| May 10 | 5 suffer heatstroke as temperatures fluctuate across Japan |
 Five people were taken to hospital to be treated for heatstroke as temperatures fluctuated across Japan on Thursday and Friday. (Japan Today  ) |
| May 10 | Looking back at the death of Rikidozan |
 On April 9, Katsuji Murata, the former member of the Sumiyoshi-kai organized crime group who stabbed wrestler Rikidozan five decades ago, died of natural of natural causes after suffering from diabetes. Weekly tabloid Shukan Asahi Geino (May 2-9) looks back at the events that lead to the premature end to the famed grappler. (Tokyo Reporter ) |
| May 10 | 7-year-old girl run down, killed at pedestrian crossing near home |
 Police said Friday they have arrested the driver of a car that hit and killed a 7-year-old girl at a pedestrian crossing in Chiba Prefecture. (Japan Today ) |
| May 10 | Yoshiwara soapland bathhouses banning Chinese tourists |
 According to the Japan National Tourism Organization, a record-high 1.43 million Chinese tourists visited Japan in 2012. This figure represents an increase of 37.3 percent over the year before. Monthly magazine Cyzo says that visitors from China seek out Japanese products since they are viewed to be of high quality, but one item is proving to be elusive: the prostitute. (Tokyo Reporter ) |
| May 10 | Foreign dignitaries honored with spring decorations |
 Former French Prime Minister Francois Fillon, former Namibian Premier Theo-Ben Gurirab and Edgardo Angara, a former Philippine Senate president, received state decorations Thursday along with 20 Japanese from the Emperor at the Imperial Palace. (Japan Times ) |
| May 09 | Groping fantasy goes off the rails; Osaka pervert arrested |
 Wakayama Prefectural Police on Wednesday announced the arrest of a 26-year-old man for groping a woman he thought had given him consent via a Web site. (Tokyo Reporter ) |
| May 09 | Cheap sex still easy in Japan in spite of 'Abenomics' |
 There was a time when the lowest price offered for entry to a soapland bathhouse was 25,000 yen. Even with "Abenomics"those days are long gone. Spa! (May 14) says that in today’s deflationary market there are numerous options whereby customers can engage in foamy fun for an outlay as low as 10,000 yen. (Tokyo Reporter ) |
| May 09 | Bosozoku groups busted for brawling in Tokyo |
 Tokyo Metropolitan Police on Wednesday announced the arrest of members of the Ota Rengo and Konami bosozoku motorcycle gangs on weapons charges. (Tokyo Reporter ) |
| May 09 | Police crack down on schoolgirl services |
 Police have begun cracking down on businesses that employ girls of high school age to provide massage and other services to male customers after the labor ministry called the practice a harmful job, though many companies have simply turned to a "storeless" business model that attracts less notice. (Yomiuri ) |
| May 09 | Uganda singer Iryn Namubiru still in custody |
 Local singer Iryn Namubiru has been arrested in Tokyo, Japan, where she had gone to perform at a music concert. (newvision.co.ug ) |
| May 08 | Psychiatric patient dies after being assaulted by male nurse |
 A patient at a psychiatric hospital has died after being assaulted by a male nursing assistant, police said Wednesday. (Japan Today ) |
| May 08 | Why this Japanese woman turned into a 'plastic surgery cyborg' |
 Meet Vanilla Chamu. She greets fellow Japanese people with a "bonjour" and claims to be from the Palace of Versailles. She's not, of course. Recently, she was introduced on Japanese TV as "Osaka's Plastic Surgery Cyborg". (Kotaku ) |
| May 08 | Sumiyoshi-kai gangster busted for smuggling 1 kilo of stimulant drugs in plum packs |
 Tokyo Metropolitan Police announced on Tuesday the arrest of a member of the Sumiyoshi-kai organized crime group for smuggling stimulant drugs into Japan from Taiwan. (Tokyo Reporter ) |
| May 08 | Japan's yakuza gang wars |
 Visibly nervous, the chairman of a local construction company asks that we lower our voices at the lunch table, and that his name be withheld from publication.
