A cold snap hit Tokyo and its surrounding areas Saturday, causing cancellations of more than 100 domestic flights to and from the capital. (Japan Times)

Japan's national debt has reached a new high, despite government efforts to restore fiscal health. (NHK)

The number of influenza patients per medical institution in Japan in the week through Feb. 3 dropped from the previous week in all of the nation’s 47 prefectures, the health ministry announced. (Japan Times)

The parent company of All Nippon Airways will invest in the operator of Philippine Airlines to take advantage of growing demand for travel in Asia. (NHK)

A 20-year-old former policeman was sentenced Friday to 22 years in prison for shooting his boss to death at a police box in Hikone, Shiga Prefecture, last April. (Japan Times)

A developmental carriage from the next-generation bullet train has been shown to the media in western Japan. (NHK)

People in Sapporo shivered through frigid conditions on Friday as the city recorded a daytime high of minus 10.1 degrees Celsius, making it the first time in 40 years that the mercury has failed to reach minus 10. (NHK)

Fish may not be as stupid as they appear, as a study suggests they can recognise themselves in a mirror. (dailymail.co.uk)

The government confirmed Friday that it will follow the procedures taken to pick the current era name of Heisei in choosing a name for the new era. (Japan Times)

A 16-year-old female high student has been arrested for extorting a man she met while engaging in papakatsu — the practice of a sugar daddy paying young girls in exchange for having dinner and dates. (Japan Today)

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says he's determined to settle the country's territorial issue with Russia and conclude a peace treaty. (NHK)

Rental unit provider Leopalace21 said Thursday that possible construction code violations were found in an additional 1,324 of its apartment buildings, a discovery that will require the relocation of roughly 14,000 tenants. (Nikkei)

A UN committee has urged the Japanese government to legally ban corporal punishment of children at home. (NHK)

The father of a 10-year-old girl who died last month at their home near Tokyo forced her to write a letter stating he did not hit her so she would be returned home, a child welfare center said Tuesday, revealing more apparent missteps by authorities in protecting her life. (Japan Today)

Lawson Inc. said Wednesday it closed two of its franchise convenience stores after discovering they had systematically falsified expiration times on some food items prepared in the stores over a period of several years. (Japan Times)

The operator of one of Japan's largest sushi restaurant chains said Wednesday that video footage recently uploaded to the internet showed one of its part-time kitchen workers throwing sliced fish into a trash can and returning it to a cutting board at an outlet in Osaka Prefecture. (Kyodo)

Japan's swine fever epidemic is spreading, with local authorities in five central and western prefectures saying Wednesday they are struggling to contain the highly contagious virus that was first reported in September. (Japan Today)

Japan's Defense Ministry has canceled a port call of a Self-Defense Forces vessel in Busan, South Korea, amid soured relations. (NHK)

Japan's Foreign Ministry has ordered freelance journalist Kosuke Tsuneoka to hand over his passport as he attempted to travel to Yemen. (NHK)

Japan's Finance Minister Taro Aso has reluctantly apologised for saying childless people are to blame for the country's rising social security costs and its aging and declining population. (smh.com.au)

The mother of a 10-year-old girl who died last month at their home in Chiba Prefecture has told police that she sometimes gave the girl no food, at her husband’s insistence, in the days before her daughter’s death, investigative sources said Tuesday. (Japan Times)

Nissan Motor decided Tuesday to hold an extraordinary shareholders meeting on April 8, where the Japanese automaker is expected to dismiss former Chairman Carlos Ghosn and his onetime deputy Greg Kelly from the board of directors. (Nikkei)

Police have decided not seek an indictment against former coaches of Nihon University’s American football team over accusations that they instructed a player to commit a dangerous tackle on an opponent, investigative sources said Tuesday. (Japan Times)

Star Wars, anime favourites, and tennis pro Naomi Osaka all make an appearance at this year’s event. (soranews24.com)

Tokyo Tower, an iconic landmark in the capital, has been illuminated in red as part of the efforts to welcome Chinese visitors to Japan during the Lunar New Year holiday. (NHK)