The streets of Tokyo will host Japan's first ever race event in the all-electric Formula E world championship in March next year, the metropolitan government said Wednesday. (Kyodo)

A fashion show was held in a train in Osaka on Saturday to promote the understanding of sexual minorities. (NOJ)

Japan's parliament on Friday enacted a law to create a pool of funds to cover part of a substantial increase in defense spending to protect the country against security threats from its neighbors. (Kyodo)

Farmers in northern Japan have put premium watermelons up for the season's first auctions, with one of them selling for 700,000 yen, or around 5,000 dollars. (NHK)

French Open mixed doubles champion Miyu Kato said Thursday an appeal to have her prize money and tour points reinstated was rejected by tournament organizers following a controversial incident in which she was defaulted for accidentally hitting a ball kid with a ball. (Kyodo)

Japan’s lower house on Tuesday approved proposed legislation aimed at “promoting understanding” of LGBTQ issues but campaigners criticised the bill for its watered-down language. (straitstimes.com)

A Nagasaki prefectural government official was arrested Tuesday after paper cranes symbolizing peace were found burned at a Nagasaki park commemorating the victims of the atomic bombing of the southwestern Japan city in 1945. (Kyodo)

Police in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, say a 26-year-old man who was arrested after robbing a watch store in Kawasaki on Sunday said he applied for the job on a social networking site. (Japan Today)

Japan's more powerful lower house passed a contentious bill on Tuesday to promote understanding of sexual minorities, paving the way for enacting the legislation by the end of the current parliamentary session through next week. (Kyodo)

The rainy season has officially begun across Japan, with the northeast and parts of central areas of the nation joining other regions already experiencing soggy weather, the weather agency said Sunday. (Kyodo)

A 26-year-old woman was stabbed by a man in Tokyo’s Koto Ward late Friday. Police said the suspect, who was in his 30s, died after having apparently jumped from a nearby apartment building where he lived. (Japan Today)

Four Chinese nationals have been arrested on suspicion of smuggling about 700 kilograms of illegal stimulants from the United Arab Emirates, police and customs officials said Wednesday. (Kyodo)

Thirteen percent of elementary to high school students in Japan had depressive tendencies warranting medical attention last October due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, a recent study by a medical institute said. (Kyodo)

Police in Fukuoka said Sunday they have arrested four men over the death of a 43 year-old-man after a fight between several people on Saturday. (Japan Today)

Tokyo stocks closed Monday at 33-year highs as investor sentiment was boosted by a surge in U.S. stocks late last week and robust jobs data for May. (Japan Today)

Police in Numazu, Shizuoka Prefecture, have arrested a 24-year-old woman and a 20-year-old man on suspicion of abandoning a newborn baby girl whose partially burned body was found along the coastline last month. (Japan Today)

A private photo of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, taken at his official residence, was leaked by a magazine on Friday, with critics arguing the action was inappropriate and generated security issues at what they consider a public facility, reports Kyodo News. (Daily Sun)

Japan on Tuesday unveiled a comprehensive policy package to tackle hay fever caused by pollen from cedar and cypress trees, aiming to halve emissions over the next 30 years. (Kyodo)

About 200 people, including "cosplayers" dressed up as characters from manga and anime, cleaned up the Dotonbori area on Saturday, Kyodo reports. (NOJ)

A four-year-old boy fell to his death from the 12th floor of an apartment building in Hofu, Yamaguchi Prefecture, on Friday afternoon. (Japan Today)

A man in his 50s was fatally shot in a coffee shop in Machida, Tokyo, on Friday night, in what police believe was a gang-related shooting. The shooter fled with an accomplice but later turned himself in at a police station. (Japan Today)

Lone yokozuna Terunofuji completed a triumphant comeback from injury Saturday at the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament, outlasting title rival Kiribayama to clinch the championship with a day to spare. (Kyodo)

Over 97 percent of new university graduates in Japan found jobs this spring, up 1.5 points from the previous year for the first rise in three years, reflecting a labor shortage as the economy recovers from the coronavirus pandemic, the government said Friday. (Kyodo)

NASA on Tuesday unveiled photos of the area of the Moon where a Japanese lander failed in what could have been the world's first lunar touchdown by a private space vehicle. (Kyodo)

Japan's lower house on Tuesday approved a bill creating a special pool of funds to substantially increase defense spending despite opposition lawmakers' resistance. (Kyodo)