Sakae Menda, the first person in Japan to have been released from death row after winning acquittal in a retrial, died Saturday of natural causes at a home for the elderly in Fukuoka Prefecture, southwestern Japan, his family said. He was 95. (Japan Today)

A Japanese capsule carrying the first samples of asteroid subsurface shot across the night atmosphere early Sunday before successfully landing in the remote Australian outback, completing a mission to provide clues to the origin of the solar system and life on Earth. (Japan Today)

Police in Nagoya have arrested a 29-year-old unemployed man on suspicion of robbery and assault after he stole 128,000 yen from a pizza store and injured an employee with a knife last week. (Japan Today)

A remote island in Tokyo has been recognized by an international organization as an "International Dark Sky Park" because of its starry night skies. (NHK)

Across multiple posts in September, Noa Tsukino, 18, made her suicidal thoughts known to her social media followers. (Japan Times)

The final volume in book form of the Japanese hit manga series "Kimetsu no Yaiba," or "Demon Slayer," has been released, attracting many fans to bookshops. (NHK)

"Demon Slayer" keeps booming, arousing expectations that what began as a manga series will create 200 billion yen ($1.92 billion) or more in economic effects in Japan. (Nikkei)

Japanese scientists say the space probe Hayabusa2 has successfully released a capsule which is expected to re-enter Earth's atmosphere. (NHK)

Japan's parliament on Friday completed ratification of a free trade deal with the U.K., a key move for supporting Japanese auto companies, railcar makers and other industrial groups through Britain's looming exit from the European Union. (Nikkei)

Kei Nishikori hopes to be back on court playing against the best in the world next year after his 2020 season was wrecked by COVID-19 and injury. (Japan Today)

The Tsukiji Hongwanji Buddhist temple in the Japanese capital Tokyo has started offering matchmaking services for singles. (South China Morning Post)

Following a year of seemingly apocalyptic events from deadly fires to global social unrest to the COVID-19 pandemic alongside rising geopolitical tension, canceling next year's Olympic and Paralympic Games would inflict further misery on the world. (Nikkei)

Seattle Mariners special assistant Ichiro Suzuki concluded his high school coaching debut on Friday after three days as a special instructor with schoolboy baseball powerhouse Chiben Wakayama in western Japan. (Kyodo)

A court in western Japan has nullified regulatory approval for the operation of two nuclear reactors in the first such decision since regulations were tightened following the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident. (NHK)

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced Friday a 2 trillion yen ($19.2 billion) fund to assist ambitious green projects over the next decade as part of additional stimulus measures in response to COVID-19. (Nikkei)

The government plans to distribute additional benefits of Y50,000 in principle to each low-income single-parent household by the end of the year, informed sources said Friday. (Japan Times)

Japanese scientists are making final preparations to retrieve a capsule that will be released from Japan's space probe Hayabusa2. The capsule is scheduled to land on a desert in Australia early on Sunday, local time. (NHK)

Hospital beds available for COVID-19 patients with severe symptoms are filling up quickly in Osaka Prefecture, with occupancy topping 60%, raising fears that doctors won’t be able to treat coronavirus patients as well as those with other diseases if the figure continues to rise. (Japan Times)

Japanese tourism minister Akaba Kazuyoshi says the government intends, in principle, to extend its tourism subsidy program to the end of June. (NHK)

A former president of discount retailer Don Quijote Holdings Co., now known as Pan Pacific International Holdings Corp., was arrested Thursday by prosecutors for alleged involvement in insider trading in 2018. (Japan Times)

Former Japan midfielder Daisuke Matsui will join Vietnam's Sai Gon FC from Yokohama FC, the J-League first division club said Thursday. (Kyodo)

Japan will endeavor to make all new car sales eco-friendly by the mid-2030s as it joins a growing community of nations determined to slow the globe's carbon emissions, Nikkei has learned. (Nikkei)

Japan has hundreds of mushroom varieties, most edible and when I came here 20 years ago, I had never seen so many in the supermarket, it was mind boggling! What are they? How do you eat them? (ONLY in JAPAN)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a 32-year-old man over the alleged molestation of a girl, the same crime he was accused of last year, reports TV Asahi (tokyoreporter.com)

The organizers of the national high school rugby tournament said Thursday the annual event will begin as scheduled on Dec. 27 but without spectators in an effort to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. (Kyodo)