The Japanese government is planning to revise steps that local governments should take to protect residents in case of armed attack. The move is in response to North Korea's continued development of ballistic missiles. (NHK)

The Japanese government has decided to add more entities to its sanctions list for North Korea, which is continuing its nuclear and missile development. (NHK)

A funeral home set to open soon in Japan plans to provide the country's first-ever drive-through service. (NHK)

The latest Tankan survey by the Bank of Japan shows the country's labor shortage is the worst that it has been in over a quarter of a century. (NHK)

Japanese authorities have found 4 bodies in 2 wooden boats that washed ashore on the Sea of Japan coast in Akita City, Akita Prefecture. (NHK)

Japan's space agency says its asteroid probe Hayabusa2 is on course to reach its target between Earth and Mars in about 6 months. (NHK)

Emperor Akihito wishes to step down in an abdication ceremony that is "as simple as possible," without inviting foreign guests and holding a parade, the head of the Imperial Household Agency said Thursday. (Japan Today)

With staff getting harder to come by, nearly 60% of top executives at major Japanese companies are inclined to invest more in training and educating personnel in fiscal 2018, according to a Nikkei Inc. survey. (Nikkei)

Officials from a Japanese train operator say a crack was found near the welded joint of one of the key parts and the undercarriage of a Shinkansen bullet train. (NHK)

Osaka University said Wednesday that personal data of around 80,000 students, graduates, staff, former workers and others may have been stolen by hackers. (Japan Times)

For the first time, a Japanese high court has ordered the operator of a nuclear plant not to restart a reactor. (NHK)

A window from a US military helicopter has fallen onto the grounds of an elementary school in Okinawa, Japan's southern prefecture. (NHK)

The American husband of a former Japanese abductee has died at the age of 77. (NHK)

About 100 police and firefighters resumed their search Monday morning for a three-year-old boy who has been missing in Echizen, Fukui Prefecture, since Saturday. (Japan Today)

Severe weather conditions are expected to continue in northern and western Japan through Wednesday. (NHK)

Prosecutors investigating Obayashi Corp. suspect the major construction firm rigged a bid for the building of a maglev train station emergency exit, with one of the company's vice presidents brought in voluntarily for questioning about the matter, sources close to the case said Sunday. (Japan Times)

The agent representing Japanese baseball star Shohei Ohtani has announced that the ace pitcher-and-slugger has decided to join the Los Angeles Angels in the 2018 season. (NHK)

Police in Hokkaido said Saturday they had arrested three of the crew members of a North Korean fishing boat on suspicion of plundering a remote fishing hut. (Japan Today)

Online retail giant Rakuten wants to help drones navigate safely at a low altitude in Japan, with an eye on future autonomous delivery service. (NHK)

The Justice Ministry is considering relaxing a key requirement that non-Japanese planning to start businesses here must fulfill to obtain resident status in Japan. (Japan Times)

Two women were killed and another person was injured Thursday night in a stabbing incident at a Shinto shrine in Tokyo, with the male suspect appearing to have committed suicide, police said. (Japan Today)

Drivers of the now-ubiquitous go-karts reminiscent of Nintendo Co.'s "Mario Kart" video games will soon be required to buckle up for their safety. (Japan Times)

Princess Mako, her husband-to-be, Kei Komuro, teenage shogi sensation Sota Fujii, a giant panda cub and seven other figures who featured heavily in the media this year have been featured on colorful hagoita wooden paddles unveiled by Japanese traditional doll maker Kyugetsu Co. on Wednesday. (Japan Times)

Japan's Supreme Court has ruled for the first time that an article in the country's Broadcast Law that obliges TV owners to sign receiving contracts with NHK does not violate the Constitution. (NHK)

Police in Chiba have arrested an unemployed 42-year-old woman for the second time in a month on suspicion of stalking the same man. (Japan Today)