Japan has some amazing prison food, which should be no surprise. Inmates are served healthy, nutritious meals of grilled fish, salads, rice and soup - which are actually healthier than most school lunches around the world! Would you like to try what prisoners eat? There's a prison in Hokkaido that serves authentic meals to the public and that is where I went -- Abashiri. (ONLY in JAPAN)

A 62-year-old woman has been arrested on suspicion of animal abuse after keeping 23 cats in unsanitary conditions at her apartment in Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture. (Japan Today)

The Japanese government says Emperor Akihito's abdication ceremony will be held next year on April 30th, the day he steps down, as a state event. (NHK)

A total of 213 firms and organizations in Japan were found to have mistreated technical trainees from abroad in 2017, down 10.9 percent from the previous year and falling for the second straight year, the Justice Ministry has said. (Japan Times)

Gangsters seeking to leave organized crime groups --- but who are in dire financial straits --- could soon get free accommodation and help with transportation costs in Fukuoka Prefecture under a unique program aimed at promoting integration back into society and in turn weakening the underworld syndicates. (Japan Times)

The Japanese government has decided to hold next year's Group of 20 Summit meeting in the western prefecture of Osaka. It will be the first time Japan has hosted the summit. (NHK)

A Japanese court has ordered Tokyo Electric Power Company to pay about 142,000 dollars in damages to the family of an elderly man who killed himself amid an evacuation order during the 2011 Fukushima nuclear crisis. (NHK)

Tokyo Disney Resort operator Oriental Land will roll out a smartphone app in fiscal 2018 to relieve crowding issues that have frustrated guests at the popular theme park. (Nikkei)

Uber Technologies Inc. aims to introduce its ride-hailing services across Japan in around 2020 by joining hands with local taxi firms, its chief executive officer said Tuesday. (Kyodo)

Japan's land ministry plans to remove utility poles and bury overhead cables along 1,400 kilometers of roads over the next 3 years. (NHKã‚“)

Seven South Korean women attempted to smuggle gold into Japan late last month by concealing it in their rectums, officials from Aichi Prefecture’s Chubu Airport said Tuesday. (Japan Times)

It was in December 2016 that casino gambling was first legalised throughout Japan, finally putting an end to a 15-year hiatus during which politicians basically argued with each other. (newsonjapan.com)

Japan's labor minister has apologized for having provided inaccurate figures to the prime minister in Diet debate on working system reform. (NHK)

The former chairman of Sekisui House was ousted after his attempt to remove a sitting president over a land scam backfired, resulting in a stunning boardroom coup by his protege, The Nikkei has learned. (Nikkei)

A fighter jet from the US Misawa Airbase in northern Japan developed an engine fire on Tuesday morning and offloaded fuel tanks into a lake. (NHK)

A car driven by the former head of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutor’s Office special investigation squad struck and killed a pedestrian in Minato Ward on Sunday, police said. (Japan Times)

Figure skating star Yuzuru Hanyu said he took painkillers while competing to win the men’s singles title at the Pyeongchang Olympics, revealing that he has not yet recovered from his right ankle injury. (the-japan-news.com)

Amid stalling inflation and ballooning government spending, the Japanese government is growing more dependent on the Bank of Japan's colossal monetary easing policy engineered by Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda. (Nikkei)

Members of the Liberal Democratic Party are proposing that the minimum ages for holding public office be lowered to a uniform 20, it was learned Sunday. (Japan Times)

Japan's Yuzuru Hanyu has won gold in the men's figure skating in the PyeongChang Winter Olympics in South Korea. (NHK)

A Tokyo-based operator of women-only share houses may have been involved in dubious rent business dealings under its former president amid the rapid expansion of the operation. (Japan Today)

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party made progress Friday in its discussions to seek the first-ever amendments to Japan's postwar Constitution, agreeing on the wording of a draft for rewriting an existing article on electoral systems. (Japan Today)

Having been sired by the wonder-horse Frankel, Soul Stirring was always likely to be an above average performer on the turf. (newsonjapan.com)

Japanese football legend Kazuyoshi Miura has been certified as the oldest professional soccer player to score a goal in a competitive league. His fans in Japan call him 'Kazu'. (NHK)

Slightly increased volcanic activity has been reported at Mount Io in southwest Japan. (NHK)