(Global Post ) |
| May 08 | Serial mugger targets women in Kanagawa |
 Police on Tuesday said they are looking for a man whom they believe was responsible for four muggings which took place on the streets of Yokosuka and Yokohama on Monday morning. (Japan Today ) |
| May 08 | Ex-lay judge sues gov't for mental suffering |
 A 62-year-old woman who served as a citizen judge in a murder case filed suit against the government on Tuesday seeking 2 million yen in damages, arguing her involvement in the trial caused her to suffer acute stress disorder. (Global Post ) |
| May 07 | 8 year return for snow in Hokkaido city |
 Snow has settled in the city of Obihiro in Japan's northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido for the first time in May in eight years. (NHK ) |
| May 07 | Author Murakami makes first Japan public appearance in 18 years |
 Japanese author Haruki Murakami made his first public appearance in his homeland in 18 years on Monday, describing his newest novel, which was an instant-best seller, as a story that takes place in the real world, unlike many of his other novels. (Reuters ) |
| May 07 | Three climbers die in mountaineering accidents |
 Three climbers were confirmed dead Monday in accidents that occurred over the Golden Week holidays on multiple mountains in Nagano Prefecture, according to police. (Japan Times ) |
| May 06 | Drunk U.S. serviceman arrested for trespassing in private residence |
 Police said Monday that a U.S. serviceman stationed at the Yokosuka naval base has been arrested for trespassing after he illegally entered the grounds of a private residence while drunk. (Japan Today ) |
| May 06 | Was fatal Tokyo spa blast foreseeable? |
 With the Tokyo District Court set to rule Thursday on a 2007 fatal explosion at a Tokyo spa facility, the prosecution and defense teams clashed over the key question of whether the accident was foreseeable. (Yomiuri ) |
| May 06 | Thieves steal Y5 mil worth of jewelry after backing car into store |
 Two men got away with 5 million yen worth of jewelry after they backed their car through the front of a jewelry store in Ushiku, Ibaeraki Prefecture, on Sunday morning. (Japan Today ) |
| May 06 | Tokyo to clamp down on shijimi clam hunters |
 Collecting shijimi clams at the mouth of the Tamagawa river, which forms the border between Tokyo and Kanagawa Prefecture, has recently been growing into a popular pastime, but fears of overfishing have prompted the Tokyo metropolitan government to reinstate fishing rights for the first time in a half century. (Yomiuri ) |
| May 06 | Carp streamers displayed in Fukushima town |
 As Japan observes Children's Day on Sunday, around 100 carp-shaped streamers are flying in the sky of a town near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. People are not allowed to live there, but they can visit some parts of the town during the daytime. (NHK ) |
| May 05 | Car goes off bridge after being rear-ended by Ferrari |
 A car went off a bridge and fell about 7.5 meters to the road below after being rear-ended by a Ferrari on Sunday morning in Tokyo. (Japan Today ) |
| May 05 | Man hit by arrow while walking in garden in Ibaraki |
 A man was struck by an arrow while walking in a garden alongside an archery ground in Inashiki, Ibaraki Prefecture, police said Sunday. (Japan Today ) |
| May 05 | Princess Masako shows signs of confidence |
 Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako, who returned Friday morning from a six-day trip to the Netherlands to attend the new Dutch king's coronation ceremony, smiled as they were greeted by their daughter Princess Aiko, 11, at the crown prince's palace. (Yomiuri ) |
| May 05 | Yakuza links put nation at added nuclear risk |
 Japan has more than 50 gigantic nuclear "pressure cookers" ripe for exploitation by terrorists. And they wouldn't even have to lay siege to the facilities. Instead, they could just walk into a nuclear plant and leave with enough weapons-grade plutonium for a small atomic device - which later could be detonated wherever they chose. (Japan Times ) |
| May 05 | Woman held for throwing 2-yr-old daughter from 4th-floor balcony |
 Police on Saturday arrested a 31-year-old woman for allegedly throwing her two-year-old daughter from the 4th-floor balcony of their apartment in Ageoshi, Saitama Prefecture. (Japan Today ) |
| May 05 | Japan's child population falls for 32nd year in row |
 The number of children aged 14 and under in Japan fell for the 32nd straight year, standing at a record-low 16.49 million as of April 1, the government said Saturday, reflecting the continued drop in the country's birthrate. (Kyodo ) |
| May 05 | NPA eyes counseling to end repeat offenses by stalkers |
 The National Police Agency will try to prevent stalkers from repeating offenses by encouraging them to undergo counseling and treatment at specialized institutions. (Yomiuri ) |
| May 04 | Hakata Dontaku festival in Fukuoka |
 The Hakata Dontaku port festival began in Fukuoka City, southern Japan, on Friday. (NHK ) |
| May 03 | Japan Crown Prince, Princess return from Netherlands |
