Hokkaido, the northernmost of Japan’s four main islands, is latitudinally different enough from the rest of the country that its seasons change later. So while the Tokyo area is getting ready for the early-summer rainy season to start, spring is finally getting into full swing in Hokkaido. (Japan Today)

Japanese Director Hirokazu Kore-eda's "Shoplifters" has won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. (NHK)

The head coach of Nihon University's American football team, Masato Uchida, has accepted full responsibility for a serious foul committed by one of his players and says he intends to resign. (NHK)

Osaka Prefectural Police have arrested an organized crime member for allegedly referring customers to a business in the Tobita Shinchi pleasure quarter of Nishinari Ward, reports Nikkan Sports (tokyoreporter.com)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police are hunting for the male perpetrator who slashed a man in Shibuya Ward on Friday night, reports Fuji News Network (tokyoreporter.com)

Crowds of people have gathered in Tokyo's Asakusa district to watch a traditional Shinto festival that heralds the arrival of early summer. (NHK)

Aichi Prefectural Police have arrested a 22-year-old man over the fatal stabbing of another customer at an internet cafe in Nagoya on Thursday, reports NHK (tokyoreporter.com)

Japan's lower house on Friday passed a bill to ratify the 11-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade pact, paving the way for its enactment before the current Diet session ends in June. (Japan Today)

Torrential rain has hit northeastern Japan. The Meteorological Agency is warning of landslides, overflowing rivers and flooding in the region. (NHK)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a 33-year-old man over the alleged molestation of a school girl in Itabashi Ward in which he threatened her before, reports TBS News (tokyoreporter.com)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a female professional wrestler over the alleged used of stimulant drugs, reports TBS News (tokyoreporter.com)

Nagasaki Prefectural Police have launched a murder investigation after the corpse of a woman missing for nearly one decade was found in a storage space in Isahaya City, reports the Yomiuri Shimbun. (tokyoreporter.com)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a male employee in the film industry who is suspected in multiple flashing incidents in Shibuya Ward, reports Nippon News Network (May 16). (tokyoreporter.com)

A 22-year-old woman has been arrested in Adachi Ward in Tokyo on suspicion of fatally stabbing her boyfriend. (Japan Today)

The organizing committee for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games proposed a ¥288,000 ($2,600) cap on entry prices for the games’ opening ceremony at a ticket sales strategy meeting Tuesday. (Japan Times)

The Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau has filed a criminal complaint against the former owner of a high-end club in the Roppongi entertainment area of Minato Ward over alleged tax evasion, it was learned on Tuesday, reports NHK (tokyoreporter.com)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police on Monday announced the arrest of a 28-year-old man who allegedly stole liquor from a host club in Tokyo to sell via the marketplace app Mercari earlier this year, reports the Sankei Shimbun (tokyoreporter.com)

Prosecutors are demanding eight years behind bars for the president of failed travel agency Tellmeclub, who is accused of defrauding two banks of about ¥550 million in loans by doctoring earnings data. (Japan Times)

Japan Airlines is launching a low-cost carrier that will offer mid- to long-distance international flights. The company's executives hope to have it off the ground around the summer of 2020, when Tokyo hosts the Olympics and Paralympics. (NHK)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have revealed that a man, believed to be a foreigner, eluded custody after being accused of spraying graffiti in Shinjuku Ward last week, reports NHK (tokyoreporter.com)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a 39-year-old man over the alleged molestation and assault of a woman in Machida City earlier this month, reports (tokyoreporter.com)

The Tokyo Stock Exchange has approved e-commerce company Mercari's request to make an initial public offering. (NHK)

Two high school girls died in a plunge from a building in Ashikaga City on Friday in what police are viewing as a double suicide, reports the Sankei Shimbun. (tokyoreporter.com)

Colorful knitted wool has been wrapped around the enormous bronze spider sculpture in the Roppongi Hills complex in Minato Ward, Tokyo, to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the opening of the popular complex. (the-japan-news.com)

Osaka Prefectural Police have arrested a civic employee for allegedly molesting a woman on a train in Osaka City on Friday, reports Nikkan Sports (tokyoreporter.com)