U.S. Open victory -- she struck a blow for racial equality, according to a former Miss Japan. (Japan Today)

Mongolian grand champion Hakuho said Monday he wants to give himself a treat for the feats he accomplished at the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament. (Kyodo)

In just one year, some of the toughest athletes are set to hit the pitch in Japan for the Rugby World Cup. As the players gear up to play, they're getting some advice about adhering to local customs, including covering up their tattoos. (NHK)

It may be a spring chicken compared to its film festival siblings in Tokyo, Yamagata and elsewhere, but the Kyoto International Film and Art Festival has reached an important milestone: its fifth anniversary. (Japan Times)

A Japanese medical university mired in a bribery scandal and under fire for discriminating against female applicants is set to have its first woman president. (NHK)

The date of the wedding between Princess Ayako, the youngest daughter of Emperor Akihito's late cousin, and commoner Kei Moriya was officially set for Oct 29 in a traditional ceremony held Wednesday. (Japan Today)

Narita international airport was hit by a passenger check-in system glitch Tuesday, resulting in flight cancelations and delays, its operator said. (Japan Today)

Police on Monday sent papers to prosecutors on a 69-year-old taxi driver on a charge of reckless driving resulting in death after his vehicle hit and killed the 45-year-old driver of a hire car in Tokyo's Roppongi district. (Japan Today)

Overseas hackers are thought to have made off with information on Japan's maritime strategy in a March attack on specific people at national universities, which a Nikkei survey has found to be growing targets for their relatively lax security and sensitive knowledge. (Nikkei)

Kirin Kiki, a veteran Japanese film and television actress known for her unique roles, has died at her home in Tokyo, a source close to her said Sunday. She was 75. (Japan Today)

Three-quarters of Japanese firms oppose a proposal to adopt daylight saving time ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, a Reuters poll showed on Friday, citing the time and effort to adjust computer systems as well as disruptions to public life. (Japan Today)

Hitomi Yoshizawa, 33, a former member of the Japanese pop group Morning Musume, who was arrested on Sept 6 for driving under the influence of alcohol in a hit-and-run incident in Tokyo, has admitted she drank more than three cans of chuhai (fruit-flavored alcoholic cocktail) before the incident. (Japan Today)

Health authorities in Saitama Prefecture said that the V. parahaemolyticus bacteria found in raw sea urchin is most likely the cause of 11 cases of food poisoning at conveyor belt sushi chain Totoyamichi in stores in Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama and Yamanashi prefectures. (Japan Today)

The Japanese organizer of the World Cup sailing competition has been criticized for including a dolphin show in the opening ceremony of the event, which doubles as the first test competition for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics Games. (Kyodo)

The mayor of the eastern Japan town of Minakami tendered his resignation Monday after sexual harassment allegations against him have made the passage of a no-confidence motion in the local assembly almost inevitable. (Japan Today)

Media personnel have been allowed to visit an underground astrophysics observatory for the first time in 12 years. (NHK)