A load of rocks intended for disaster recovery work fell from a helicopter over a mountainous region of western Japan on Saturday. No one was injured, including the 2 crew members. (NHK)

Popular Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike's decision to stake out ground opposite the ruling party ahead of next month's lower house election has come as an unpleasant surprise to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who hoped to find common ground with an ideological ally. (Nikkei)

Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike has announced plans to create a new political party with her allies and become its leader. (NHK)

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has just told senior members of his party that he'll dissolve the Lower House of the Diet on Thursday, which will lead to a snap general election. (NHK)

A panel fell off a commercial jet and hit a car driving in central Osaka on Saturday. (NHK)

An aquarium in the southern Japanese prefecture of Okinawa says it has achieved a world first by successfully breeding black sea turtles in captivity. (NHK)

The Bank of Japan's Tankan survey is expected to indicate that Japanese business sentiment is continuing to improve slightly. The report is due out next week. (NHK)

Over 60 percent of Japanese voters do not support Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's reported plan to dissolve the House of Representatives later this month to call an election, a Kyodo News poll showed Sunday. (Japan Today)

A tablet computer owned by a passenger apparently caught fire aboard a shinkansen train Sunday, forcing an emergency halt to the train, police and the railway said. (Japan Times)

The Japanese government plans to submit a new law to the ordinary session of the 2018 Diet, in an effort to facilitate offshore power generation by setting out standards for operators installing wind turbines and the number of years of permitted operation. (Nikkei)

A passenger took the steering wheel of an expressway bus and brought it to a halt after the driver lost consciousness on the Tohoku Expressway in Osaki, Miyagi Prefecture, on Friday night. The 46-year-old driver was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead, police said. (Japan Today)

Facing less-than-stellar poll numbers, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is taking a huge gamble with plans to dissolve the lower house for a snap election in October. (Nikkei)

An English seminar for geisha has been held in Tokyo to help them communicate with foreign tourists and explain traditional Japanese entertainment culture. (NHK)

Japan will open more service sector jobs to foreigners as early as the first half of next year amid a surge in tourism, thanks to the revised strategic special zone law that took effect Friday. (Nikkei)

The first winning bids for this season’s Japanese pufferfish reached as much as ¥19,000 per kilogram at the Haedomari Market in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, early Friday. Buyers and auctioneers agreed on prices with hand signals inside black cloths around the auctioneers’ arms. (the-japan-news.com)

Police in Shizuoka City said Friday they have arrested a 16-year-old boy on suspicion of stabbing his 51-year-old father to death at their home. (Japan Today)

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe addressed the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday, calling for strict implementation of U.N. Security Council resolutions against North Korea, which has conducted a series of nuclear tests and missile launches. (the-japan-news.com)

Japan's prime minister wants to use revenue from the increased consumption tax to provide tuition-free preschool and higher education. Shinzo Abe says the move would be part of his drive to invest more in human resource development. (NHK)

A 31-year-old Filipino on an international wanted list for suspected involvement in a 2004 rape and murder in baraki Prefecture on Thursday admitted his guilt to Kyodo News. (Japan Today)

Japanese high school baseball standout Kotaro Kiyomiya said on Friday he had decided to turn pro rather than attend university. (Japan Today)

Japan's three major mobile carriers on Friday began selling the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus -- minus the usual enthusiasm of previous iPhone launches. (Nikkei)

The number of foreign visitors to Japan continues to grow. The total so far this year has already topped 20 million. (NHK)

Japanese police reported a record-high 30,262 children as suspected abuse victims to welfare authorities in the first half of 2017, on the back of increased public awareness of the issue, the National Police Agency said Thursday. (Japan Today)

Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association Chairman Hiroto Saikawa has called on the public to visit the Tokyo Motor Show, scheduled to be held from late October, to see the world’s latest technologies. (Japan Times)

A 40-year-old Japanese adventurer will embark on an unassisted solo trek in mid-November journeying approximately 1,130 km across Antarctica to the South Pole. (Japan Times)