Mongolian grand champion Hakuho said Monday he wants to give himself a treat for the feats he accomplished at the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament. (Kyodo)

Pricier and bigger new iPhone models made their market debut in Japan on Friday, with the country's three leading mobile carriers starting sales of the XS Max and the XS that have faster processors and feature better battery life and improved camera functions. (Kyodo)

The Japanese organizer of the World Cup sailing competition has been criticized for including a dolphin show in the opening ceremony of the event, which doubles as the first test competition for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics Games. (Kyodo)

Naomi Osaka became the first Japanese to win a Grand Slam tennis singles title Sunday at the U.S. Open, sparking celebrations among her family and compatriots. (Kyodo)

Crown Prince Naruhito said Wednesday he hopes to build the image of the next emperor by respecting the way his father engages in duties, as he is set to ascend the throne in May. (Kyodo)

A record amount of cocaine was seized from a freighter that arrived at the Port of Yokohama earlier this month, customs officials said on Friday, reports Kyodo News (tokyoreporter.com)

Keio University senior Kanako Date is Japan's representative to the Miss World 2018 competition to be held on China's Hainan Island from Nov. 9 to Dec. 8. (Kyodo)

The parents of Princess Mako of Japan have informed the mother of her commoner fiancé that they will not permit the wedding to go ahead until a financial dispute within his family is solved. (smh.com.au)

Local organizers announced the road cycling courses for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics on Thursday and declared them "extremely difficult." (Kyodo)

Hotel Okura Tokyo, the flagship hotel of one of Japan's top hotel chain operators, has been fully booked during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics thanks to stays by officials connected with the International Olympic Committee. (Kyodo)

Mobile carrier NTT Docomo Inc. said Thursday it plans to review its two-year smartphone contracts by next March, a day after rival KDDI Corp. pledged to change its contracts in response to government warnings. (Kyodo)

Japanese officials issued new warnings Monday as a deadly heatwave blankets the country, producing record high temperatures in Tokyo just two years before the city hosts the 2020 Summer Olympics. (Japan Today)

The Legoland Japan theme park in the central Japanese city of Nagoya will lower its admission fee for children, its operator said Wednesday, following complaints about high ticket prices. (Kyodo)

Japan was the top destination for otters recovered from smugglers in Southeast Asia between 2015 and 2017, with experts pointing to the species' growing popularity as pets in the country, according to a recent survey by a wildlife monitoring group. (Kyodo)

Five people died and more than 1,500 others were taken to hospitals for heat exhaustion, as a heat wave covered Japan on Saturday, a Kyodo News tally showed. (Japan Today)

Authorities say the death toll from the record rainfall that pounded western Japan has climbed to 193. Another 47 people are still missing. Authorities say 5 people are without vital signs. (NHK)

A small eruption has been confirmed on an uninhabited island in the Pacific around 1,000 kilometers south of Tokyo, the weather agency said Thursday. (Kyodo)

Yokozuna Hakuho, who was seeking to extend his record championship haul to 41, pulled out of the ongoing Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament on Wednesday due to a right knee injury. (Kyodo)

ANA Holdings Inc. said Monday it will cancel 176 domestic flights between Friday and July 22 to inspect Rolls-Royce engines on Boeing 787 aircraft, after calling off 113 domestic flights for July for the same reason. (Kyodo)

A Japanese court sentenced the former head of a parents' group at an elementary school near Tokyo to life in prison on Friday over the 2017 murder of a 9-year-old Vietnamese girl who attended the school. (Kyodo)

An agency whose clients include the popular Japanese dancing and singing group EXILE has been found to have failed to declare about 300 million yen ($2.7 million) in income for the four years through March 2017, a source close to the matter said Thursday. (Kyodo)

Japan captain Makoto Hasebe announced Tuesday he is retiring from the national team, a day after Samurai Blue were knocked out of the Russia World Cup by Belgium. (Kyodo)

A "devastated" Japan head coach Akira Nishino took the blame for the 3-2 loss to Belgium that knocked his team out of the World Cup on Monday, saying he made tactical errors. (Kyodo)

Japan head coach Akira Nishino revealed Saturday that he apologized to his players for making them hold onto the ball and avoid attacking late in their final World Cup group game against Poland, in a tactical move which saw them loudly jeered by spectators. (Kyodo)

Legoland Japan unveiled Thursday a water play area -- an attraction added to the amusement park for the first time since opening in April 2017 -- as the park operator hopes to boost the number of visitors during the summer break. (Kyodok)