Major Japanese travel agency JTB estimates that more than 77 million people will take overnight or longer trips from July 15th through August 31st. That is up 0.8 percent from last year, and will mark the first uptick in 4 years. (NHK)

Severe tropical storm Nanmadol is bringing heavy rain to western Japan. (NHK)

Two women were struck and killed by a train along the Tobu Tojo Line tracks in Higashimatsuyama, Saitama Prefecture, on Monday morning, in what police believe was a suicide. (Japan Today)

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party suffered a historic defeat in Sunday's Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe intends to quickly get the Cabinet and the LDP back on their feet. (the-japan-news.com)

A 67-year-old former policeman with the world's biggest Hello Kitty collection has become the envy of little girls everywhere with 30 million yen worth of moon-faced memorabilia. (Japan Today)

North Korea launched a ballistic missile that appears to have landed in Japan's Exclusive Economic Zone in the Sea of Japan. (NHK)

Salarymen have taken a pummeling in recent years - with pay stagnating and rising numbers of working women and mothers eroding their once-dominant position as the family's breadwinner. (Japan Times)

North Korea's state-run media say the country has carried out its first successful test of an intercontinental ballistic missile. (NHK)

E-commerce giant Rakuten is linking up with a major US vacation rental platform. The move will support its new business in private rentals for tourists to Japan. (NHK)

A 38-year-old woman working at a private elementary and junior high school in Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture, was slashed by a man on Monday. (Japan Today)

Several female employees at Cool Japan Fund Inc, a public-private investment fund aimed at promoting Japanese culture and products overseas, claim they were sexually harassed by executives of the entity including a career bureaucrat on loan from the central government, sources familiar with the matter said Monday. (Japan Today)

A 31-year-old man has been arrested for spraying a taxi driver with a fire extinguisher and attempting to flee the scene by stealing the vehicle in Tokyo's Arakawa Ward. (Japan Today)

Since he first shocked fans with news of his retirement in 2013, Studio Ghibli director and beloved animator Hayao Miyazaki has been back in the studio numerous times, whether it's just out of habit, to work on his next short animated film, or to prepare for one more full-length animated feature. (Japan Today)

Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike's new regional party and allies scored a landslide victory in Sunday's metropolitan assembly election. (NHK)

The city of Brookhaven, Georgia, on Friday unveiled a statue dedicated to the "comfort women," becoming the first location in America's Deep South to install a controversial memorial to the women and young girls forced to work in Japan's wartime military brothels. (Japan Times)

The Japanese underworld loves gold --- it has been the analog bitcoin of crime syndicates in recent years. The origins of gold are difficult to trace, and the material is easy to convert into cash and store. Crime syndicates are increasingly smuggling it, stealing it or robbing it from other smugglers who don't have ties to gangs. (Japan Times)

There’s a saying in Japan, Nama byoho wa kega no moto. That is, Half-baked knowledge of the martial arts is the cause of great injury. (thedailybeast.com)

Japan's Meteorological Agency says 2 major earthquakes have hit about an hour apart. One struck the northern island of Hokkaido and the other was in the southern island of Kyushu. (NHK)

Voters are going to the polls Sunday to choose representatives for the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly. (NHK)

A type of highly venomous ant has been detected at a container storage area in Nagoya port, central Japan. (NHK)

The Justice Ministry is considering immigration procedures for Japanese passengers using automated gates equipped with a facial recognition system for identity verification at major airports from next fiscal year, according to sources. (the-japan-news.com)

Japan's Defense Minister Tomomi Inada has apologized for what she called a misleading remark in her speech supporting a candidate in the Tokyo metropolitan assembly election. (NHK)

Japanese motorists are seeing a rollout of new bilingual road signs. The program by traffic authorities comes amid a rise in foreign tourist numbers. (NHK)

The Japanese government has abolished taxes on online purchases of virtual currencies. (NHKã‚“)

The climbing season started on the Yamanashi Prefecture side of Mount Fuji early on Saturday. (NHK)