Be a part of the mayhem at the world’s biggest Minion Park! (Cow Missing)

A group of researchers in Japan says its animal experiments have suggested that the Omicron variant of the coronavirus may be less pathogenic than Delta. (NHK)

Japan's health ministry says healthy life expectancy for men and women in the country has hit record highs. (NHK)

Japan's government has compiled a plan to address any reputational damage to industries after water from a crippled nuclear power plant is released into the ocean. (NHK)

Japan's superstar figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu earned a place at the Beijing Winter Olympics where he will be going for his third straight gold in men's singles after winning his sixth national title. ( CGTN Sports Scene)

Japan’s policy on in-flight omicron close contacts was brought into line with the definition for other coronavirus infections on Tuesday — two rows in front of and behind where the infected person was sitting — amid concerns that the central and local governments would run out of quarantine facilities for close contacts. (Japan Times)

Morio Tanimoto, the 61-year-old suspect in a deadly arson attack at a mental health clinic in the city of Osaka earlier this month, suffered severe brain damage in the incident, investigative sources said Monday. (Japan Times)

NHK has learned that laboratory tests in Japan show that two coronavirus vaccine shots are far less effective against the Omicron variant than the Delta variant. (NHK)

When the earthquake and tsunami of Fukushima struck Japan in March 2011, the devastation was compounded by resulting explosions and radiation leaks at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. (Wondrium)

The year-end and New Year’s shopping blitz is lacking steam in Japan due to stalled goods production blamed on shortages of semiconductors and other parts and components. (Japan Times)

Students applying to enter public high schools from next spring will no longer be required to specify their gender on the application form in all of Japan's 47 prefectures except Tokyo, local education boards said as of Sunday. (Kyodo)

A strong cold air mass brought record snows to wide areas in western and northern Japan on Monday. (NHK)

If you were to pass by Chiyomi Sawa on the street, you might just assume she’s like any other 72-year-old grandmother. However, her short and rotund frame that could easily be confused for fat actually contains the raw muscle power of a 19-time World Bench Press Champion. (soranews24.com)

It's a bus, it's a train, it's a DMV! The world's first dual-mode vehicle, equally at home on road and rail, is set to make its public debut on December 25 in the town of Kaiyo in Japan's Tokushima prefecture. ( INQUIRER.net)

A group of guests took a free bus shuttle to the 'Disaster Prevention Underground Temple', famous worldwide for its unique architectural style, as seen in the footage filmed in Kasukabe, in the Saitama prefecture, at the outskirts of Tokyo, on Saturday. (Ruptly)

A 37-year-old former police sergeant in Tenri, Nara Prefecture, has been referred to prosecutors on a charge of violating the public nuisance prevention law after he was arrested for groping two high school girls while on trains. (Japan Today)

Japanese weather officials say a severe cold air mass is bringing heavy snow to wide areas along the Sea of Japan. (NHK)

Japanese officials are on high alert as the Omicron coronavirus variant has started spreading in communities. (NHK)

A total of 74.2% of those who graduated from college in Japan this March found jobs, down 3.5 percentage points from the previous year for the second straight yearly fall amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to government data. (Japan Times)

I tried Suite Class on a small Japanese local ferry from Hakata to Fukue. (Solo Travel Japan)

Forget turkey, stuffing and brussels sprouts -- in Japan, the most popular food to eat at Christmas is an American favourite: fried chicken from fast-food giant KFC. "If I don't eat KFC chicken, I don't feel the Christmas spirit," says one student. (AFP News Agency)

You don’t have to look far to find evidence of Wada’s centuries-old connection to whaling. (theguardian.com)

More than half of single-parent households in Japan struggle financially while 30 percent have experienced being unable to afford food, results of the first government survey on child poverty showed Friday. (Kyodo)

Akihabara gained the nickname Akihabara Electric Town shortly after World War II for being a major shopping center for household electronic goods and the post-war black market. (Totally Drew)

Japan's health ministry has authorized the use of an oral COVID-19 drug developed by US pharmaceutical firm Merck. (NHK)