Many Japanese companies rushed Monday to secure business opportunities with the unveiling of the new imperial era name that will be used from May 1, preparing or releasing products inscribed with the two Chinese characters "Reiwa." (Kyodo)

New recruits marked their first day of work at companies and public offices across Japan on Monday, the start of the country's fiscal 2019 that coincided with the implementation of stricter overtime restrictions. (Kyodo)

A nursery worker has been arrested for allegedly stabbing a colleague to death in her apartment in Tokyo last week, police said. (Japan Times)

An avenue inside the Imperial Palace in central Tokyo has been opened to the public for cherry blossom viewing. The Imperial Household Agency says more than 40,000 people visited the street on Saturday. (NHK)

The number of people recognized as gangsters by police in Japan dropped to a record-low 30,500 in 2018 amid an intensified crackdown on organized crime, the National Police Agency said Thursday. (Kyodo)

Yokozuna Hakuho was summoned to explain himself on Thursday after leading an impromptu cheer following his victory at the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament. (Kyodo)

Cherry trees came into full bloom in central Tokyo on Wednesday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said, earlier than other cities in the country this spring amid recent warm weather. (Kyodo)

Famous for its dozens of Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples, including Kotoku-in with its Great Buddha statue, as well as its cozy cafes and charming shopping district, the seaside resort town of Kamakura, in Kanagawa Prefecture, is one of the most popular day-trip destinations for tourists in the Tokyo area, with over 20 million tourists visiting every year. (Japan Today)

About 80 percent of young eels put into aquaculture pools in Japan in December and January may have been smuggled from Taiwan via Hong Kong, according to trade data and sources close to the matter. (Kyodo)

Japanese researchers said Monday they have found the country's oldest known rock dating back 2.5 billion years in the western prefecture of Shimane, around 500 million years earlier than the previous oldest discovery. (Kyodo)

Princess Kako, the 24-year-old granddaughter of Emperor Akihito, expressed her wish for her sister's happiness in a written answer to the media on the occasion of her graduation from International Christian University in Tokyo on Friday. (Kyodo)

Cherry trees came into bloom Wednesday in the southwestern prefecture of Nagasaki, the first blooming of the "Somei Yoshino" variety in Japan this spring, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. (Japan Today)

As part of an effort to streamline markets and attract more investors, the Tokyo Stock Exchange may demote about a third of its largest listed companies and cut down the bourses it operates to three from four, according to media reports. (Japan Times)

Interest in a gigantic inflatable "kokeshi" Japanese doll in Kyoto ballooned recently on social media when local authorities requested exhibition organizers to display it lying on its side. (Kyodo)

An amusement park themed on the world of Finland's Moomin fairytale characters opened Saturday in Saitama Prefecture near Tokyo, aiming to attract 1 million visitors a year. (Kyodo)

Red Bull's Max Verstappen finished third at the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday, delivering a first Formula One podium for the team's engine manufacturer Honda since its return to the sport. (Kyodo)

Pierre Taki, a member of Japanese techno-pop duo Denki Groove and the Japanese voice of snowman Olaf in the hit Disney anime movie Frozen, was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of using cocaine, investigators said. (Kyodo)

The Supreme Court has finalized high court rulings ordering owners of television-capable cellphones to pay a subscription fee to public broadcaster NHK, Kyodo News learned Wednesday. (Japan Times)

The Japan leg of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic torch relay will start at a soccer facility in Fukushima Prefecture that is considered a symbol of the country's reconstruction from the 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster, organizing committee president Yoshiro Mori said Tuesday. (Kyodo)

The number of Japanese athletes at next year's Tokyo Olympics is expected to exceed 500 and could conceivably be one of the largest contingents in Olympic history, an informed source said Sunday. (Kyodo)

Kane Tanaka, a 116-year-old Japanese woman in the southwestern city of Fukuoka, has been recognized as the world's oldest living person, Guinness World Records said Saturday. (Kyodo)

Kumamon, the popular Japanese black bear-like mascot, will soon change its official Chinese name used in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan to better represent and promote Kumamoto, the southwestern prefecture said Thursday. (Kyodo)

Three areas in Japan have announced that they will bid to host newly legalized casino resorts, after a law was passed to make this possible. (newsonjapan.com)

A 30-year-old man was sent to prosecutors last week over the alleged smuggling of liquid cannabis from the U.S., reports Kyodo News (tokyoreporter.com)

A policeman was referred to prosecutors last week for allegedly driving at 145 kilometers per hour (approx. 90 miles per hour) near Tokyo in January while off duty in a rush to get to the dentist, police said Tuesday. (Kyodo)