Japan's health ministry has drastically relaxed its planned regulations on indoor smoking at restaurants after a plan to tolerate smoking only at small eateries and bars met with opposition from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, government sources said Thursday. (Kyodo)

A 3-meter-tall countdown clock for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics was unveiled Thursday in the Japanese capital's Ginza district. (Kyodo)

The Beaujolais Nouveau 2017 vintage went on sale in Japan on Thursday, but with people's tastes maturing, the traditional celebration of the French wine's seasonal release is on the decline. (Kyodo)

A mini bus carrying mentally disabled people tumbled off a road and dropped about five meters into a wooded area Monday morning in western Japan, leaving 18 people slightly injured, police said. (Kyodo)

A police probe into the attempted murder of an elderly bedridden woman has reportedly led to an unlikely suspect: a stray cat. (Japan Times)

A 65-year-old man is believed to have killed himself with a hunting rifle Wednesday after first shooting his pet dog dead at his home in southwestern Japan, in a case in which police initially feared he had holed himself up and was a potential danger to other people. (Japan Today)

Investigative sources with the Tokyo Metropolitan Police revealed on Monday that identifications are close for eight of the nine corpses found last week in the Zama City residence of a 27-year-old man who has admitted to killing all of the persons, reports the Sankei Shimbun (tokyoreporter.com)

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday accused Japan of not conducting "fair and open" trade with the United States. (Kyodo)

U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania met Japan's Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko on Monday, the second day of his first visit to Japan as American leader. (Kyodo)

Ivanka Trump, the U.S. president's daughter and senior advisor, arrived in Japan on Thursday for a three-day stay ahead of a visit by her father. (Kyodo)

On a crisp autumn morning, colorful hot-air balloons took off from a riverbed in the southwestern Japanese city of Saga for the opening of one of Asia's largest festivals for the aircraft on Nov. 1. (Kyodo)

Oscar-winning Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki who has come out of retirement is now working on a new animated feature film titled "Kimitachi wa Do Ikiru ka," (How do you live?), studio sources said. (KyodoK)

Universal Studios Japan in Osaka will resume nighttime parades from 2018 following a year-and-half hiatus as part of efforts to draw overseas tourists as well as domestic visitors, its operator USJ Co. said Monday. (Kyodo)

Japan will roll out its No. 1 golfer and a singer known for his viral hit song "PPAP" to entertain President Donald Trump during his upcoming visit, with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe hoping to keep the mood upbeat during the U.S. leader's official visit. (Kyodo)

Houston Astros infielder Yulieski Gurriel will be suspended for the first five games of the 2018 season for making a racist gesture directed at Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Yu Darvish during Friday's World Series game, Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said Saturday. (Kyodo)

A Japanese teenager is suing the government of Osaka, saying her public high school repeatedly forced her to dye her naturally-brown hair black or be banned from attending school, local media reported on Friday. (Japan Today)

Mount Fuji, Japan's highest peak, has been capped with snow for the first time this season. (NHK)

Amazon Japan K.K. is running a bar in Tokyo's posh Ginza district for 10 days through Oct. 29, with the aim of promoting a broad lineup of alcohol products the online shopping giant offers, in addition to its traditional business of books and commodity goods. (Kyodo)

A giant panda cub at a Tokyo zoo continues to grow steadily about 4 months after her birth. Xiang Xiang was seen walking behind her mother, Shin Shin, during a recent checkup. (NHK)

Japanese travel company H.I.S. Co. said Monday it will open 10 more hotels staffed by robots in Tokyo, Fukuoka, Osaka and Kyoto by March 2019. (Kyodo)

The prefectural government of Hiroshima is asking the US military to clarify if some of its fighter jets conducted aerial training maneuvers that released flares above part of the prefecture, alarming local residents. (NHK)

A Japanese TV network apologized Monday for making viewers "feel unpleasant" over a comedy program that revived a 30-year-old stereotype character depicting a gay man. (Kyodo)

The discovery of a new species of clione sea slug, usually found in chilly polar waters, in central Japan's Toyama Bay may shed light on sea temperature changes, a local university said Thursday. (Kyodo)

A dog checked as cargo by a passenger on a Japan Airlines flight from Tokyo's Haneda airport Monday morning escaped before being loaded onto the plane, causing a runway to be shut temporarily and disrupting a total of 14 flights. (Kyodo)

Geisha performers and apprentices held a kyomai traditional dance rehearsal Friday for the annual Onshukai event put on by the Inoue school in Kyoto. (Kyodo)