TRAVEL

More than 500 people in court costumes paraded through the ancient capital of Kyoto on Wednesday in the traditional Aoi Festival. (NHK)

Work continues nationwide to mark school roads in green and other colors, in the wake of a fatal car accident on a road leading to a school in Kameoka, Kyoto Prefecture, last April. (Yomiuri)

Former prosecutor Masaru Wakasa, 56, a frequent commentator on news programs and talk shows who once worked in the Tokyo District Public Prosecutor's Office, said Thursday he will run in this summer's Upper House election as a Liberal Democratic Party candidate. (Japan Times)

A Japanese research team said Wednesday it has reproduced the pathological condition of muscular dystrophy by using induced pluripotent stem, or iPS, cells. (Jiji Press)

Emperor Akihito and co-authors of an encyclopedic work on fish species in Japan celebrated publication of the latest illustrated set of volumes at an event held in Tokyo's Kasumigaseki district on April 22. (Asahi)

Japan's imperial couple has hosted a spring garden party in Tokyo. About 2,000 guests attended the event on Thursday. (NHK)

A dark suit jacket hangs by a shaded window, beneath a portrait of a smiling, well-dressed executive. The man is Akira Teranishi, a Japanese salaryman who killed himself 17 years ago, leaping from a building in Kyoto. It was Valentine's Day. (New York Times)

Two of the nation's top universities--the University of Tokyo and Kyoto University--have decided to reform their entrance exams to cope with students' changing qualities and a sense of crisis of being left behind globally in securing quality students. (Yomiuri)

Myanmar's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has stressed the important role women can play in society. (NHK)

Myanmar's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has traveled to Kyoto, western Japan, on the 2nd day of her weeklong visit to Japan. (NHK)

Members of Myanmar's Muslim minority Rohingya community said they have been barred from a gathering to welcome democracy hero Aung San Suu Kyi when she visits Japan. (Gulf Times)

Peeler Ceramic Art Films, Potters of Japan Part One (WagonerPottery)

A replica of a statue of the ancient monk Ganjin has been shown to the media before being put on public display. (NHK)

A Japanese research team says it has succeeded in predicting the content of dreams with a high accuracy in some cases. (NHK)

The Kyoto Imperial Palace has begun its annual spring viewing. The former official residence of Japan's emperors opened to the public on Thursday. The palace welcomes visitors for 5 days every spring and autumn. (NHK)

A fishing boat which was carried several hundred meters inland by the March 11, 2011 tsunami in Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, will finally be taken apart and removed. (Japan Today)

The Kyoto District Court on Friday handed down a prison sentence of six years for extortion of a construction company employee to Kiyoshi Takayama, 65, the second-highest member of the Yamaguchi-gumi organized crime organization. (Tokyo Reporter)

A 38-ton wind turbine crashed 50 meters to the ground in Kyoto Prefecture after the steel column supporting it snapped, according to officials. (Japan Times)

In an effort to accelerate the internationalization of their institutions, Kyoto University and Kyushu University are looking to drastically boost the number of classes taught in English and educators who are foreign nationals over the next few years. (Japan Times)

Three men were killed late Thursday night when the car they were riding in crashed on a highway in Fukuchiyama, Kyoto Prefecture. (Japan Today)

The Kyoto District Court sentenced a minor, 19, to between five and eight years in prison on Tuesday over an accident in which three people died and seven others suffered injuries after a car he was driving crashed into a group of primary school children. (Yomiuri)

The Kanazawa District Court on Wednesday indicted a gang member for the alleged cultivation of hemp with intent to sell. (Tokyo Reporter)

Japan's transport ministry said Monday safety inspectors had found no major problem on the production line making batteries for Boeing's Dreamliner, further muddying the waters in a worldwide probe. (ruvr.ru)

A safety survey of roads around Japan's public elementary schools has been carried out by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, along with the National Police Agency and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. According to the data collected, over 74,000 spots are currently unsafe for children going to school. (Japan Today)

Researchers in Japan say they have succeeded in growing human kidney tissue from stem cells for the first time in a potential breakthrough for millions with damaged organs who are dependent on dialysis. (Times Live)