An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.3 rattled southwestern Japan on early Sunday but no tsunami warning was issued, the weather agency said. (Kyodo)

When 21-year-old Cuban outfielder Oscar Colas turned up in the Dominican Republic in January, he hoped to leave both his homeland and Japan's SoftBank Hawks behind him as a new baseball future in America beckoned. (Kyodo)

A 94-year-old amusement park Toshimaen in Tokyo will be closed at the end of August, its owner said Friday, and part of the site will be used for a new theme park based on the Harry Potter films, due to open in the first half of 2023. (Kyodo)

Chubu airport in central Japan will resume some international flights from next Tuesday after operations were suspended for more than two months due to the spread of the novel coronavirus, the operator said Thursday. (Kyodo)

The Japan High School Baseball Federation said Wednesday they will hold a series of games at Koshien Stadium in August between teams that had been selected for the cancelled spring invitational high school baseball championship. (Kyodo)

The stock of large Pacific bluefin tuna, a popular fish for sushi but for which concerns remain over its depletion, has been projected to meet an international recovery target of around 40,000 tons by 2024, sources familiar with the matter said Sunday. (Kyodo)

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government confirmed 14 new coronavirus cases Sunday, marking the seventh strait day the number of new infections was in the double-digits, media reports said. (Japan Times)

A Japanese district court on Thursday rejected a request by a man to overturn a prefectural commission's decision deeming him ineligible for victims' compensation as a surviving family member after his same-sex partner was murdered. (Kyodo)

A western Japan city initially excluded people with no bank account from the blanket cash handout program as part of the central government's coronavirus response on the assumption that most such citizens belong to organized crime groups. (Kyodo)

Finance Minister Taro Aso said Thursday that Japan's relatively low mortality rate from the new coronavirus reflects the country's higher "level of social manners." (Kyodo)

A 23-year-old university student was arrested Thursday in connection with the killing of three members of his family with arrows fired from a crossbow at his home in Hyogo, western Japan, police said. (Kyodo)

Organizers of the 2020 Olympics and the Tokyo metropolitan government are moving away from holding celebrations this summer to mark one year before the delayed Olympics open, a source with knowledge of the matter said Thursday. (Kyodo)

The Chinese government has stepped up the number of visas being issued to Japanese citizens after limiting it for months following the coronavirus pandemic, a diplomatic source familiar with bilateral ties said Wednesday. (Kyodo)

A 54-year-old man in custody for alleged illicit filming has been arrested again on suspicion of theft of a school girl’s uniform, police said on Tuesday, reports Kyodo News (June 2). (tokyoreporter.com)

Many tourist spots across Japan reopened Monday, a week after the full lifting of a state of emergency, with precautions in place against the novel coronavirus amid growing concern over a second wave of infections. (Kyodo)

A national university in northeastern Japan on Monday ended in principle the long-standing custom of requiring documents be stamped with seals, in a bid to promote workplace efficiency and teleworking among its staff. (Kyodo)

Top favorite Contrail remained on track to win the Japanese triple crown this year after blowing past the field in the 87th running of the Japanese Derby on Sunday. (Kyodo)

The number of foreigners staying in Japan under a new visa for workers with specified skills totaled 3,987 as of the end of March, less than a tenth of the maximum set by the government in the first year of its introduction, immigration authorities said Friday. (Kyodo)

The operator of Tokyo Skytree, a popular tourist destination in the Japanese capital, said Friday it will reopen the landmark tower on Monday after a three-month closure due to the spread of coronavirus infections. (Kyodo)

Fuji Television will terminate the latest series in its popular reality show "Terrace House," the Japanese broadcaster said Wednesday, four days after one of its cast members was found dead in a suspected suicide believed to have links with cyber-bullying fueled by her behavior in an episode. (Kyodo)

The Japanese government is looking to revive the tourism industry, a key driver of the economy that has been battered by the novel coronavirus pandemic, by paying for people to go on vacation in the country. (Kyodo)

The threat of sexual harassment is an all-too-real concern for Japan's student job hunters, and it is sometimes university alumni who use promises of patronage to abuse their position of trust. (Japan Today)

Two new coronavirus infections were reported in Tokyo on Saturday, the lowest single-day tally since Japan declared a state of emergency last month, as the government prepares to lift restrictions on the capital and four other prefectures. (Kyodo)

At least one-third of 86 hospitals designated by the Japanese government to provide advanced treatment have been forced to suspend part of their services such as elective surgeries and emergency care to make room for treatment of new coronavirus patients, a recent Kyodo News survey showed. (Japan Today)

Japan on Friday included 11 more countries, including India, on its travel advisory list as part of measures against the novel coronavirus pandemic. (aa.com)