 Japanese Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako returned home on Friday from a six-day trip to the Netherlands on which they attended the new Dutch king's inauguration ceremony in Amsterdam. (Jiji Press ) |
| May 03 | Man arrested over murder of 72-year-old father |
 Police on Friday arrested a 37-year-old man for allegedly killing his 72-year-old father at their house in Odawara, Kanagawa Prefecture. (Japan Today ) |
| May 03 | Greying Japan celebrates Children's Day with carp streamers |
 Colourful carp-shaped streamers fluttered all over Japan on Thursday as an increasingly elderly nation readied to pray for the health of young sons and mark Children's Day. (Channel NewsAsia ) |
| May 03 | Smooth-talking lolicon lecher prosecuted in Osaka for rape of 10 girls |
 On March 13, officers from the cybercrime division of the Osaka Prefectural Police arrested Yusuke Inoue, 42, for the rape of multiple elementary- and middle-school girls with ages between 11 and 15. (Tokyo Reporter) |
| May 03 | Osaka high-school teacher disciplined for hooking on the side |
 The Osaka Prefectural Board of Education on Thursday announced a six-month suspension for a 29-year-old female high-school teacher who was working as a prostitute in her off hours. (Tokyo Reporter ) |
| May 02 | Man gored to death in Japan bull ring |
 A bull has gored to death a 40-year-old man in southern Japan just a month after attacking his father and breaking the older man's ribs. (The Australian ) |
| May 02 | Man beats girlfriend's mother with golf club |
 A 24-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly bashing his girlfriend's mother with a golf club and trying to strangle his 22-year-old girlfriend and her 1-year-old baby in Nasushiobara City, Tochigi Prefecture. (News On Japan ) |
| May 02 | Taro Aso 'gang style' t-shirts |
 When Finance Minister Taro Aso set off for a G20 meeting earlier this year, he did it in style, sporting a natty felt hat, pulled rakishly down over one eye. No sooner had he stepped out in public in this getup than Twitter was abuzz with comments celebrating the finance minister's "gangster style." (Japan Pulse ) |
| May 02 | Gun shots at Yamanashi onsen likely linked to yakuza feud |
 In what Yamanashi Prefectural Police believe is connected to an ongoing fight between organized crime groups in Yamanashi Prefecture, a vehicle registered to gang members was shot at on Tuesday morning in the hot springs area of Fuefuki City. (Tokyo Reporter ) |
| May 02 | Kochi rail execs resign for using name of Yamaguchi-gumi boss to threaten shareholder |
 Tosa Electric Railway on Monday announced the resignation of two top executives over revelations that the name of a gang boss was used to threaten a shareholder (Tokyo Reporter) |
| May 02 | Japanese AV a smash in China |
 The regulation of adult-oriented products in China is very strict. In spite of this environment, Japan's adult video (AV) actresses stole the show at the 10th China International Adult Health and Reproduction Exhibition held in Shanghai between April 12 and 14. (Tokyo Reporter ) |
| May 02 | As world dials back death penalty, Japan heads in opposite direction |
 Two gangsters were hanged in Japan last week. More executions are likely under new Prime Minister Abe, who has expressed strong support for the death penalty - and says the public backs him. (csmonitor.com ) |
| May 02 | Former JICA worker held over 6 mil. yen theft |
 A 49-year-old man was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of embezzling about 6 million yen from the Japan International Cooperation Agency as a contract employee, investigative sources said. (Yomiuri ) |
| May 02 | 6-year-old boy falls from jet coaster at Fukui theme park |
 Police on Wednesday said they are investigating safety problems at a theme park in Sakai City, Fukui Prefecture, after a 6-year-old boy fell from a jet coaster. (Japan Today ) |
| May 02 | Japanese adult movies could thrive under TPP? |
 If Japan joins the tariff-eliminating Trans-Pacific-Partnership (TPP), some Japanese feel the country's entertainment industry for adults could succeed in foreign markets. (NMAWorldEdition ) |
| May 01 | Japan Crown Prince, Princess attend Dutch King's inauguration |
 Visiting Japanese Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako attended Tuesday a ceremony to inaugurate Crown Prince Willem-Alexander as the new king of the Netherlands after Queen Beatrix abdicated earlier in the day. (Jiji Press ) |
| May 01 | Tokyo cops arrest company employee for picking up 22 teen prostitutes, seize videos |
 Tokyo Metropolitan Police on Monday arrested Naoteru Ohashi, a 42-year-old company employee for allegedly picking up teenage prostitutes he lured to hotels via the Internet, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Apr. 30). (Tokyo Reporter ) |
| May 01 | Yamaguchi-gumi member busted for illegal bookmaking of boat races |
 Osaka Prefectural Police on Tuesday arrested a member of the Yamaguchi-gumi organized crime group for illegally taking bets on boat races. (Tokyo Reporter ) |