On April 1st, 2019, major new immigration reform will take effect with a new “Middle Skilled Worker” (tokuteigino) visa status for foreign workers in Japan. (rethinktokyo.com)

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)

A South Korean court has approved the seizure of Mitsubishi's assets over the Japanese industrial giant's use of forced labor during World War II, an activist group said Monday. (Japan Today)

A Japanese court Monday imposed a sentence of three to five years on a former university student for making a substance that can be used in powerful bombs like those used in terrorist attacks, as well as a 3D-printed gun and stimulant drugs. (Japan Today)

The Japanese government aircraft will be taken out of service at the end of this month. A ceremony was held on Sunday to mark the switch to the new planes. (NHK)

Official campaigning for the Osaka mayoral election began Sunday, with Osaka Prefecture’s former governor, Ichiro Matsui, facing off against a ruling Liberal Democratic Party-backed challenger opposed to the controversial idea of restructuring the city into a metropolis. (Japan Times)

A member of a sister group of the popular all-girl band AKB48 on Friday criticized the outcome of a probe into an assault against her as "lies," as the group's management company revealed the result. (Japan Today)

The number of foreign residents in Japan had risen 6.6 percent at the end of 2018 from a year earlier, to reach a record high of some 2.73 million, Justice Ministry data showed on Friday. (Japan Times)

A key part of the business model for convenience stores is their round-the-clock service. But a shortage of staffers is prompting some operators to consider shrinking their business hours. (NHK)

Companies recruiting technology majors from Japanese universities are bracing for another year of missed targets as the supply of graduates fails to keep pace with broad demand for such skills as AI engineering and data analysis. (Nikkei)

Japanese baseball legend Ichiro Suzuki of the US Major Leagues' Seattle Mariners has announced his retirement. (NHK)

Rarely a week passes without hearing about a new type of robot created in Japan. Every other country of the world is wondering how Japan has managed to become a leading technological power. (newsonjapan.com)

The cherry blossom season officially arrived in Tokyo on Thursday after officials from the Meteorological Agency confirmed that more than five blossoms had opened on a Somei-Yoshino cherry tree at Yasukuni Shrine in Chiyoda Ward. (Japan Times)

Last year proved to be a pivotal one for streaming music in Japan. According to a report by the Recording Industry Association of Japan, 2018 saw plays via platforms such as YouTube, Apple Music and Spotify overtake digital downloads. (Japan Times)

Police on Thursday arrested a 14-year-old junior high school boy on suspicion of attempted murder after he stabbed a classmate at their school in Saijo, Ehime Prefecture. (Japan Today)

Police on Wednesday arrested an American man on suspicion of fatally stabbing his Japanese wife at a court where they were to settle a divorce. (Japan Today)

The unmanned space probe Hayabusa2 has detected small amounts of minerals containing water on the surface of the asteroid Ryugu, a Japanese research team has said. (Japan Times)

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 trade talks between Japan and the US look likely to start soon, and the price of oil drops in Japan, the value of the Yen is increasingly under threat of deflation. (newsonjapan.com)

The head of the Japanese Olympic Committee has announced he will step down when his term expires in June. (NHK)

The average price of all types of land in urban areas rose last year for the first time since 1992 as the growing influx of foreign tourists rejuvenated real estate investment, the government said Tuesday. (Japan Times)

A rush went through the crowd as Ichiro Suzuki settled underneath the ball Shunta Tanaka hit high into air in the third inning. (Japan Times)

Japan's space probe operating on an asteroid some 340 million kilometers from Earth is preparing to study the asteroid's interior by creating an artificial impact crater. (NHK)

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)

The Japanese economy will likely once again be assessed as "recovering at a moderate pace" in the government's monthly report due out Wednesday, which also will note potential risks from overseas economies. (Nikkei)