The Japanese government says the unemployment rate for January stood at a seasonally adjusted 2.4 percent. That's down 0.3 percentage points from the previous month, and is the lowest since April 1993. (NHK)

The slide in a children's playground in Ehime, not suitable for children, will be no more after injuries and safety worries. (soranews24.com)

After fans continued to ignore requests regarding what types of presents are appropriate, group institutes blanket ban. (soranews24.com)

The head of the Bank of Japan says it will keep its monetary easing program in place in a bid to drive inflation up to 2 percent. (NHK)

A winter storm continued to batter wide areas of Hokkaido and Tohoku on Friday, leading to the death of one man and significant transportation disruptions. (Japan Times)

The outgoing president and CEO of Japanese automaker Subaru says the firm's workers falsified inspection data on fuel efficiency and exhaust gases. (NHK)

Lingerie maker seeks to address the annoying problem called 'PK.' (soranews24.com)

Olympic figure skating champion Alina Zagitova says she's happy to know that she will receive the gift of an Akita dog from Japan. (NHK)

A stone that a man stumbled across near his home in central Japan has turned out to be a meteorite believed to date back 4.6 billion years. (NHK)

An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.6 has occurred off an island in Okinawa Prefecture, southwestern Japan. (NHK)

Japanese electronics maker Panasonic is embracing a new approach for its home appliance business. The firm says it's focusing on kitchen and bedroom products that will connect to the Internet of Things. (NHK)

Major food and beverage makers across Japan are to raise prices due to the higher costs of labor and raw materials. (NHK)

Japan's Lower House has passed the country's biggest-ever budget, which sets government spending at over 900 billion dollars. (NHK)

The mascots for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics have been announced. (NHK)

The mutilated remains of rabbits believed to have been stolen from two kindergartens in Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture, have been found in a park, police said. (Japan Today)

Japan clamped down on hundreds of immigration law violators late last year, including those applying for refugee status to seek employment rather than protection in the country, the Justice Ministry said Tuesday. (Japan Today)

Increasing women on the board will become a recommended goal for Japanese companies under a revised governance code, and those lacking them will be asked to explain the reasons to the public. (Nikkei)

Japan has successfully sent a new government information-gathering satellite into orbit. (NHK)

An unemployed 57-year-old man walked into a police “koban” in Ishioka, Ibaraki Prefecture, on Monday and said he had killed his 86-year-old mother and that his older brother was dead, too. (Japan Today)

Minpaku (private lodging) services --- in which accommodations in private residences are rented out to travelers --- are being counted on as a solution to a shortage of hotel rooms to serve the growing numbers of inbound tourists, particularly as the nation prepares to host the 2020 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo. (Japan Times)

A team of researchers in Japan says it has found the amount of what is called "dark matter" in the universe to be smaller than what was predicted by Albert Einstein's theory. (NHK)

The Japanese government will require long-stay visitors from 6 Asian countries to be tested for tuberculosis before they travel to Japan. (NHK)

Sales of digital comic books exceeded that of paper-based comics in Japan last year for the first time. (NHK)

The Abe government plans to make it easier for foreign nationals with expertise in animation and illustration to obtain permanent residency in a bid to attract talent and further promote Japanese pop culture overseas. (Japan Times)

The Japanese Olympic team returned home from Pyeongchang on Monday. Japan's athletes won 13 medals in all. That's the most any Japanese team has ever won at a Winter Games. (NHK)