About 10 outdoor surveillance cameras were installed at an Osaka home where a 33-year-old woman was found dead last week after being confined by her parents for around 15 years allegedly due to mental illness, investigative sources said Wednesday. (Japan Today)

Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority has issued a virtual green light for the restart of 2 reactors operated by Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO. (NHK)

Japan's Supreme Court has upheld a lower court verdict of acquittal for a former member of the Aum Shinrikyo cult. (NHK)

Yokozuna Hakuho will take the next step in his career achievement calendar next month when he steps into the ring to start the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament on Jan. 14. (Japan Times)

Japan's unemployment rate fell to 2.7 percent in November -- the lowest in 24 years. (NHK)

Japan's planned introduction of a "departure tax" on international travelers has received a mixed response, with many questions yet to be answered about how the revenues will be spent. (Kyodo)

Local assemblies around Japan are discussing or preparing to pass ordinances that will place strict limits on where minpaku (private lodging services) can be located, in advance of a national law that will go into effect in June regulating their use. (Japan Times)

A popular hotel in southwestern Japan will close for 10 straight days in January at a cost of 200 million yen in revenues to give its employees time off, in the belief that the unusual measure will help to secure quality human resources. (Japan Today)

Panasonic has named a female executive to lead a subsidiary with some 4,000 employees, a highly unusual move for the nearly century-old Japanese electronics company. (Nikkei)

Japanese central and local governments are to hold the first missile evacuation drill in central Tokyo next month. (NHK)

Japan's Information-technology Promotion Agency and the industry ministry have concluded a 15-year project to enable computers to handle all kanji characters. (NHK)

Weather officials are advising caution as rapidly developing low pressure systems are bringing strong winds and snow to northern Japan and other areas. (NHK)

NTT Docomo on Monday announced its Japan Welcome SIM TM series will introduce Plan 0 to allow overseas visitors in Japan to access the Internet for free via the Docomo mobile network, from Tuesday. The free service will initially be available in Hokkaido and Niigata prefectures, after which other areas will be added sequentially. (Japan Today)

A government survey shows that the percentage of Japanese workers belonging to labor unions has fallen to a record low of 17.1 percent, for the 6th straight year-on-year decline. (NHK)

A man and woman who were arrested after the death of their 33-year-old daughter confessed they confined her to a tiny room for around 15 years due to a mental illness they say made her violent, police sources said Monday. (Japan Today)

Police in Minoh, Osaka Prefecture, have arrested a 26-year-old woman, her 24-year-old common-law husband and his 20-year-old male friend on suspicion of killing the woman's four-year-old son. (Japan Today)

Five bicycles were torched one after the other during a one-hour period early Sunday in Yashio, Saitama Prefecture. (Japan Today)

Japan's Emperor Akihito turned 84 on Saturday. (NHK)

Japanese births are expected to total 941,000 in 2017, the lowest tally in statistics going back to 1899, likely resulting in a natural decline in population by more than 400,000 as deaths mark a postwar peak. (Nikkei)

People in a town in Yamanashi Prefecture, central Japan, that got up early enough on Friday were treated to the sight of the sun rising over the peak of Mount Fuji. (NHK)

A 17-year-old boy died after being hit by a hammer thrown by another student practising the hammer throw on school grounds in Fujioka, Gunma Prefecture, on Wednesday night. (Japan Today)

A western Japan prefecture which has been promoting its starry nights to tourists has enacted an ordinance to preserve the views and pass them onto the next generation. (Kyodo)

An 8-year-old girl suffered major facial injuries after a man stopped her on the street and sprayed her face with a liquid in Tanabe City, Wakayama Prefecture, police said. (Japan Today)

Airbnb and Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Insurance are teaming up to provide services meant to defuse trouble with home sharing in Japan, where many residents worry about problems with guests. (Nikkei)

A Japanese court has sentenced a Chinese man to 20 years in prison for killing his former girlfriend's female roommate. (NHK)