The Bank of Japan's decision on Tuesday to continue "powerful monetary easing" but to also allow long-term interest rates to move in a wider band reflects the dilemma faced by Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda. (Nikkei)

Japanese telecom giant NTT Docomo will invest in a firm that operates a taxi-service app. (NHK)

A video showing a man believed to be a Japanese journalist detained by an armed group in Syria has emerged online. (NHK)

Japan's Defense Ministry has finished withdrawing missile interceptor units deployed around the country. (NHK)

A university in Tokyo decided Monday it will dismiss two former coaches of its American football team over a dangerous late tackle by one of its players during an intercollegiate game in May that injured an opposing player. (Japan Today)

Parasols -- accessories normally associated with women trying to protect their skin from the sun -- are proving increasingly popular with men as the nation grapples with one of its hottest summers ever. (Japan Times)

Tropical storm Jongdari is hitting the Kyushu region in southwestern Japan. (NHK)

At least 16 people in 5 Japanese prefectures were injured by Typhoon Jongdari before it was downgraded to a severe tropical storm. (NHK)

A professor at Japan’s prestigious Waseda University has been fired over reportedly repeated sexual harassment of a female student, the university announced in a statement on Friday. (Japan Today)

The influx of cash into Japan's biggest banks and their parking of such money at the Bank of Japan are putting large commercial banks on the verge of having to pay the central bank interest on deposits there for the first time in two years. (Nikkei)

Internet portal operator Yahoo Japan said Friday that it will start a mobile payment service this autumn, becoming the latest to join the cashless payment bandwagon. (Nikkei)

Vegetable prices have spiked as much as 65 percent amid a grueling two-week long heat wave that drove temperatures Wednesday to records in some regions, including areas where recovery and cleanup efforts are underway after devastating floods and landslides. (Japan Times)

A second senior official of Japan's education and science ministry has been arrested on bribery charges. Kazuaki Kawabata allegedly accepted gifts in exchange for giving a favor to a medical consulting firm in Tokyo. (NHK)

The Japanese government has agreed with Vietnam to invite 10,000 nursing caregivers from the Southeast Asian country by the summer of 2020 to counter a serious manpower shortage in the industry. (Nikkei)

A 20-year-old Japanese national denies supplying marijuana to international school students in custody on drug-related charges, Tokyo Metropolitan Police said on Tuesday, reports TV Asahi (tokyoreporter.com)

Miyazaki Prefectural Police arrested a 34-year-old man over the fatal slashing of his father at the residence they share in the town of Kawaminami early Wednesday, reports TBS News (tokyoreporter.com)

Intense heat continues to grip Japan on Wednesday. Temperatures are soaring, especially in western and eastern Japan. (NHK)

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is putting in motion a plan to allow more foreign workers into Japan from next April. (NHK)

自動運転車はさらに安全な運転を目指していますが、まだ完璧ではありません。Discoperiにより開発された「アイ」システムは全ての自動車で使用できるスマートデバイスです。このデバイスは道路状況を識別し、危険な場面を警告し、毎年30万の命を事故から守ることができます。 (Discoperi)

The extreme heat that is affecting much of Japan has prompted some foreign media outlets to express concern about the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. (NHK)

Japan's Defense Ministry has decided to postpone a procedure to deploy a new missile defense system due to opposition from candidate host communities. (NHK)

The first official shop selling goods for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games has opened in the Japanese capital. (NHK)

One of Japan’s top policymakers has indicated that the government will continue to resist U.S. efforts to create a bilateral free trade agreement between the two nations. (Japan Times)

The Defense Ministry has newly estimated that the price tag of two land-based missile batteries Japan aims to deploy could cost around ¥400 billion ($3.6 billion), double the initial quotation, according to a government source. (Japan Times)

The highest-ever temperature in Japan has been recorded in Kumagaya City, Saitama Prefecture, amid an extreme heat wave that continues to plague wide areas of the country. (NHK)