Kyoto University tied the University of Tokyo --- moving up two spots from last year --- for first place in the ranking of Japanese universities by Times Higher Education magazine. (Japan Times)

Land prices in Japan's three biggest cities and their surrounding urban areas have increased for a fifth straight year. Prices are also starting to rise in the rest of the country, for the first time in 26 years. (NHK)

The Tokyo High Court on Monday overturned a lower court ruling and said the owner of a cellphone with a mobile TV function is obliged to pay the NHK subscription fee. (Japan Times)

Mild panic broke out at approximately 1:20 p.m. on 23 March at the Arakawa Amusement Park in Arakawa Ward, Tokyo. (soranews24.com)

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe invited former US President Barack Obama to a sushi restaurant in Tokyo on Sunday. (NHK)

Springtime cherry blossoms are drawing crowds of sightseers to the Imperial Palace in central Tokyo. (NHK)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a female Korean national for allegedly dumping the corpse of her newborn baby boy in the Kabukicho red-light district of Shinjuku Ward last year, reports the Sankei Shimbun (tokyoreporter.com)

Chiba Prefectural Police on Friday referred a 33-year-old motorcyclist to prosecutors for allegedly hitting a speed of 239 kilometers per hour on an expressway near Tokyo last year, reports TV Asahi (tokyoreporter.com)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a 20-year-old man for allegedly assaulting a high school girl in an attempt to steal her underwear in Kita Ward, reports the Sankei Shimbun (tokyoreporter.com)

Tokyo Customs and the conservation group WWF Japan launched a campaign Friday to warn foreign visitors about traveling with souvenirs made from ivory, notifying them that it is illegal to depart with such products. (Japan Today)

In a move that may touch off a realignment in the cryptocurrency exchange business, Yahoo Japan next month will acquire 40% of operator BitARG Exchange Tokyo, then launch a full-blown exchange in April 2019 or later. (Nikkei)

ANA Holdings Inc, Japan's biggest airline by revenue, said on Thursday it would merge its units Peach Aviation and Vanilla Air by March 2020, to sharpen the competitive edge of its budget carrier business and tap growing travel demand in Asia. (Japan Today)

A court in Japan has sentenced a former care worker to death for killing 3 elderly residents at a nursing home in Kawasaki, near Tokyo. (NHK)

Across the country delicate pink and white cherry blossoms are emerging, but the famed blooms are facing a potentially mortal enemy, experts say: an invasive foreign beetle. (Japan Times)

Police on Thursday served another arrest warrant on a 27-year-old man over the murder of a high school girl last year - the 10th arrest warrant to be served on the suspect, who has admitted to killing and dismembering nine people at his apartment near Tokyo. (Japan Times)

Many foreign tourists to Japan often wonder why public transportation, especially in areas of Tokyo renowned for their nightlife, is so limited after the last trains of the night. (Kyodo)

Japanese condom-makers are ramping up preparations ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, seeing a golden opportunity to showcase their world-record ultrathin products. (Japan Times)

Japan will need the equivalent of 1,600 Tokyo Domes to store rubble and debris produced from a long-anticipated huge earthquake along the Nankai Trough off the Pacific coast, according to an estimate. (Asahi)

After months of cold weather, which brought the heaviest snowfall in four years to Tokyo back in January, the days finally began warming up in the capital last week, with sunny skies and temperatures reaching highs of 22 degrees Celsius (71.6 degrees Fahrenheit). (soranews24.com)

A female zookeeper at Ueno Zoological Gardens in Tokyo sustained injuries Tuesday after a gorilla bit her right arm, police said. (Japan Today)

A Somei-Yoshino cherry tree being monitored in Kochi reached full bloom on Monday, the Metrological Agency said. (Japan Times)

A 23-year-old female police officer has been sent to prosecutors on Monday after it was learned that she leaked information related to investigations to her boyfriend, who is a member of a criminal syndicate, reports the Sankei Shimbun. (tokyoreporter.com)

Spain's surprise 18-10 defeat at the hands of Belgium in the Rugby Europe Championship on Sunday allowed Romania to qualify for the 2019 World Cup, setting up a tournament-opening match against host Japan. (Japan Times)

Japan aims to speed space startups toward the final frontier by offering monetary aid from a pool of 100 billion yen ($940 million), as well as creating a human resource hub and weighing a legal path for commercial development on the moon. (Nikkei)

Singapore remains the world's most expensive city for the fifth consecutive year, with Paris, Zurich and Hong Kong following closely behind, according to the Worldwide Cost of Living Survey published on Thursday. (Japan Times)