The government said Tuesday it will launch large-scale control measures against fire ants at 68 ports that regularly receive containers from nations where the venomous, invasive species is commonly found. (Japan Times)

Yamanashi Prefectural Police have arrested a 66-year-old village councilman for the alleged possession of stimulant drugs, reports the Sankei Shimbun. (tokyoreporter.com)

Bic Camera will allow payments in bitcoin at all locations throughout Japan as early as this month, looking to provide more options for foreign and domestic shoppers. (Nikkei)

Biologists are calling for urgent nationwide action to prevent venomous fire ants from infesting Japan after the highly invasive species was spotted at several major ports, including Tokyo. (Japan Times)

Japan's potato supply is rebounding -- with wholesale and retail prices falling -- thanks to solid shipments from secondary producing regions starting in the spring. (Nikkei)

Public support for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has fallen to the lowest level of his premiership, opinion polls showed Monday, after scandals and a historic defeat of his ruling party in Tokyo elections. (Japan Today)

The 32-year-old chief executive of defunct MtGox pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to charges relating to the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of bitcoins and cash from what was once the world's biggest bitcoin exchange. (Japan Today)

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government on Monday kicked off a campaign to encourage residents to replace their incandescent lightbulbs with energy-efficient LED lighting for free. (Japan Times)

A man in his 50s, who was detained at a koban (police box) in Ota Ward, Tokyo, suddenly collapsed and died, police said Sunday. (Japan Today)

Chiba Prefectural Police have launched an investigation after a man who was found collapsed in Katori City on Sunday later died, reports Nippon News Network (tokyoreporter.com)

Shizuoka Prefectural Police have discovered a total of four knives in the possession of a male suspect and at the scene of a stabbing last week in Mishima City that left one person dead, reports the Jiji Press. (tokyoreporter.com)

Japanese actor Shu Nakajima, 69, has died after falling off the stage during a live performance in Tokyo, media reported Friday. (Japan Today)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police on Thursday revealed that a woman in Saitama Prefecture had visited police stations in the capital multiple times to confess to killing her husband, but was turned away each time, reports the Tokyo Shimbun. (tokyoreporter.com)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have launched an investigation following the death of an elderly man who was found collapsed in a bathtub in his residence in Suginami Ward on Friday, reports TV Asahi. (tokyoreporter.com)

A group of local assembly members in Tokyo and Saitama prefectures who have publicly identified their sexual-minority status said Thursday they launched an inter-assembly league to promote policies supporting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. (Japan Today)

Japan's oldest "love doll" manufacturer wants to strip the sex toys of their seedy image and encourage people to see them as works of art instead. (Japan Times)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have busted a specialty parlor in Taito Ward that is suspected of employing school girls for prostitution, reports Nikkan Sports. (tokyoreporter.com)

Employees at a garbage facility in Iga City are believed to have shredded 10,000-yen notes buried in a trash pile into hundreds of pieces on Monday, police have revealed, reports NHK (tokyoreporter.com)

Police in Tokyo said Tuesday have arrested a 61-year-old deliveryman on suspicion of stealing women's underwear and said they had found more than 1,000 items of women's lingerie and clothing at his home. (Japan Today)

Japan's blue chips managed to hold the line above 20,000 Tuesday despite North Korea's best efforts to rain on the parade. But the real test lies in whether the market value can last long beyond the 600 trillion yen ($5.29 trillion) barrier, which has proved the downfall of many a rally. (Nikkei)

More than half of freshly minted presidents at major Japanese enterprises in the first six months of this year were in their 50s, according to a Nikkei Inc. survey. (Nikkei)

Japan's panda-obsessed public got their latest fix of cute Tuesday as a Tokyo zoo released footage of its 20-day-old helpless cub, who has ballooned in size since its birth last month. (Japan Today)

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party suffered a historic defeat in Sunday's Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe intends to quickly get the Cabinet and the LDP back on their feet. (the-japan-news.com)

Chiba Prefectural Police suspect that an ongoing dispute in the criminal underworld is behind a shooting in Matsudo City, the fourth such incident over the past two months, reports NHK. (tokyoreporter.com)

Several female employees at Cool Japan Fund Inc, a public-private investment fund aimed at promoting Japanese culture and products overseas, claim they were sexually harassed by executives of the entity including a career bureaucrat on loan from the central government, sources familiar with the matter said Monday. (Japan Today)