Japan is considered a "super-aged" nation, where more than 20% of the population is over 65 and the birth rate has reached record lows. (CNN)

A short-term rental platform in China is keeping an eye on the growing number of Chinese travelers to Japan. The company, Tujia, has announced a tie-up with Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten. (NHK)

A Japanese court has ordered a pro-North Korean group to repay more than 800 million dollars in debts to a Japanese government-backed collection agency. (NHK)

The Japanese government launched a search Wednesday for venomous fire ants at the 68 ports that regularly receive shipping containers from other countries including China. (Japan Today)

Nine major Japanese hotels established before World War II are kicking off a joint marketing blitz and enhancing services to lure more foreign tourists. (Nikkei)

Japanese school lunches aren't synonymous with "mystery meat," but rather, shokuiku. It means "food and nutrition education," and it's a vital part of the Japanese child's early education. (businessinsider.com)

A Japanese hospital has set up a project team to consider womb transplants for women born without a uterus or whose uterus has been surgically removed for cancer or other conditions, the hospital told Kyodo News on Wednesday. (Japan Today)

Former world number four Kimiko Date has been invited to play in next month's Japan Women's Open barely a fortnight before she turns 47, the Japan Tennis Association said on Wednesday. (Japan Today)

Outdoor theme park Legoland Japan plans to expand its area to some 13 hectares, 1.4 times the current size, the head of its operator said in a recent interview. (Japan Times)

Poor catches of surume-ika, or Japanese common squid (see below), are likely to continue this year. The squid is used in popular home dishes such as sashimi and is also sold in a form that is dried overnight. (the-japan-news.com)

Two men arrested in connection with a woman whose body was found in a forest in central Japan may have stolen hundreds of dollars' worth of bitcoins after abandoning her body. (NHK)

The 27-year-old primary school teacher from China had travelled there for a solo trip and was staying in a hostel in Sapporo, a picturesque, mountainous city on the island of Hokkaido. (news.com.au)

A man was slightly injured when a cable snapped during a bungee jump in western Japan. (NHK)

A magnitude 5.5 earthquake has struck north of Tokyo. The tremor occurred at 2:02 AM on Wednesday. The epicenter was in northern Ibaraki Prefecture at a depth of 10 kilometers. (NHK)

Maiko (apprentice geiko), dressed in formal black kimono, walk in Kyoto's entertainment district to pay courtesy calls on teahouses and their teachers of traditional arts on Tuesday. (the-japan-news.com)

The rainy season appears to be over in the Hokuriku and Tohoku regions in central and northeastern Japan, the weather agency said Wednesday, declaring an end to the early summer wet season throughout the Japanese archipelago. (Kyodo)

Toshiba Corp. shares were demoted to the Tokyo Stock Exchange's Second Section from the First Section on Tuesday amid the electronics and machinery maker's struggle to recover from financial troubles. (the-japan-news.com)

A popular virtual currency, Bitcoin, is expected to be divided in two, creating a brand new "clone" currency. (NHK)

The body of a 53-year-old woman from Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, who had been missing since June 18, was found in the mountains of Shiga Prefecture on Monday night, police said Tuesday, adding that two men have been arrested in connection with her death. (Japan Today)

The Justice Ministry plans to introduce a new residency status for fourth-generation Japanese descendants living abroad that will enable them to work in Japan under certain conditions, such as acquiring a set level of Japanese language skills. (the-japan-news.com)

A German research group has handed over to representatives of Japan's Ainu ethnic group a skull that a German took secretly from a grave in Japan in 1879. (abcnews)

A man accused of groping a woman on a train escaped by jumping off the platform and running along the tracks at JR Tamachi Station in Tokyo’s Minato Ward on Monday. (Japan Today)

At a ceremony to mark her resignation as defense minister, Tomomi Inada on Monday called for the creation of an "open" atmosphere inside the ministry and the Self-Defense Forces following a data coverup scandal, but she did not offer an apology. (Japan Today)

Japan's direct investment beyond its borders climbed to a record $169.6 billion in 2016, according to an annual report Monday from the Japan External Trade Organization. (Nikkei)

Local authorities in the city of Nara, western Japan, have decided to capture some of the city's free range deer to reduce farming damage. (NHK)