Airports around the world have found an unconventional, eco-friendly way to take advantage of all the unused open space around their runways and buildings: hosting beehives. (Japan Times)

The average financial assets held by Japanese households with two or more members this year rose 6.8 percent from the previous year to ¥11.51 million, a survey showed Friday. (the-japan-news.com)

The northern Japanese prefecture of Hokkaido is being hit by strong, cold winds caused by a low pressure system. The storm has injured several people and damaged many buildings. (NHK)

Japan will be among the lowest-tier of teams in the draw for next June’s World Cup finals after Senegal claimed a berth in the tournament on Friday. (Japan Times)

A police probe into the attempted murder of an elderly bedridden woman has reportedly led to an unlikely suspect: a stray cat. (Japan Times)

Japan’s national debt hit a record ¥1,080,440.5 billion at the end of September, up ¥1,474.1 billion from three months before, the Finance Ministry said Friday. (the-japan-news.com)

Concluding a peace treaty between Russia and Japan would involve Moscow examining how it could be affected by Tokyo's security commitments to its allies, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday. (Japan Today)

The United States navy has begun a rarely performed drill in the Sea of Japan, mobilizing 3 aircraft carriers. The exercise is an apparent show of might against North Korea. (NHK)

Trade ministers from 11 Pacific Rim countries said they reached an agreement Saturday to proceed with the free-trade Trans-Pacific Partnership deal that was in doubt after U.S. President Donald Trump abandoned it. However, an immediate formal endorsement by the countries’ leaders meeting in Vietnam appeared unlikely. ()

Japan's Economic Revitalization Minister says all the 11 signatory nations of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal have reconfirmed their broad agreement to put the deal into effect without the United States. (NHK)

Japan's opposition party Hope, led by Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, has elected Lower House lawmaker Yuichiro Tamaki as its co-leader. (NHK)

An advisory council of Japan's education ministry has given the green light to a controversial plan to open a veterinary school in April of next year. (NHK)

Even with its convenience stores, souvenir outlets, tour buses and boutique coffee shops, Mount Koya might be modestly alluded to as a Japanese Lhasa. There is no living being, of course, who embodies the doctrines of a religious order such as the Dalai Lama, but in the person of the saintly priest Kukai, who founded the temple complex in 816 as the center of the Tantric Buddhist sect known as Shingon Mikkyo, the mountain top finds an ecclesiastical figure of compelling and charismatic force. (Japan Times)

The number of foreign visitors to Japan this year hit a new record, exceeding the previous high of over 24 million logged last year, Japan’s tourism minister said Friday. (Japan Times)

Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi says he's excited about his third mission to the International Space Station. (NHK)

Multilingual robot concierges have been unveiled in Tokyo prior to trials that will gauge their ability to welcome visitors to the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics. (NHK)

A reporter for one of Japan's leading newspapers, Asahi Shimbun, was arrested for allegedly recording video up women's skirts while riding a train on the Yamanote Line in Tokyo. According to police, the suspect, 35-year-old Keisuke Masuda, confessed, "I've been doing it for months, and I couldn't stop." (rocketnews24.com)

A major Tokyo aquarium suffered a massive die-off inside its largest fish tank late Tuesday and early Wednesday, likely due to lack of oxygen. (Japan Times)

Anti-drug authorities in Japan have arrested 6 people on suspicion of possessing a large supply of so-called "dangerous drugs." The drugs are mixtures of herbs and chemicals, similar to illegal narcotics. (NHK)

Japanese actress Ryoko Yonekura, 42, has had a big week. On Monday, she was a guest at the dinner for U.S. Presidfent Donald Trump and his wife Melania. Then on Wednesday, she was a winner of the annual “Best Smile of the Year 2017” award, along with actor Masao Kusakari, 65. (Japan Today)

Japan's prime minister said his round of golf with visiting President Donald Trump was a good chance to relax and discuss difficult issues. (Japan Today)

The US Agriculture Department says US pork exporters to Japan will face tariff disadvantages if 11 countries reach a broad agreement on the Trans Pacific Partnership free trade deal, or TPP. (NHK)

US online retail giant Amazon has launched a line of voice-controlled AI speakers capable of understanding Japanese. (NHK)

The Japanese economy expanded for a 58th consecutive month in September to mark the second-longest recovery in postwar history, government data shows, but sluggish wage growth and consumption belie the statistical milestone's significance for most people. (Nikkei)

The government will seek to lower the age of adulthood from 20 to 18 during the ordinary Diet session to be convened in January. (Japan Times)