A wintertime illumination event has started in Kabukicho, a nightlife district in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward that was hit hard by the economic impact of the coronavirus. (NHK)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested popular actor Kentaro Ito over an alleged hit-and-run accident in Shibuya Ward on Wednesday, reports TV Asahi (Oct. 29). (tokyoreporter.com)

A 17-year-old boy jumped to his death from a shopping mall and entertainment complex in Osaka on Friday, and hit a 19-year-old girl walking below. The girl died in hospital on Saturday. (Japan Today)

Starting on Oct. 1, the government re-included Tokyo in its Go To Travel campaign, a program subsidizing domestic travel that aims to encourage spending and boost an economy suffering the effects of a global pandemic. (Japan Times)

Analysts credit a Japanese government travel campaign with a slight uptick in spending on services and entertainment in late September. (NHK)

Miki Nishino, a former member of idol group AKB48, has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, her agency revealed on Monday. (tokyoreporter.com)

Campaigning began Monday for a Nov 1 referendum on whether Osaka should become a metropolis akin to Tokyo in 2025. (NHK)

Universal Studios Japan will skip its annual horror-themed offerings this Halloween season to help alleviate crowding, instead creating a festive entertainment program for guests wanting a break from the new coronavirus. (Nikkei)

Tokyo to Rome, first class for $90 sounds too good to be true. (news.com.au)

In the aftermath of Japan’s defeat in Manchuria, sexual abuse termed then as “sexual entertainment” happened. During the Second World War, some 600 people from the formerly Kurokawa village in Gifu Prefecture settled in Manchuria under a government plan. (TV ASAHI)

Shizuka Oya, a member of idol group AKB48, has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, her agency said on August 14. (tokyoreporter.com)

Veteran Japanese action movie star and singer Tetsuya Watari, known for his role in the hit police drama "Seibu Keisatsu" (Western Police), died of pneumonia at a hospital in Tokyo earlier this week, his office said Friday. He was 78. (Japan Today)

Official figures indicate that Japanese households may be recovering from the economic impact of COVID-19. Spending was down in June, but by a much smaller margin than the month before. (NHK)

The shocking revelations contained in the report "I Was Hit So Many Times I Can't Count," released by Human Rights Watch on July 20 exposing the abuse of child athletes in Japan, came as no surprise to those of us close to the world of Japanese sports administration. (Nikkei)

Kabukicho, a 1-kilometer square commercial area on the northern side of Tokyo’s JR Shinjuku Station, is reputed to be Asia’s largest adult entertainment zone, with an estimated nighttime working population of 23,000 (based on 2014 figures). (Japan Times)

An adviser for a health division at Minato Ward this week provided guidance to bar hostesses in the Roppongi entertainment quarter about how to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus, reports TBS News (July 27). (tokyoreporter.com)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police estimate that a bar operator in the Roppongi entertainment district swindled foreigners out of more than 100 million yen annually since 2013, reports the Sankei Shimbun (July 28). (tokyoreporter.com)

Scream all you want from the confines of your car at Japan's first drive-thru haunted house. (businessinsider)

Hanasato, a high-end Japanese restaurant housed in a sprawling mansion surrounded by lush gardens, has been serving traditional multicourse kaiseki cuisine in the suburbs of Yokohama for decades. But on July 19, Hanasato welcomed diners for the last time, ending its 40-year history as a purveyor of traditional Japanese fine dining. (Nikkei)

With the number of COVID-19 cases once again rising, the debate among government officials, the media and health experts over how, or whether, to once again ask businesses to close down is gaining momentum, though Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says the situation isn’t dire enough to declare another state of emergency. (Japan Times)

The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department has conducted inspections of nighttime entertainment areas where the coronavirus is believed to be spreading. (NHK)

Japan's top government spokesperson has suggested that police could inspect bars and nightclubs to check if they are taking strict measures against the coronavirus. (NHK)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested the manager and an employee of a massage parlor operating illegally in the red-light district of Kabukicho, reports TV Asahi (July 4). (tokyoreporter.com)

Officials in Tokyo are dealing with a jump in coronavirus infections. The number of new cases has now topped 200 for two days in a row. It's the first time that's happened since the start of the pandemic. (NHK)

The number of new daily coronavirus infections in Tokyo hit a single-day record of 224 on Thursday, the metropolitan government said. (Japan Today)