Hidden cameras were found in a restroom at a park in Toyota City that was used for a girls’ softball tournament over the weekend, reports Tokai Television (tokyoreporter.com)

Japan and China are unlikely to mention that the waters and airspace around a group of uninhabited islets controlled by Japan and claimed by China are subject to a bilateral communication mechanism aimed at averting unintended clashes, Japanese government sources said Monday. (Japan Today)

Osaka Prefectural Police are hunting for a man who slashed the female manager of a beauty salon in Nishinari Ward during a robbery on Sunday, reports the Sankei Shimbun (tokyoreporter.com)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested two men for allegedly employing an underage girl at a sex business, reports the Sankei Shimbun. (tokyoreporter.com)

A 10-year-old boy was found unharmed Sunday after going missing on a mountain in Ome, Tokyo. The boy, who attends a school for children with special needs, had been missing for 22 hours after climbing Mt Mitake with his parents and a sibling on Saturday, Fuji TV reported. (Japan Today)

An online bomb threat has prompted Tokyo's Aoyama Gakuin University to call off classes on Monday, the university said Sunday. (Japan Today)

Sexual minorities and their supporters have paraded in central Tokyo to promote equality and greater awareness of LGBT issues. (NHK)

Robots and smart devices are the face of some new hotels in Japan, where owners are using hi-tech ways to offer a friendly welcome to guests who don't speak the language. (NHK)

Roads are congested and planes and trains are packed as people in Japan return home from their spring holidays. (NHK)

Miss Magazine contest finalist can thank famous DNA for contributing to her good looks. (soranews24.com)

Tatsuya Yamaguchi, a member of Japanese all-male pop group Tokio, has expressed his intent to leave the five-member band after coming under fire for kissing a high school student against her will, other group members revealed Wednesday. (Japan Today)

A hypothetical eruption of Mount Fuji, Japan's tallest peak, could rain volcanic ash on Tokyo and push the capital into a state of paralysis, according to a government report obtained by Kyodo News. (Japan Times)

Prosecutors have decided to drop the indictment against a 46-year-old member of an all-male pop group for kissing a high school student against her will at his condominium earlier this year. (Japan Times)

Fukushima Prefectural Police have launched a murder investigation following the discovery of a male corpse in a mountainous area of the town of Aizumisato last week, reports Kahoku Shimpo. (tokyoreporter.com)

Saitama Prefectural Police have announced that a 25-year-old officer retired from duty after receiving a suspension over the fatal abuse of his three-month-old daughter in Saitama City earlier this year, reports TV Asahi (Apr. 28). (tokyoreporter.com)

The likes of Tokyo and Kyoto may still be top of many visitors' itineraries, but Japan's tourism industry is changing as more and more people head west in search of new experiences. (Nikkei)

Prosecutors in Tokyo have dropped charges against an actor who had been arrested on suspicion of sexually molesting a woman on a street in Tokyo. (Japan Today)

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency announced Friday that its SS520-5 has been recognized as the smallest orbital rocket by Guinness World Records. (Japan Times)

Japan's fast food sector is set to get more competitive with the arrival of another player from the US. Fatburger is the latest in a line of foreign chains aiming to take a bite out of the market. (NHK)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested the manager of a so-called “JK” school girl business who is suspected of employing minors to provide sex, reports the Sankei Shimbun (tokyoreporter.com)

Teary-eyed and his voice shaking, pop star Tatsuya Yamaguchi apologized Thursday for kissing and engaging in indecent behavior with a high school-aged girl in a career-crushing scandal leading to his indefinite suspension from show business. (Japan Times)

A court sentenced on Wednesday a 29-year-old former reporter for public broadcaster NHK to 21 years in prison for raping three women. (Japan Times)

Gunma Prefectural Police are hunting for a man who assaulted a male Peruvian national in the town of Oizumi on Tuesday, reports TV Asahi (tokyoreporter.com)

Japan's Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko hosted their annual spring garden party at the Akasaka Imperial Gardens in Tokyo on Wednesday. (NHK)

Police have sent prosecutors papers on a 14-year-old boy for allegedly threatening a public elementary school in Tokyo’s upscale Ginza district that introduced uniforms designed by high-end Italian brand Armani. (Japan Times)