Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a former organized crime member who is the suspected leader of a fraud ring operating in the Kanto area, reports NHK (tokyoreporter.com)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a 35-year-old man who killed a male acquaintance with a vehicle while attempting to flee police questioning in Shinjuku Ward early Saturday, reports TV Asahi. (tokyoreporter.com)

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and new US Ambassador to Japan William Hagerty have agreed to strengthen ties amid rising tensions with North Korea. (NHK)

A Hokkaido-based "kaiten" or conveyor-belt sushi shop chain has received the highest rating in the Oricon Japanese Customer Satisfaction Ranking (Rotary Sushi Division), beating out larger and more famous chains, such as Sushiro and Hama Sushi. (seafoodsource.com)

Japan's core consumer prices were expected to show their seventh straight month of annual increases in July, a Reuters poll found, offering the central bank some hope a strengthening economic recovery will gradually lift inflation toward its 2 percent target. (Reuters)

Legoland Japan said Friday it will start giving free one-day tickets to visitors who purchase one-day or one-day family passes to the theme park. (Japan Times)

Osaka Prefectural Police have arrested a man in the slashing of a male acquaintance with a Japanese sword in Kishiwada City on Thursday, reports the Mainichi Broadcasting System. (tokyoreporter.com)

Big hair, leather jackets and a touch of danger -- these were photographer Denny Renshaw's first impressions of Japan's "Roller-Zoku" gangs. (CNN)

The Japanese government has confirmed that all of its citizens in South Korea can be admitted to shelters designated by the South Korean government, should North Korea launch an attack on the South. (the-japan-news.com)

A nonprofit organization based in Tokyo plans to identify the resting place of the Battleship Hiei (see below), which sank off the island of Guadalcanal during one of the fiercest battles of World War II. (the-japan-news.com)

Organizers of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics are discussing a plan to establish "festival squares" in three locations in Tokyo, where people without tickets can enjoy the vibrant atmosphere of the Games through public viewing events and other gatherings during the competition. (the-japan-news.com)

From beer gardens on the rooftops of department stores to fireworks extravaganzas to quiet, wood-paneled craft breweries, Japanese seem to quaff an awful lot of beer in the summer. (dailymail.co.uk)

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made a tamagushi ritual offering at his own expense to Yasukuni Shrine on Tuesday, the 72nd anniversary of the end of World War II. (the-japan-news.com)

Japan's cautious consumers are starting to loosen up, spending more on cars and home appliances and offering hope that domestic demand - and not just exports - will be strong enough to reflate an economy that has been sluggish for many years. (Japan Today)

Kumamoto Prefectural Police have arrested the 30-year-old male manager of a talent agency over the alleged sexual assault of an intoxicated teenage girl in Kumamoto City, reports Nippon News Network. (tokyoreporter.com)

Citizens in Japan have been observing the 72nd anniversary of the end of World War Two. August 15th is the day Japan commemorates the end of the war. (NHK)

A giant panda cub at Tokyo's Ueno Zoo is growing steadily 2 months after her birth. (NHK)

Japanese supermarket chains are trying to lure elderly shoppers, by offering mahjong parlors, health counseling, and other services specifically for these customers. (NHK)

An elderly woman sorting trash at an onsen hot springs resort area in Kaga City found 20 million yen, police said on Monday, reports Jiji Press (Aug. 15). (tokyoreporter.com)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a 24-year-old university student after a robbery at a supermarket in Higashi-Murayama City left a female customer injured on Saturday, reports TBS News. (tokyoreporter.com)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a 46-year-old driver for a tour bus company in Aichi Prefecture who has admitted to using illegal drugs for more than two decades, reports Nippon News Network. (tokyoreporter.com)

Kanagawa Prefectural Police have arrested a male employee of All Nippon Airways (ANA) for allegedly molesting a teenage girl on a train in Kawasaki City last year, reports NHK. (tokyoreporter.com)

A 21-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of assault after he beat a 55-year-old man unconsciousness following a dispute outside JR Kameido Station in Tokyo's Koto Ward. (Japan Today)

Three workmen fell to their deaths at a building construction site in Tokyo's Marunouchi district on Friday. (Japan Today)

The Justice Ministry intends to introduce a videophone-based interpretation system for foreign nationals in prisons and detention centers. (the-japan-news.com)