Aichi Prefectural Police have arrested two women for allegedly abandoning the corpse of a female acquaintance in a forest in Toyota City earlier this month, reports the Sankei Shimbun (tokyoreporter.com)

Osaka Mayor Hirofumi Yoshimura said Thursday he hopes the venue for the 2025 World Exposition in the city will be developed with public roads that could be used to subsequently host a Formula One motor race. (Japan Today)

Authorities in Hokkaido have opened shelters for people left stranded on trains or out in the bitter cold following the strong earthquake on Thursday. (NHK)

The Tokyo District Court on Thursday handed a 42-year-old man a suspended prison term for stalking of a former member of all-girl idol group AKB48, reports Jiji Press (tokyoreporter.com)

Japanese manga creator Rumiko Takahashi has become only the second woman to win the top prize at France's biggest graphic novel festival. (Japan Today)

Sony Corp. on Wednesday showed off the latest tricks of its signature robotic dog, Aibo, including a new security capability of patrolling inside a house. (Japan Times)

A man was fatally shot Monday in a karaoke bar in Tokyo’s famous Kabukicho entertainment district, police said. (Japan Times)

Being an idol singer in Japan is at least as much about the personality you radiate as the vocals you produce. Sure, idol songs may be almost invariably sweet and sugary, but the performers themselves are expected to be even more cheerful, cultivating the sort of earnest, plucky persona that attracts loyal fanbases. (Japan Today)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested the female manager of a club in the Roppongi entertainment district and two male foreign nationals in connection with the alleged sale of cocaine last year, reports TV Asahi (Jan. 8). (tokyoreporter.com)

Police were called out to deal with traffic congestion and noise disturbance in the early hours of Thursday after a huge crowd gathered to watch a popular entertainment TV program being filmed at an amusement park in Tokyo. (Japan Today)

Rino Sashihara, a leading Japanese idol singer, will leave the all-girl musical group HKT48, an affiliate of the country's entertainment giant AKB48, next year, she said Saturday. (Kyodo)

Traditional female entertainers in Kyoto have started offering early New Year greetings. (NHK)

A man who suffered severe burns after having his head shoved into a pot of boiling liquid at a year-end party in 2015 said Thursday that he plans to sue his former boss over the incident. (Japan Times)

As a part of the investigation into the distribution of adult video (AV) content deemed illegal, Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a third person for ordering the production of the material, reports TV Asahi (tokyoreporter.com)

U.S. actor Johnny Depp will play the role of war photographer Eugene Smith in the movie "Minamata" about a mercury-poisoning disease that affected thousands of people in Japan, according to local reports. (Japan Today)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have revealed that the woman whose corpse was found in a residence of an apartment building in the Roppongi entertainment district of Minato Ward died as a result of a skull fracture, reports the Yomiuri Shimbun (tokyoreporter.com)

A raccoon spotted in a busy entertainment district has drawn huge attention from passing pedestrians in central Tokyo. (NHK)

At 6 p.m. on one weekday in August an enthusiastic audience had almost filled Gion Corner, a theater of some 200 seats at the center of the Gion traditional entertainment district in the city of Kyoto. (Japan Times)

Kirin Kiki, a veteran Japanese film and television actress known for her unique roles, has died at her home in Tokyo, a source close to her said Sunday. She was 75. (Japan Today)

Controversial Japanese casino tycoon Kazuo Okada has been arrested in Hong Kong over alleged and unspecified "corruption-related" offences, his former company in Tokyo said on Monday. (Japan Today)

Atsuko Maeda, 27, a pop cultural icon and original member of the all-girl group AKB48, has married actor Ryo Katsuji, 31, an official of his management company said on Tuesday. (Japan Times)

A 20-year-old Japanese national denies supplying marijuana to international school students in custody on drug-related charges, Tokyo Metropolitan Police said on Tuesday, reports TV Asahi (tokyoreporter.com)

A vehicle crashed into the front of a cafe in the Roppongi entertainment area of Minato Ward on Saturday night, causing two injuries, police said, reports Nippon News Network (tokyoreporter.com)

TV “talent” Becky, 34, is currently dating Yasuyuki Kataoka, a coach for the minor league Yomiuri Giants baseball team. Sources say that the two met through a mutual friend in the television broadcasting industry and became a couple last month, Sankei Shimbun reported. (Japan Today)

As Airbnb home-sharers in Japan quit the market in droves, following a new law that considerably increases red tape, their search for a smooth exit has brought a surge in new businesses. (Nikkei)