At approximately 2:30 a.m. on 26 March in Nakama City, Fukuoka Prefecture, a man smashed through the fence of a yet-to-be-opened shop, and armed with two lights and a nylon net robbed the establishment of roughly 1.1 million yen (US$9,000) in merchandise. (soranews24.com)

Japan has finally launched formal discussions on how to secure a stable succession to the chrysanthemum throne amid a shrinking number of heirs, with options including allowing women or emperors from the maternal line to reign. (Japan Times)

In this video we dive into the history of samurai wielding firearms in feudal Japan with the help of Matt from the YouTube channel Gun Samurai! (The Shogunate)

Shin Okubo has many hidden spots for delicious food. ()

Osaka Prefecture says a record 666 new cases of the coronavirus were confirmed on Saturday. (NHK)

Princess Aiko, the only child of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, attended Gakushuin University’s online entrance ceremony Saturday as a second year student, after many universities canceled such ceremonies last year due to the coronavirus pandemic. (Japan Times)

Japan's sakura or cherry blossom season is feverishly anticipated by locals and visitors alike, although this year foreign tourists have been kept away by virus border restrictions. (INQUIRER.net)

A factory-sealed copy of Nintendo Co.’s Super Mario Bros. originally bought in 1986 has sold for $660,000 (about Y73.05 million) at U.S. auction house Heritage Auctions. (Japan Times)

SAKURA (cherry blossoms) season has arrived again this year. No matter what is going on in the world, the cherry blossoms always look beautiful. (Kimono Mom)

Love it or hate it, house hunting is a serious undertaking no matter what country you are in, and Japan is no exception. Planning a move to Kyoto meant it was the perfect opportunity to share with all of you just exactly what that experience is like. ()

Japan's financial services minister says regulators will look into the situation following warnings of massive losses by global banks. (NHK)

Cherry blossoms covering Mt. Yoshino, renowned for its 30,000 sakura trees of 200 varieties, in the western Japan prefecture of Nara reached their peak blooms Friday, 10 days earlier than usual. (Kyodo)

The government on Thursday decided a new policy of providing different amounts of aid to eating and drinking facilities that accept requests to cut opening hours in areas under states of emergency related to COVID-19, or new countermeasures against the disease, based on the size of their operations. (Japan Times)

The price of cooking oil in Japan, which is indispensable for tempura, has risen sharply due to an increase in demand for soybeans and rapeseed. (JapanNutrition.com)

The Meteorological Agency has stopped using the term “aftershocks” for strong earthquakes occurring in areas around the focus of the Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011, which devastated Japan’s northeast. (Japan Times)

High school and university students in Japan have started a weekly walkout from school to call for action to address climate change. (NHK)

Japanese Nobel laureate Akasaki Isamu died on Thursday at the age of 92. He was awarded the 2014 physics prize with two other Japanese scientists for inventing blue-light-emitting diodes. (NHK)

The head of the Japanese government's advisory panel on the coronavirus response has said its top priority is preventing a rebound in new infections until around June, when local governments will likely have received enough vaccine doses for their elderly citizens. (NHK)

Masahiro Kawase is a 48-year-old office worker who suffered a stroke six years ago and is paralyzed on his left side. However, in Saitama Prefecture custom dictates that everyone who rides an escalator stands on the left and walks – or in some cases runs – up the right side. (soranews24.com)

Strategic Japan is a CSIS Japan Chair initiative to introduce research from Japanese scholars highlighting potential areas for enhanced cooperation between the United States and Japan. (Center for Strategic & International Studies)

Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide has used his official Twitter account to call on the country's young people to observe anti-coronavirus measures. (NHK)

All Nippon Airways looks to sate the curiosity of those who wish to dine in the first-class cabin, debuting a service that raises revenue even while the planes remain grounded during the coronavirus pandemic. (Nikkei)

Foreign tourists in Japan spent 744.6 billion yen ($6.7 billion) in 2020, the lowest since the survey began in 2010, as the coronavirus pandemic has led to restrictions on entry into the country, a government estimate showed Wednesday. (Kyodo)

Japanese firm Hitachi has made a major acquisition to boost its information technology business overseas. The company will buy US software developer GlobalLogic for 9.6 billion dollars. (NHK)

Osaka, Japan - Streptococcus pyogenes is one of the most important bacterial causes of human skin infections. If S. pyogenes invades deep into the tissue, it can cause life-threatening illnesses, such as sepsis and toxic shock. With its limited supply of carbohydrates, the skin is generally an effective barrier against infection and not a good surface for the survival of S. pyogenes. To survive successfully and invade deep into the tissue, bacteria must be able to find a source of nutrients and also evade the skin's immune defenses. (eurekalert.org)