The planned launch of a rocket carrying the navigation satellite Michibiki No. 3 has been postponed. (NHK)

Police in Izumi, Osaka Prefecture, are looking for a man who stole a bag from a 69-year-old woman in a wheelchair in an elevator at the woman's municipal apartment building. (Japan Today)

China's Mobike will start a bicycle-sharing service in Sapporo in late August, becoming the first major player in the rapidly expanding Chinese industry to set foot in Japan. (the-japan-news.com)

Over a million performers and spectators will flock to a western Japanese city this weekend for one of the country's largest dance festivals, after organizers stepped up efforts to accommodate foreign visitors. (Japan Today)

Japan is deploying missile interceptor units in western parts of the country in response to North Korea's plans to fire missiles toward the US Pacific territory of Guam. (NHK)

The Justice Ministry intends to introduce a videophone-based interpretation system for foreign nationals in prisons and detention centers. (the-japan-news.com)

Japan posted surpluses in its public pension accounts in fiscal 2016, which ended in March, thanks to large investment returns, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said Thursday. (the-japan-news.com)

Relatives of victims of Japan's worst air disaster gathered to remember their loved ones on Saturday, the 32nd anniversary of the tragedy. (NHK)

Labor authorities have officially acknowledged that a Japanese doctor killed himself due to overwork. His suicide has drawn attention to the harsh working conditions of people in the medical field. (NHK)

With its densely packed cities and fast-paced professional world, some in Japan may have trouble finding time to appreciate the country's boundless natural beauty. So in 2014, a new holiday was invented to remind them to pause and take a look around: Mountain Day. (Time)

Japan on Friday said it would allow Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft to continue to operate in the country, accepting U.S. assurances that the flights are safe following a fatal crash off Australia. (Japan Today)

Former Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Shigeru Ishiba is the most popular pick among the public as a politician deemed preferable to become Japan's next prime minister, a Jiji Press poll has found. (Japan Times)

A 39-year-old man was served a fresh arrest warrant Friday for allegedly murdering two Chinese sisters whose bodies were found stuffed in travel bags in woods southwest of Tokyo last month, police said. (Japan Today)

While Toshiba appears to have averted the risk of immediate delisting from the Tokyo Stock Exchange by submitting its annual financial results with sign-off by an auditor ahead of the deadline, the Japanese conglomerate's prospects of maintaining its listing remain far from certain. (Japan Times)

Police in Tokyo said Thursday they have arrested a 33-year-old woman on suspicion of murder after a man found in her apartment in Chiyoda Ward, died from stab wounds. (Japan Today)

Faced with having to stabilize the supply of potatoes for its chips, Japanese snack maker Calbee is increasing the amount of the crop it grows in rice fields. Paddy-field potatoes are mainly grown in Kyushu, Japan's southernmost main island, but Calbee also plans to start cultivating them in the northern regions of Hokkaido and Tohoku. (Nikkei)

The Japanese government was on high alert on Wednesday after an overnight news report that North Korea can now arm its missiles with miniaturized nuclear warheads. (Japan Today)

Rest your body and wallet as you travel half-way across the country in your sleep. (rocketnews24.com)

The latest data shows Japan continues to depend on imported food. (NHK)

McDonald's Holdings Co. (Japan) is enjoying a resurgence of earnings as a series of post-scandal rebuilding efforts led by President Sarah Casanova bear fruit. (Nikkei)

An object appearing to be unexploded ordnance was found at disaster-hit Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant by a worker, according to Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc., who reported the find to police. (Japan Times)

One elementary school teacher from Aichi Prefecture was fired Tuesday for allegedly forcing indecent acts on students and another from the same central Japan area was effectively forced to quit his job for sending child pornography. (Japan Today)

Temperatures soared along the Pacific coast in eastern and western Japan on Wednesday with the mercury topping 37 C in Tokyo and other cities in the Kanto region as Typhoon Noru's passage was followed by a warm air mass. (Japan Today)

The five-year survival rate of cancer patients in Japan stands at 65.2 pct, the National Cancer Center said in a survey report on Wednesday. (Japan Times)

Japan Display is considering tough downsizing measures to help save its struggling business, including slashing more than 3,000 jobs. (NHK)