Princess Aiko, the only daughter of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, arrived in Tottori Prefecture on October 19 for her first visit to the region, where she is scheduled to attend a national disaster prevention conference and a symposium on disaster preparedness.
Police in Gunma Prefecture rearrested a 30-year-old man on October 18 on suspicion of murdering his former mother-in-law at her home in Ota City last month, following an attack that also left the woman's eldest son injured.
A 22-year-old woman was killed late on October 17 after a truck rear-ended a car that had stopped following a collision with a deer on the Shin-Tomei Expressway in Shinshiro, Aichi Prefecture.
Three people, including a former chief priest, have been arrested over the alleged takeover of a historic Buddhist temple in central Kyoto, with investigators suspecting they sold temple-owned land and buildings without authorization for approximately 226 million yen, leaving the 300-year-old institution with almost none of its property beyond its main hall and grounds.
Police investigating the deaths of seven dogs and cats at a pet shop have discovered that the business allegedly obtained powerful prescription drugs illegally from a veterinarian for several years, allowing unlicensed staff to administer the medicines in an apparent effort to reduce operating costs.
A 41-year-old woman has been arrested on suspicion of selling sleeping pills not approved for use in Japan to girls who frequent the "Toyoko" area of Tokyo's Kabukicho entertainment district, allegedly promoting the drugs on social media as a way to experience an intense high through excessive consumption.
More than 1,000 chickens escaped from a truck onto a busy national highway in Osaki City, Miyagi Prefecture, on October 15 after the vehicle's load shifted, prompting traffic restrictions that lasted approximately four hours.
Tokyo's 23 wards have decided to establish a new small-scale public crematorium to address rising fees at privately operated facilities and growing concerns that cremation capacity could become insufficient around 2040 as the city's aging population drives up the number of deaths.