Close to 95 percent of tourists from Asia who have visited western Japan would like to travel to areas off the beaten track, a survey showed Thursday. (Japan Times)

The US Missile Defense Agency says its new interceptor missile failed to hit its target in its 2nd test, off the coast of Hawaii. The missile is being developed in cooperation with Japan's Defense Ministry. (NHK)

Okinawa on Friday marked 72 years since the end of a fierce World War II ground battle that killed a quarter of its civilian population, as resentment continues to run deep over the heavy concentration of U.S. military bases there. (Japan Times)

The Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry on Wednesday released a manual for the country's new curriculum guidelines, asking junior high school teachers for the first time to have students understand procedures for constitutional revisions. (the-japan-news.com)

TV personality Mao Kobayashi has died after battling cancer for about 2½ years, kabuki theater operator Shochiku Co. said Friday. She was 34. (Japan Times)

A weekly magazine says a lawmaker of Japan's main governing party repeatedly abused her secretary verbally and physically. (NHK)

Amazon Japan aims to build a team of 10,000 independent couriers in the Tokyo region by 2020 to continue offering same-day delivery service without relying on major parcel delivery companies. (Nikkei)

China's bond market will double in size from the current $9 trillion over the next five years, overtaking Japan's to become the world's second largest behind the United States', UBS Asset Management said in a report. (cnbc.com)

Chinese bicycle-sharing startup Mobike has set up a subsidiary in Fukuoka city in southern Japan and plans to begin service later this year, it said on Thursday. (Reuters)

Sayako Kuroda, the daughter of Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, assumed the post of supreme priestess at Ise Jingu this week, the ancient Shinto shrine in central Japan said. (Japan Today)

The Japanese government on Thursday upgraded its assessment of the economy in its monthly report for the first time since December. (marketwatch.com)

Japanese authorities have created a new map of a remote island whose area has expanded through volcanic activity. (NHK)

Japanese virtual mall operator Rakuten said on Thursday it will open an online room-sharing marketplace now that the country is poised to lift a ban on room-sharing for travelers. (Nikkei)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a male executive at Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) for allegedly pouring an illegal sex enhancement drug on the face of the woman earlier this month, reports TV Asahi (tokyoreporter.com)

On 19 June it was announced that three teens were arrested for the robbery and assault of a 20-year-old man. The victim was on his moped when a cigarette was put out on his face and his bike and helmet were stolen from him. (rocketnews24.com)

The number of foreign tourists visiting Japan is continuing to increase. It hit a new record for the month of May. (NHK)

Heavy rain hit a wide area on the Pacific side of the Japanese archipelago Wednesday, disrupting traffic and prompting local authorities to issue evacuation advisories for around 250,000 people in central regions due to possible flooding. (Japan Times)

Two men working at a waste disposal plant in Tamura City, Fukushima Prefecture, face theft charges for keeping approximately 10 million yen which they and a third worker found mixed in with collected garbage. (Japan Today)

The government plans to limit the number of times Japanese visitors and others can enter casinos by requiring them to show their My Number identification cards at entrances to the gambling halls, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned. (the-japan-news.com)

The frenzied drummer who is the force behind rockers X Japan declared headbanging to be "no good" on Tuesday as he sported a neck brace at his first press conference since emergency surgery. (9news)

Japan Airlines (JAL) is now providing free inflight connectivity throughout the entire flight to customers flying on domestic routes. (getconnected.aero)

Two Japanese dancers have won first prize in different categories in the Moscow International Ballet Competition. (NHK)

Major Japanese tour agency JTB aims to introduce Alibaba Group Holding's Alipay mobile payment service at around 2,000 partner businesses across Japan within three years to help grease the wheels of spending by foreign tourists. (Nikkei)

Around half of junior high school students have called the English skills they acquired in elementary schools "useless," according to recent findings by education services provider Benesse Holdings Inc. (Japan Times)

Japan's Air Self-Defense Force invited the public to view a drill for deploying ground-based PAC3 interceptor missiles. (NHK)