Masayuki Uemura, the lead architect for the breakthrough Nintendo Entertainment System and the Super NES, and a visiting professor at Ritsumeikan University, has died, the university said Thursday. He was 78. (Kyodok)

Fighter aircraft and tanks are conducting live-fire drills while a US multiple rocket system has been deployed as American and Japanese troops carry out one of their largest joint military drills in recent years. (South China Morning Post)

Police in Ryugasaki, Ibaraki Prefecture, have arrested a 62-year-old man on suspicion of attempted murder after he doused his 53-year-old wife with alcohol disinfectant and set fire to her. (Japan Today)

A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck the Tokara island chain in southern Japan on Thursday morning, local time. (NHK)

Born and raised in Japan, 4-year-old female giant panda Xiang Xiang was supposed to return to China by the end of this month, but the coronavirus pandemic has postponed her arrival again. (cgtn.com)

Health officials in Japan have confirmed the country's fourth case of the Omicron variant. (NHK)

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida vowed on Thursday to do his utmost to push for meaningful progress at a January meeting to review the Non-Proliferation Treaty and encourage action to rid the world of nuclear weapons. (kfgo.com)

Japan's Empress Masako on the occasion of her 58th birthday Thursday expressed hopes that her daughter Princess Aiko, who recently came of age, would "grow step by step" to successfully fulfill her duties as an adult member of the imperial family. (Kyodo)

Japanese billionaire Maezawa Yusaku has arrived at the International Space Station. The 46-year-old fashion entrepreneur and his assistant are the first Japanese private citizens to visit the Earth-orbiting station. (NHK)

The total amount of money circulating in Japan rose at the slowest annual pace in 19 months in November, as firms and households saw less need to hoard cash with the economy emerging from the initial shock caused by the COVID-19 crisis. (fxempire.com)

Advertisements for a sex toy company plastered over the ice at qualifiers for the Beijing Olympics curling competition have prompted Japanese public broadcaster NHK to pull matches off the air. (Japan Times)

As the Omicron variant takes hold around the world, Japan is shoring up its medical system to counter a possible next wave. (NHK)

Five Japanese firms have teamed up to build drones they say cannot be hijacked or have their data stolen. (NHK)

Japan will provide more than 300 billion yen ($2.6 billion) over the next three years to help developing nations address nutrition challenges as Tokyo bolsters its commitment to reducing hunger, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Tuesday. (Kyodo)

A group of nearly 100 Japanese lawmakers visited the Yasukuni Shrine – a controversial symbol of Japanese imperialism and a reminder of its wartime atrocities – on December 7, 2021. (South China Morning Post)

More than 200 earthquakes have hit southern Japan's Tokara island chain since Saturday. (NHK)

Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike said Tuesday that the metropolitan government will introduce a same-sex partnership system by the end of fiscal 2022 to officially recognize same-sex couples. An outline of the system will be presented within fiscal 2021, she said. (Japan Times)

In this video you will see the latest models of Japanese motorcycles. which premiered a few days ago in Italy, at the EICMA Motor Show. (Motor News)

Steamed rice is an essential part of Japanese cuisine. We go back to basics and refresh our memories so that we will be able to have the most important component of Japanese meals. (JapaneseCooking101)

Former Nissan Motor Co. Chairman Carlos Ghosn, who fled Japan in 2019 before facing trial over alleged financial misconduct, on Monday reiterated his innocence in a virtual press conference and criticized Japan's prosecution system as being blatantly discriminatory. (Kyodo)

The Japanese government says it has confirmed the country's third case of the Omicron coronavirus variant. (NHK)

Japan's household spending posted an annual drop for the third straight month in October, though the pace of decline slowed, as consumer sentiment struggled to stage a convincing recovery after coronavirus curbs ended. (Reuters)

Nobel Prize laureates who live in the US are being honored close to home. Syukuro Manabe, who was born in Japan, received his medal for the physics prize on Monday at a ceremony in Washington. (NHK)

Two day trip to one of the most popular and smelly onsen towns in Japan. Kusatsu Onsen is located in Gunma Prefecture. (Solo Travel Japan)

The US embassy in Tokyo has claimed that foreign tourists were being stopped by the Japanese Police in a suspected case of racial profiling. (wionews.com)