An increasing number of local governments are planning to introduce a lodging tax to finance tourism promotion and ease the load on infrastructure amid record-breaking arrivals of travelers from abroad. (Japan Times)

A Japan Airlines plane bound for New York made an emergency landing at Tokyo’s Haneda airport Tuesday due to engine trouble apparently stemming from a bird strike, the transport ministry and airline operator said. (Japan Times)

Two teenage students apparently committed suicide following the start of the new school term. (NHK)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a 24-year-old man who is suspected in dozens of bag-snatching incidents in the Kanto area, reports TV Asahi. (tokyoreporter.com)

Japanese telecommunications equipment maker Yupiteru Corp. said Monday it will recall a total of 85,000 units of a dashboard camera model and replace its lithium battery free of charge due to fire risk. (Japan Times)

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has issued a warning to all bus companies due to multiple incidents of expressway buses being parked for prolonged hours within the vicinity of the Shinjuku Expressway Bus Terminal near Shinjuku train station. (Japan Today)

KFC got our hearts all aflutter twice in 2016. In the spring, we visited its branch in the Takadanobaba neighborhood of Tokyo, which in the evening serves not only fried chicken but also beer and cocktails, and a few months after that the chain announced an all-you-can eat fried chicken deal. (rocketnews24.com)

Osaka Prefectural Police have arrested a 65-year-old woman who is suspected of abandoning a body believed to belong to her sister at a residence in Kadoma City over two years ago, reports TV Asahi (tokyoreporter.com)

Chiba Prefectural Police have arrested two women in the quick-strike theft of nearly two billion yen from ATMs nationwide last year, reports TV Asahi. (tokyoreporter.com)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a 31-year-old company employee for allegedly splashing bodily fluid on a school girl in Katsushika Ward earlier this year, reports TBS News. (tokyoreporter.com)

As Japan's schools reopened Friday after summer holidays, a day when suicides among young people spike, celebrities reached out to at-risk children and one Tokyo zoo offered refuge to nervous pupils in a bid to tackle the mental health crisis. (Japan Today)

Police on Friday night captured a male Vietnamese national in Saitama Prefecture who eluded custody in Gunma Prefecture the day before, reports TBS News (tokyoreporter.com)

Police arrested a 19-year-old male Thursday for allegedly stabbing and seriously injuring his 18-year-old girlfriend in Tokyo the previous day. (Japan Today)

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his British counterpart, Theresa May, have released joint statements on security and economic cooperation after their talks in Tokyo. (NHK)

Chiba Prefectural Police have arrested a male temporary worker in Narita City suspected in the abuse of everal cats, video footage of which was posted online, reports the Asahi Shimbun. (tokyoreporter.com)

Twenty-four-hour gyms are proving popular not only in the cities but also in the suburbs, giving busy workers a cheaper option to exercise. (Japan Times)

Ammunition and a hand grenade were found in garbage brought into a waste-processing facility on the island of Amami Oshima last week, reports TV Asahi (tokyoreporter.com)

The parents of a 27-year-old former part-time city worker who committed suicide in 2015 filed a lawsuit Tuesday demanding ¥13 million in compensation from the Kitakyushu Municipal Government, claiming their daughter was overworked and harassed by a supervisor. (Japan Times)

Investigative sources with the Tokyo Metropolitan Police revealed on Wednesday that security camera footage shows a man suspected in the murder of his 26-year-old former girlfriend carrying a suitcase, possibly containing her body, out of the residence they shared, reports Nippon News Network (tokyoreporter.com)

Police divisions from Tokyo and Ibaraki Prefecture on Wednesday announced the arrest of five persons, including an organized crime member, and seizure of more than 30 billion yen in stimulant drugs in the bust of a suspected trafficking ring. The seizure is the largest confiscation nationwide this year, police said, reports Jiji Press (tokyoreporter.com)

Hotel occupancy rates of leading hotels in Tokyo are sliding despite high inbound tourist numbers, owing to the rapid rise of competitors such as new hotels and home-sharing services. (Nikkei)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a 52-year-old male tax counselor from Saitama City, Saitama Prefecture for allegedly killing stray cats, video footage of which was posted online, reports the Sankei Shimbun (tokyoreporter.com)

Sea Shepherd has pulled the plug on its decade-long mission to stop Japanese whalers in the Southern Ocean, saying it can't match the economic and technological power of the government in Tokyo. (9news.com.au)

Investigative sources with the Tokyo Metropolitan Police revealed on Monday that a man undergoing questioning over the disappearance of his 26-year-old former girlfriend, who was later found dead, has committed suicide, reports the Sankei Shimbun (tokyoreporter.com)

At the opening of the trial of a male Chinese national accused of killing his wife and dumping her body inside a suitcase last year, the defendant denied an "intent to kill," reports TBS News. (tokyoreporter.com)