The Japanese city of Sapporo may aim to become the host city of the Winter Olympics and Paralympics in 2030 rather than the 2026 Games. (NHK)

With service for two train lines and one subway line, Tokyo’s Kinshicho Station has a lot of people buying tickets every day. But for the past few weeks, they’ve been joined by a crow, who, lacking any money of his own, has taken to stealing human commuters’ prepaid cards and attempting to purchase a ticket of his own. (Japan Today)

A 7-year-old girl who was found dead on a railroad track in the city of Niigata on Monday had told classmates that a stranger talked to her on her way to school that morning, investigative sources said Wednesday. (Japan Times)

The leaders of Japan, China, and South Korea held a series of meetings in Tokyo on Wednesday. North Korea's nuclear program has dominated much of the day's discussion. (NHK)

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Moon Jae-in have reaffirmed joint efforts to fully denuclearize North Korea. (NHK)

Tourists are shocked to see usually ravenous deer turn down their favourite treats. (soranews24.com)

Japan's Finance Ministry has held an in-house seminar on ways to prevent sexual harassment, following the recent resignation of the ministry's top bureaucrat. (NHK)

East Japan Railway Co. said Wednesday it will launch a luxurious sightseeing train between Tokyo and the Izu resort area in the spring of 2020, shortly before the capital hosts the Summer Olympic Games. (Japan Times)

Executives at Japan's biggest carmaker Toyota Motor say the firm posted record sales and net profit for the fiscal year that ended in March. (NHK)

A 28-year-old woman suffered a fractured skull after she was attacked by an unknown man at the entrance to her apartment in Sapporo. (Japan Today)

Japan Airlines is set to launch a budget airline with the aim of offering medium- and long-haul international flights by 2020, when Tokyo is set to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games. (Nikkei)

Tuesday marked the 500-day mark before the opening of the 2019 Rugby World Cup, as scandals continue to plague the preparations for the tournament. (Japan Times)

In Japan, local authorities are continuing their search for a man and his son who have been missing for 2 days in a mountain range in Niigata Prefecture. (NHK)

The Defense Ministry on Tuesday punished a senior Self-Defense Forces member for insulting a Diet member on a street while he was off duty, concluding in a report that his act degraded the “dignity” an SDF member should maintain. (Japan Times)

Takeda Pharmaceutical agreed to buy London-listed Shire for 45.3 billion pounds ($62 billion) on Tuesday, the biggest yet in a wave of deals sweeping the drugs industry. (Reuters)

Finance Minister Taro Aso on Tuesday repeated a controversial statement that appeared to downplay an incident of alleged sexual harassment by his ministry’s top bureaucrat, just a day after his earlier comments sparked protest demonstrations in a number of cities across the nation. (Japan Times)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a Turkish national currently applying for refugee status and one other foreigner who are suspected in dozens of burglaries in the Kanto area since the beginning of the year, reports the Sankei Shimbun (tokyoreporter.com)

A 40-year-old woman was found stabbed to death in a man's apartment in Fukuoka, police said Tuesday. The whereabouts of the man, who is in his 70s, remain unknown. (Japan Today)

A strong chemical smell that prompted more than 20 visitors to complain of throat pain at a popular Kyoto temple last week may have been caused by an animal repellent spray used nearby, the city government said Monday. (Japan Today)

Japan and China are unlikely to mention that the waters and airspace around a group of uninhabited islets controlled by Japan and claimed by China are subject to a bilateral communication mechanism aimed at averting unintended clashes, Japanese government sources said Monday. (Japan Today)

Sales of Sony Corp.'s new artificial intelligence-equipped Aibo robot dog in Japan are off to a solid start, with the electronics giant saying Monday that 11,111 units were sold in three months since its release in January. (Kyodo)

A 10-year-old boy was found unharmed Sunday after going missing on a mountain in Ome, Tokyo. The boy, who attends a school for children with special needs, had been missing for 22 hours after climbing Mt Mitake with his parents and a sibling on Saturday, Fuji TV reported. (Japan Today)

An online bomb threat has prompted Tokyo's Aoyama Gakuin University to call off classes on Monday, the university said Sunday. (Japan Today)

Private-sector analysts in Japan predict the country's GDP growth for this year's January to March period will be flat or lower than the previous quarter. (NHK)

Sexual minorities and their supporters have paraded in central Tokyo to promote equality and greater awareness of LGBT issues. (NHK)