China is expected to surpass Japan as the second-largest contributor to the general United Nations budget starting in 2019, according to the latest U.N. report on contributions. (Japan Today)

In his last official appearance at the annual ceremony commemorating the end of World War II, Emperor Akihito on Wednesday repeated his “deep remorse” over the conflict that led to the deaths of tens of millions of people in Asia and elsewhere. (Japan Times)

A Japanese man has recently been taken into custody in North Korea, government officials said Saturday as Tokyo tried to obtain information on the case. (Japan Times)

Izakaya Japanese-style pubs are bringing in a new kind of customer, foreign tourists. (Nikkei)

All nine passengers on a rescue helicopter that crashed on a mountain near the border of Gunma and Nagano prefectures on Friday died, Gunma Prefectural Government officials confirmed on Saturday. (Japan Times)

Tokyo topped a list of the world's most innovative cities on Friday, leapfrogging London and New York after embracing the"globe-shaking trends of robotics and 3D manufacturing". (Japan Today)

Japan's SoftBank Group has agreed to invest an additional $1 billion in shared-office company WeWork, where SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son sees the potential for a repeat of his lucrative bet on Alibaba Group Holding. (Nikkei)

The operator of Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear reactors said Thursday it had stopped selling a souvenir at the plant after facing a storm of online criticism saying it was inconsiderate. (Japan Today)

Hokkaido Prefectural Police on Tuesday arrested an officer for exposing himself to women in Sapporo earlier this year, reports Jiji Press (tokyoreporter.com)

The parents of Princess Mako of Japan have informed the mother of her commoner fiancé that they will not permit the wedding to go ahead until a financial dispute within his family is solved. (smh.com.au)

Saitama Prefectural Police and Tokyo Customs on Thursday announced the bust of a marijuana smuggling ring that has netted 12 persons, reports the Sankei Shimbun (tokyoreporter.com)

Local organizers announced the road cycling courses for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics on Thursday and declared them "extremely difficult." (Kyodo)

In what appears to be an unusual mix, tech giant Sony Corp. opened a “park” in the middle of the Tokyo’s ritzy Ginza district on Thursday with four subterranean levels. (Japan Times)

A typhoon making its way up Japan's Pacific coast has been downgraded to a severe tropical storm but officials say conditions could still be dangerous. (NHK)

A strong typhoon is heading up the coast of eastern Japan away from the heavily populated Kanto region. There are no reports of major damage but alerts remain in place. Please click on the image for a further explanation from our meteorologist. (NHK)

Facial recognition software is to be introduced at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games for the first time in the history of the event. (NHK)

Tokyo Medical University has admitted to tampering with entrance exam scores to raise the bar for women and for men who failed such exams several times. (NHK)

Enduring a deadly heat wave this summer, Japan is considering adopting daylight saving time from next year, so that the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games can stage events during cooler hours, the Sankei Shimbun newspaper reported Monday. (Japan Times)

A Japanese court has begun a trial filed by a man who is seeking compensation from the government after being forced to undergo sterilization under the now-defunct Eugenic Protection Law. (NHK)

A 10-meter-long whale washed ashore at a beach in Kamakura City on Sunday, reports the Sankei Shimbun (tokyoreporter.com)

A French woman has been missing in eastern Japan since late last month, police announced Sunday. (Japan Today)

Holidaymakers have flocked to a maze created with sunflowers in Yamagata Prefecture, northern Japan. (NHK)

One of the largest summer festivals in northeastern Japan has started in Akita City, featuring bamboo poles decorated with dozens of lanterns. (NHK)

Hotel Okura Tokyo, the flagship hotel of one of Japan's top hotel chain operators, has been fully booked during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics thanks to stays by officials connected with the International Olympic Committee. (Kyodo)

Strong sunshine pushed up temperatures across most of Japan on Friday. (NHK)