The Japanese yen is the sweetheart of global speculators. Speculators loath uncertainty but thrive on calculated risk, and the yen offers unparalleled favorable odds for fast-paced global money managers. (Japan Times)

The latest artificial intelligence technologies and services are on display at an exhibition in Tokyo. (NHK)

An Australian woman who was raped by a U.S. military serviceman more than a decade ago renewed on Thursday her request to Japan’s government to amend the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), which critics claim allows both countries to evade responsibility for misconduct linked to U.S. bases. (Japan Times)

Japan is moving toward legalizing initial coin offerings, even as countries such as China and the U.S. restrict the fundraising method because of the risks it presents for investors. (Japan Times)

Officials of the operator of the crippled Fukushima No.1 nuclear power plant apologized Thursday to the family of a 102-year-old man who killed himself in the face of an evacuation order amid the 2011 nuclear crisis. (Japan Times)

Investigative sources say about 250 kilograms of illegal stimulant drugs were found in a cargo ship that arrived at the Port of Tokyo from Hong Kong in January. (NHK)

Chiba Prefectural Police have launched a murder investigation after an 88-year-old woman was strangled to death in Katsuura City, reports the Sankei Shimbun (tokyoreporter.com)

An art installation featuring a telephone booth filled with water and dozens of goldfish will be removed from in front of a coffee shop in Nara Prefecture after an accusation of plagiarism, the local body managing the property said Wednesday. (Japan Times)

Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force has held a ceremony to mark the creation of a new command that has control over all GSDF units nationwide. (NHK)

Aichi Prefectural Police have arrested a staff member at the Transportation Bureau of Nagoya over the alleged possession of child pornography, reports the Sankei Shimbun (tokyoreporter.com)

Oita Prefectural Police have cited a driver of a vehicle for the Google Street View service for traveling in a restricted area of Oita City, reports the Mainichi Shimbun (tokyoreporter.com)

A member of the Japanese all-girl idol group AKB48 suffered a head injury on Sunday after tripping off the stage during a concert in Saitama near Tokyo, its management agency said. (Japan Today)

Nobuaki Kurumatani on Monday took office as the first chairman and CEO of Toshiba Corp to be appointed from outside the company in over 50 years. (Japan Today)

Japan’s whaling fleet returned on Saturday after catching more than 300 of the mammals in the Antarctic Ocean without interference from anti-whaling protests, officials said. (Japan Times)

A team of Japanese research institutes wants to hunt down the stem cells of human cancers by employing an ultra-precise observation sensor technology used in the Hitomi astronomy satellite. (Japan Times)

Kanagawa Prefectural Police have arrested a male employee at a welfare organization for allegedly molesting a middle school girl on a train in Chigasaki City, reports TBS News (tokyoreporter.com)

A railway that runs through Kamakura, a popular tourist spot near Tokyo, has launched a mobile app that provides information in 4 foreign languages. (NHK)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested three more suspected members of a fraud ring that swindled persons by falsely claiming that its sex business provided adult video (AV) actresses, reports TBS (tokyoreporter.com)

Sumo elder Takanohana, who was faulted for his absence from the most recent Spring Grand Sumo Tournament and lack of supervision of a wrestler from his stable, was handed a two-rank demotion by the Japan Sumo Association on Thursday. (Japan Today)

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has released its first estimate of maximum storm surges triggered by a super typhoon hitting Tokyo Bay. (NHK)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police earlier this month arrested the former husband of Ai Kago, an ex-member of pop group Morning Musume, on suspicion of fraud, reports the Mainichi Shimbun (tokyoreporter.com)

The Tokyo Midtown Hibiya shopping and entertainment complex opened for business Thursday in the capital’s arts district, connecting Japan’s key business, fashion and political areas. (Japan Times)

Aichi Prefectural Police on Wednesday arrested a 37-year-old man for dumping a body likely belonging to his father in a rice field in Kiyosu City, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Mar. 28). (tokyoreporter.com)

Organizers of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics have published a draft of application guidelines for people who want to volunteer to work at the Games. (NHK)

Four years after popular Tokyo-based bitcoin exchange MtGox was hacked and went bankrupt, the case still casts a shadow over the regulatory regime put in place to protect Japan's thriving cryptocurrency market. (Japan Today)