Carlos Ghosn will petition again Friday for release from a Japanese jail, even as Tokyo prosecutors are widely expected to lay new charges against the former Nissan Motor boss for breach of trust. (Nikkei)

Japan's weather bureau said on Thursday the El Nino weather pattern appears to be continuing and that there was an 80 percent chance it would stretch into the northern hemisphere spring. (Japan Today)

Setouchi region with the Inland Sea islands and coastal areas in western Japan have been ranked seventh in The New York Times' list of "52 Places to Go in 2019." (NHK)

Carlos Ghosn’s appeal against his ongoing detention was rejected by the Tokyo District Court, according to a statement released by the court Wednesday. The ousted Nissan chairman’s lawyers will now appeal the decision at a higher court, NHK reported. (Japan Times)

Japan Airlines says one of its pilots cheated two years ago on a preflight breath test by asking somebody else to do it in his place. (NHK)

The health ministry said Wednesday that the number of influenza patients per medical institution reached 11.17 in the week through Dec. 30, exceeding the warning level of 10. (Japan Times)

All Nippon Airways Co. said Tuesday an internal probe had found that last week one of its pilots caused domestic flight delays after drinking alcohol before flight duties despite the company’s 12-hour ban, and that he also asked a co-pilot to lie about it. (Japan Times)

A major Japanese weekly has apologized for using sexually degrading and discriminatory terms against women in part of an article on dating parties amid growing criticism shared in an online petition campaign. (Kyodo)

Japan is stepping up efforts to expand automatic train operations to cope with a possible shortage of drivers amid its declining population, with East Japan Railway Co. conducting its latest self-driving test on Tokyo's Yamanote loop line on Monday. (Kyodo)

The case of ousted Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn has gripped Japan and the business world since his stunning arrest in November, and now he is finally getting his day in court. (Japan Times)

Japan started collecting a ¥1,000 departure tax Monday from each traveler leaving the country in an effort to fund measures to attract more foreign visitors in the run-up to and beyond the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. (Japan Times)

Yusaku Maezawa, a Japanese billionaire known for having been named as the first private passenger to orbit the moon, has now become tweeter of the most retweeted tweet of all time by announcing he will give 1 million yen ($9,200) to 100 people each. (Kyodo)

A South Korean Defense Ministry spokesperson says both Japan and South Korea feel the need for talks over last month's radar incident. (NHK)

The head of a major school of the Japanese tea ceremony has served the first tea of 2019. (NHK)

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has directed ministries to look into countermeasures after plaintiffs in South Korea took legal steps to seize the local assets of a Japanese steelmaker that has refused to comply with a court order to pay compensation for wartime forced labor. (Japan Today)

Flight cancellations due to heavy snow in Hokkaido, northern Japan, left around 2,000 travelers stranded overnight at a key airport through Sunday, right at the end of the country's New Year holidays. (Kyodo)

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is searching for a suitable site on the Ryugu asteroid that it can safely land its Hayabusa2 spacecraft as early as late this month. (Japan Times)

In tennis, Japan's Kei Nishikori has clinched his first title in almost three years by winning the men's singles final at the Brisbane International tournament in Australia. (NHK)

Sky watchers across Japan have enjoyed the first partial solar eclipse over the country in three years. (NHK)

A Philippine court has ordered the arrest of Japanese pachinko billionaire Kazuo Okada, about a month after the country's Department of Justice recommended the filing of charges against him over three counts of fraud. (Japan Today)

Two people died and 13 were injured in a fire early Friday at a lodging house in Yokohama, where many daily laborers stay, police said. (Japan Today)

A Japanese sushi tycoon paid a record $3.1m for a giant tuna at the first predawn New Year auction in Tokyo's new fish market on Saturday. (aljazeera.com)

A Japanese legislator is drawing criticism for his comment that "a nation would collapse" if everyone became LGBT. (Japan Today)

More Japanese companies went under for lack of personnel last year, reflecting the growing toll of the country's ongoing labor crunch on businesses that fail to secure or keep workers. (Nikkei)

A nine-year-old Japanese girl is set to become the youngest professional player of the Asian board game "Go." (NHK)