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)

The world's largest Muji store, slated to open in Osaka on Tuesday, will prominently feature pricey seafood, such as freshly caught sea bream and Japanese spiny lobster, part of a strategy aimed at promoting a high-quality image. (Nikkei)

More than two decades after Japan's Aum Shinrikyo cult plunged Tokyo into terror by releasing a nerve agent on rush-hour subway trains, its spinoffs continue to attract new followers. (Japan Today)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a 29-year-old man over the fatal stabbing of his girlfriend in Tama City on Friday, reports Nippon News Network. (tokyoreporter.com)

Investigative sources with law enforcement revealed on Saturday that popular adult video (AV) actress Nozomi Aso has been arrested again on drug-related charges, reports the Sankei Sports. (tokyoreporter.com)

A group of men boarded the women-only car of the Chiyoda Line subway in Tokyo during the morning commute on Feb. 16 as a form of protest, saying that excluding men was a form of discrimination. (Japan Times)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police plan to arrest a man claiming to be the former boyfriend of a woman found stabbed to death in Tama City on Friday, reports the Mainichi Shimbun (tokyoreporter.com)

Barack Obama's office says the former US President will arrive in Japan on March 25. It will be Obama's first trip to the country since his presidency ended. (NHK)

Japan's Meteorological Agency announced on Saturday the official start of Tokyo's annual cherry blossom season. (NHK)

A blackmail letter has been sent to a restaurant owned by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's wife, Akie. (NHK)

Prices of school uniforms are on the rise in Japan, due to sharply climbing wool prices and changing fashion trends in neighboring China. (Nikkei)

The government on Friday announced a total ban on technical trainees from abroad carrying out work to decontaminate areas tainted with radioactive material. (Japan Times)

Prizewinning Japanese actress Rie Miyazawa and Go Morita, member of Japanese male idol group V6, announced Friday that they have married. (Japan Today)

Smartphone users in Japan may soon start enjoying a faster and easier shopping experience. The country's 3 major banks say they're going to join hands to standardize a single payment system using QR code. (NHK)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a 24-year-old man who is suspected of swindling multiple women by posing as the son of the president of a talent agency, reports Nippon News Network (tokyoreporter.com)

The Fair Trade Commission has raided the headquarters of Amazon Japan in Tokyo on suspicion of possible anti-trust violation. (NHK)

Overseas investors were net sellers of Japanese equities for the ninth straight week through March 9 as a strong yen and U.S. President Donald Trump's protectionist policies rattled markets. (Nikkei)

A 31-year-old former medical student has been sentenced to seven years in prison for the attempted murder of a 41-year-old dentist at Tokyo Medical and Dental University in Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward last May. (Japan Today)

A high court scrapped a lower court ruling Wednesday, acquitting an elevator maintenance company chairman and two others over an elevator accident in 2006 that killed a 16-year-old boy in Tokyo. (Japan Today)

Students may no longer need blackboards and notebooks. Starting in April, a junior high school in Tokyo will feature a digital classroom. (NHK)

The Tokyo District Court on Tuesday ordered restaurant chain operator Foods Forus Co. to pay ¥169 million ($1.58 million) to the families of three victims who died from food poisoning after eating raw meat at one of its barbecue restaurants in 2011. (Japan Times)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police are hunting for the male perpetrator who attacked a teenage girl with a hammer at a rail station in Koto Ward on Monday, reports Jiji Press (tokyoreporter.com)

The operator of Narita airport agreed Tuesday with the Chiba Prefectural Government, surrounding municipalities and the transport ministry on a plan to expand the hours for landings and takeoffs in bid to enhance the functions of the international gateway - but some nearby residents are concerned about increased noise. (Japan Times)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have sent three persons, including a 16-year-old girl, to prosecutors over a stunt in which they uploaded footage of her having her chest fondled by passersby in front of JR Shibuya Station to YouTube, reports the Sankei Shimbun (tokyoreporter.com)