Companies in Japan's service industries are struggling to hire and retain staff as the labor market becomes the tightest in decades, and are increasingly taking unorthodox steps to alleviate the shortage. (Japan Today)

A little-known milky paradise awaits those who know where to look at this busy station in the capital. (rocketnews24.com)

Tokyo police have arrested a 52-year-old company employee for driving through a busy pedestrian crossing near Shibuya Station last week. (NHK)

Many people in Japan are still trying to wrap their heads around an incident that occurred on September 28 at Hakata High School in Fukuoka Prefecture, in which a student violently assaulted his teacher after the educator confiscated a tablet on which the boy had been watching movies during class time. (Japan Today)

Japan's nuclear regulator has taken a step further in allowing Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, to restart its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in Niigata Prefecture on the Sea of Japan coast. (NHK)

Uber’s board of directors Tuesday approved a plan that reins in the influence of ousted chief executive Travis Kalanick and opens the door to a colossal investment by telecommunications giant SoftBank. (Japan Times)

Police have arrested two men on suspicion of stealing baseballs from a high school baseball club in Saitama Prefecture. The suspects, who were arrested on Monday, were former baseball teammates in junior high school, Fuji TV reported. (Japan Today)

Police in Chofu, Tokyo, said Tuesday that part of a human skull was discovered on the premises of Jindai-ji temple last week. (Japan Today)

The stunning natural phenomenon looks more like an otherworldly dragon as it’s filmed slowly retreating up to the sky. (rocketnews24.com)

A wild boar created havoc in a peaceful residential area in Nagasaki Prefecture on Sunday, terrifying a man in a wheelchair, biting two pensioners and smashing into both a motorbike and a car, police said. (Japan Times)

The Bank of Japan's quarterly survey of large manufacturers shows confidence at its highest level in 10 years. (NHK)

Schools in Japan aren't entirely free of misbehaving students, ranging from sleepers to delusional ranters. (rocketnews24.com)

A Japanese railway company has unveiled a new shinkansen bullet train that it plans to put into service in fiscal 2020. (NHK)

The first shipment of Japanese beef to Taiwan in 16 years passed through customs in Taipei on Saturday following the lifting of a ban earlier last month. (Japan Times)

On the morning of 26 September in Tokyo, schoolchildren on their way to a day of learning and play at Edogawa Elementary School were crossing a pedestrian land bridge. However, hanging from the rail was a little doll made of straw along with a note which read "All you f***ing brats jump from here and die." (rocketnews24.com)

Chinese authorities have ordered a Japanese singer to postpone a concert because of the upcoming Communist Party congress. (NHK)

With higher costs weighing on the conveyor-belt sushi restaurant industry, Akindo Sushiro and Genki Sushi aim through their merger to leverage greater scale to negotiate better prices for quality fish. (Nikkei)

Geisha performers and apprentices held a kyomai traditional dance rehearsal Friday for the annual Onshukai event put on by the Inoue school in Kyoto. (Kyodo)

Police have arrested a man in his 40s on suspicion of attempted murder after he stabbed a homeless man in Shinagawa Ward, Tokyo, on Saturday morning. (Japan Today)

More married women are entering the workforce — even those whose husbands are high earners — apparently because they want to, the labor ministry said Friday. (Japan Times)

Xiang Xiang, the female giant panda born in June at Japan's oldest zoo, is growing well and has added 900 grams in 10 days, Ueno Zoo said Sunday. (Japan Times)

Illegal overtime has been found at 37 of the 762 companies involved in the construction of the new National Stadium in Tokyo, the labor ministry’s Tokyo Labor Bureau has said. (Japan Times)

Nissan Motor is temporarily halting sales of at least 60,000 vehicles after unqualified employees were found to have conducted final pre-shipment inspections. (NHK)

A rollercoaster at an amusement park in Osaka suddenly stopped in midair on Friday, leaving more than 30 passengers stuck face-down for half an hour before being rescued. No one was injured. (NHK)

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is planning to use the upcoming House of Representatives election to gauge the public’s opinion of his intention to change how increased revenue from the consumption tax hike will be used. (the-japan-news.com)