A rare nine-legged octopus was discovered off the coast of northeastern Japan earlier this month, with those curious about the unusual creature now able to see it on display at the town's local nature center. (Kyodo)

A man died and 11 others were injured after a leisure fishing boat capsized following a collision with a cargo vessel at a port in eastern Japan early Saturday morning, the Japan Coast Guard said. (Kyodo)

Japan's Imperial Household Agency said Friday it has decided to cancel Emperor Naruhito's annual New Year event at the Imperial Palace due to a recent spike in the number of new cases of the novel coronavirus. (Kyodo)

The Japanese government is considering giving a new honorific title to female imperial family members who lose their royal status after marriage to enable them to engage in public duties, government sources said Monday. (Kyodo)

Japan will exclude Sapporo and Osaka from its domestic travel subsidy campaign for three weeks due to a recent resurgence in coronavirus cases in the two popular tourist destinations, senior government officials said Tuesday. (Kyodo)

The SoftBank Hawks built up a big early lead before easing their way to a second straight win in the Japan Series on Sunday, trouncing the Yomiuri Giants 13-2 with three home runs including a seventh-inning grand slam from Alfredo Despaigne. (Kyodo)

An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.8 hit off the coast of Japan's eastern prefecture of Ibaraki on Sunday night, but no tsunami warning was issued, according to the weather agency. (Kyodo)

Japanese astronauts Koichi Wakata and Satoshi Furukawa are scheduled for long-term missions on the International Space Station, Japan's science minister Koichi Hagiuda revealed Friday. (Kyodo)

A Japanese court sentenced a 22-year-old woman to nine years in prison on Friday for starving her 2-year-old daughter to death last year in the northern prefecture of Hokkaido. (Kyodo)

Tokyo Governor Koike Yuriko has urged residents not to eat and drink in large groups, to keep the coronavirus out of their homes. (NHK)

Japan-based Korean writer Yu Miri has won the National Book Award, the most prestigious literary prize in the US. (NHK)

This year's Beaujolais Nouveau went on sale in Japan on Thursday with a more demure reception amid the coronavirus pandemic. (Kyodo)

The organizers of the postponed Tokyo Olympics may limit competitors' stays in the athletes' village and require participants to maintain social distance in order to prevent coronavirus infections, officials said Wednesday. (Kyodo)

The Japanese unit of Malaysia's budget airline AirAsia Group said Tuesday it has filed for bankruptcy due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on travel demand, with a lawyer saying the unit is unable to refund around 23,000 air tickets. (Kyodo)

Veteran singer Masahiko Kondo has admitted to an extramarital affair and will be indefinitely suspended from activities as punishment, his management agency said in a statement released early Tuesday. (Kyodo)

The Hokkaido government on Tuesday officially raised its alert level in Sapporo, asking the city's residents to avoid nonessential outings and refrain from visiting other areas in the prefecture amid a surge in COVID-19 cases. (Japan Times)

A subtle change in Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's phrasing of a key Japanese foreign policy concept -- a "free and open Indo-Pacific" -- has raised questions about whether Tokyo has shifted its stance. (Kyodo)

Legendary Kabuki actor Sakata Tojuro, who had been recognized by the Japanese government as a living national treasure, died of old age on Thursday, a Kabuki production company said. He was 88. (Kyodo)

Japanese Nobel Prize winner in physics Koshiba Masatoshi died on Thursday at a hospital in Tokyo. He was 94. (NHK)

Japan on Thursday confirmed 1,660 new cases of coronavirus, a record daily high since the outbreak of the virus earlier this year, amid signs of what some health experts refer to as a possible "third wave" of infections as the winter season approaches. (Kyodo)

Japan is planning to exempt foreign visitors for next summer's Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics from its 14-day quarantine requirement if they are from countries or regions with relatively fewer novel coronavirus cases, a government panel said Thursday. (Kyodo)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested four men, including a member of a criminal syndicate, over the alleged abduction of a male executive in Chuo Ward earlier this year, reports Kyodo News (Nov. 11). (tokyoreporter.com)

Her career in the pool long behind her, retired swimmer Hanae Ito is looking to nurture future generations of female athletes in Japan by ensuring they know what she did not. (Kyodo)

Shodai suffered his first loss at the November Grand Sumo Tournament on Wednesday and appeared to further aggravate a left ankle injury, leaving his further participation in the 15-day meet in doubt. (Kyodo)

East Japan Railway Co. said Tuesday it will conduct autonomous test runs of its E7-series shinkansen bullet trains next fall, with the aim of operating such automated trains in the future amid a labor shortage. (Kyodo)