Japan Tobacco Inc said on Wednesday it hoped to catch up with Philip Morris International Inc in smokeless tobacco by expanding the number of smoke-free restaurants and public places that allow its vaping product. (Japan Today)

A Japanese budget airline apologised Wednesday for forcing a wheelchair-bound man to crawl up a set of stairs to board his flight. (scmp.com)

The frequent tests and growing sophistication of North Korean missiles is prompting the Japanese government and the general public to think carefully about civil defence. What if Pyongyang actually did fire missiles at a major Japanese city? (aljazeera.com)

A twin-propeller plane made a belly landing Thursday at Nagasaki airport due to mechanical trouble, causing a brief runway closure and the cancellation of over a dozen flights, the airport operator and the transport ministry said. (Japan Times)

Sony Corp. said Thursday it will resume production of vinyl records for the first time in three decades this fiscal year as the format sees a resurgence in popularity. (Japan Times)

Farmers in Kagawa Prefecture, western Japan, have started shipping square watermelons across the country. (NHK)

Even though the national suicide rate has fallen by 30% since 2003, its current mark of 18.5 per 100,000 remains the third-highest in the OECD, a rich-country club. (economist.com)

Japanese premier Shinzo Abe is looking to quietly ditch a pledge to balance the budget by fiscal 2020 in favor of a looser debt-to-GDP ratio target, a move that gives him a free hand to delay again an unpopular sales tax hike, government sources say. (Reuters)

The yen may face a test of confidence as Tokyo aims to boost the currency’s presence abroad at a time when China has been eclipsing Japan’s clout on the world stage. (Japan Times)

Japan and Russia started their first study Tuesday to assess the potential for joint economic activities on disputed islands controlled by Moscow but claimed by Tokyo, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said. (Japan Today)

Two cities in central Japan regarded as the birthplace of ninjas, or feudal era secret agents, have launched a council to attract more tourists from home and abroad. (NHK)

Osaka Mayor Hirofumi Yoshimura said Tuesday he has ordered a nursery school run by the wife of Yasunori Kagoike, the former chief of scandal-tainted school operator Moritomo Gakuen, to suspend its operations for six months beginning Saturday due to a shortage of teachers. (Japan Times)

A 42-year-old woman of Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, was arrested Tuesday for allegedly setting a man on fire, causing him to sustain burns over his entire body, police said. (Japan Times)

As the cost of obtaining a college degree has skyrocketed over the years, millions of Japanese are facing potential financial crisis for pursuing post-secondary education. (japansubculture.com)

Manager Don Mattingly made out the Miami Marlins' lineup unaware he was making Ichiro Suzuki the oldest player to start a game in center field since at least 1900. (the-japan-news.com)

The government is considering equipping cutting-edge F-35 stealth fighters with air-to-surface missiles, which are capable of striking remote targets on land, and plans to deploy these fighters to the Air Self-Defense Force, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned. (the-japan-news.com)

The poverty rate among Japanese children slightly improved in 2015 thanks in part to the country's better job market but one in every seven children remains poor, a survey by the welfare ministry showed Tuesday. (Japan Today)

Right on the tail of the SNES Mini Classic’s announcement in the US and Europe, Nintendo has followed up with an equivalent product for Japan. The Nintendo Classic Mini: Super Famicom is based on the system’s original design, shared by the European version, and comes with a slightly different selection of games. (theverge.com)

North Korea now appears able to hit Japan with a nuclear missile, a Tokyo-based newspaper has reported. (independent.co.uk)

Smoke from a battery for charging a mobile phone has caused visitors to temporarily evacuate at a major theme park in Osaka, western Japan. (NHK)

A private research institute estimates that about 30 percent of Japanese houses will be vacant in 16 years unless they are reoccupied or demolished. (NHK)

A 70-year-old woman dubbed the "black widow" for allegedly murdering her husband and common-law partners with cyanide, pleaded innocent Monday at the first hearing of her trial at the Kyoto District Court. (Japan Times)

Gaffe-prone Finance Minister Taro Aso made a comment Saturday about a junior lawmaker from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party who indicated her intent to leave the party due to allegations that she abused one of her secretaries, stressing her gender. (Japan Times)

Playing at the main softball venue for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, world No. 1 Japan beat the United States 5-3 on Sunday to clinch their three-game series. (Japan Times)

Japanese production of disposable diapers declined for the first time in 15 years in 2016, mainly due to weaker purchases from visiting Chinese tourists. (Nikkei)