Tokyo Metropolitan Police on Monday announced the arrest of a 70-year-old man for allegedly assaulting two female cabin attendants on a Japan Airlines (JAL) flight earlier this year, reports NHK (tokyoreporter.com)

A high court on Wednesday upheld a lower court decision to retry an 84-year-old man who served prison time for fatally stabbing an acquaintance in Kumamoto Prefecture in 1985. (Japan Times)

Prosecutors in Yokohama have decided not to prosecute six male students of Tokyo's Keio University, who were accused of sexual assault after coercing a female student to consume alcohol last year. (Japan Today)

Tokyo Disney Resort operator Oriental Land plans a major expansion for the theme park, looking to spend over 300 billion yen ($2.68 billion) to build new attractions and ease congestion amid fierce competition in the industry. (Nikkei)

NHK has learned that Yokozuna Grand Champion Harumafuji is to retire from sumo to take responsibility for assaulting a lower-ranked wrestler. (NHK)

The latest edition of the Michelin guide for Tokyo is due out on Friday with 82 new restaurants, including five new two-star establishments and 23 entities garnering single stars, Michelin said on Tuesday. (Japan Times)

North Korea launched what appears to be an intercontinental ballistic missile early Wednesday morning, reaching a higher altitude than previous tests and suggesting one of the longest ranges in the country's arsenal. (Nikkei)

Rakuten will capitalize on the home-rental trend with a comprehensive support service for property owners, looking to distinguish itself from the more established Airbnb in a growing market set to emerge from a legal gray area. (Nikkei)

SoftBank Group Corp. and a group of investors are said to be trying to buy a big stake in Uber Technologies Inc. at a sizable discount to the ride-hailing company's $69 billion valuation, seeking to clinch what would be one of the largest ever purchases of stock in a private company. (Japan Times)

From a television commercial that gives a humorous twist to a theme park’s impending closure to hotels staffed by robots, tactics to capitalize on company outings, and ads featuring Japanese pop idols and actors — theme parks in Japan are squeezing their creative juices to attract more first-time visitors and repeaters through avant-garde ways. (Japan Times)

An advisory body to the Japan Sumo Association has agreed on the need for “extremely harsh punishment” to be meted out to grand champion Harumafuji over his assault of a lower-ranked wrestler, the head of the council said Monday. (Japan Times)

Police in northern Japan say a 12-year-old boy has admitted to stabbing a woman. He has been placed under temporary custody by child welfare authorities. (NHK)

The price of Bitcoin topped 1 million yen, or nearly 9,000 US dollars, in Japan on Sunday. (NHK)

A wooden boat containing 8 human bodies has been found washed ashore in Akita Prefecture, northern Japan. (NHK)

Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko have welcomed Luxembourg's Grand Duke Henri and his daughter, Princess Alexandra, at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. (NHK)

The grand champion who won the just-concluded autumn sumo tournament said Sunday he will "tell the truth" about a high-profile assault case involving wrestlers to rid the sumo world of "the pus." (Japan Times)

About 10,000 runners competed in long-distance races at the foot of Japan's highest peak, Mount Fuji, on Sunday. (NHK)

Police are investigating a wooden boat that has washed ashore in northeastern Japan. This comes as several boats believed to be from the Korean Peninsula have been found in Akita Prefecture this month. (NHK)

Railway fans have gathered in western Japan to see a steam locomotive get chugging again for the first time in 44 years. (NHK)

The Japanese government has come up with measures to support domestic farmers and food makers who are facing increased competition from European rivals. (NHK)

Two Japanese snowboarders banned last year after being found guilty of puffing marijuana could be cleared to compete at the 2018 Winter Olympics, ski officials said Friday. (Japan Today)

Japanese aviation authorities say a faulty air traffic control system temporarily prevented aircraft from entering airspace around Hokkaido, northern Japan on Friday night. (NHK)

Senior members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party are in disagreement over whether same-sex partners of state guests should be invited to banquets hosted by Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko. (Japan Times)

The president of Mitsubishi Materials has apologized for falsification of inspection data at 2 of its subsidiaries. (NHK)

A Newsweek story that apparently misinterpreted the results of an opinion poll carried out by a Japanese news agency last week is creating a public stir. (Japan Times)