The highly-anticipated new film by Makoto Shinkai, director of the 2016 smash-hit animation "Kimi no Na wa" (your name), is set to open in theaters across Japan on July 19. (Japan Today)

A fire in a renowned entertainment district of Japan's ancient capital, Kyoto, has been contained. It burned five buildings in the area, but no one was injured. (NHK)

Johnny Kitagawa, the 87-year-old president of influential talent agency Johnny & Associates, was hospitalized after suffering a stroke last month, the agency said on Monday, reports Fuji News Network (July 1). (tokyoreporter.com)

A Japanese man convicted of assault and theft was arrested Sunday in Yokosuka, near Tokyo, four days after he escaped attempts to take him into custody. (Japan Today)

Although the visual kei style of Japanese rock group X Japan is often dark and violent, fans know all too well how sweet and endearing its members really are. From the occasionally befuddled charm of drummer Yoshiki to the Christmas pancakes of singer Toshi, these guys don’t seem to have a bad bone in their body. (Japan Today)

These days the list of things to be outraged about is pretty long. Some things are worth addressing, like racism, sexism, and anti-Semitism, but sometimes the things that people get riled up about, particularly when it comes to celebrities in Japan, are major head-scratchers. (Japan Today)

Junnosuke Taguchi, a former member of Japanese boy band KAT-TUN, was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of possessing marijuana, the Narcotics Control Department said. (Japan Times)

Sony Corp. will tackle game addiction, its chief executive said Wednesday as the World Health Organization prepares to formally recognize it as a disorder. (Japan Times)

Tokyo's busy Shibuya district has decided to ban drinking alcohol on some streets during the Halloween season, officials said Monday. (Japan Today)

Stuart "Woody" Wood, original guitarist and co-writer of many of the hits for the 1970s supergroup the Bay City Rollers, is bringing his new generation Bay City Rollers back to Japan this month. (Japan Today)

Japanese actor Ken Watanabe, 59, will star in a Japanese remake of the 1993 movie “The Fugitive,” playing the part of the doctor wrongly accused of murdering his wife. (Japan Today)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a pair of hostesses over the alleged theft of the wallet of a drunk pedestrian in the Ueno entertainment area of Taito Ward last year, reports TV Asahi (tokyoreporter.com)

For the third time, baseball star Ichiro Suzuki has turned down a prestigious Japanese government award handed to stars in sports, entertainment, and culture. (Japan Today)

Kenichi Hagiwara, a Japanese actor and vocalist in a pop band in the 1960s, died from gastrointestinal stromal tumors at a hospital in Tokyo, his office said Thursday. He was 68. (Japan Today)

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)

In 1999, all-girl idol group Morning Musume topped the Oricon singles chart for three straight weeks with “Love Machine.” (tokyoreporter.com)

A passenger vehicle driven by actress Yu Aoi crashed into a taxi in Shibuya Ward earlier this week, police revealed on Thursday, reports Fuji News Network (tokyoreporter.com)

Atsuko Maeda, an original member of the all-girl pop group AKB48, has given birth to a baby boy, her first child, her husband said Monday. (Japan Today)

Aichi Prefectural Police have arrested two women for allegedly abandoning the corpse of a female acquaintance in a forest in Toyota City earlier this month, reports the Sankei Shimbun (tokyoreporter.com)

Authorities in Hokkaido have opened shelters for people left stranded on trains or out in the bitter cold following the strong earthquake on Thursday. (NHK)

The Tokyo District Court on Thursday handed a 42-year-old man a suspended prison term for stalking of a former member of all-girl idol group AKB48, reports Jiji Press (tokyoreporter.com)

Japanese manga creator Rumiko Takahashi has become only the second woman to win the top prize at France's biggest graphic novel festival. (Japan Today)

Sony Corp. on Wednesday showed off the latest tricks of its signature robotic dog, Aibo, including a new security capability of patrolling inside a house. (Japan Times)

A man was fatally shot Monday in a karaoke bar in Tokyo’s famous Kabukicho entertainment district, police said. (Japan Times)

Being an idol singer in Japan is at least as much about the personality you radiate as the vocals you produce. Sure, idol songs may be almost invariably sweet and sugary, but the performers themselves are expected to be even more cheerful, cultivating the sort of earnest, plucky persona that attracts loyal fanbases. (Japan Today)