A historic temple hall on Mount Misen in Hiroshima Prefecture was destroyed by fire, but the famed "undying flame" believed to have burned continuously for more than 1,200 years was safely preserved elsewhere, according to the temple's chief priest.
An employee at Asahiyama Zoo in Asahikawa, Hokkaido, who was rearrested on suspicion of murdering his wife, allegedly told investigators that she had suspected him of having a relationship with another woman.
A fire broke out in a residential area of Moriguchi, Osaka Prefecture, on May 23rd, leaving one woman injured and prompting an ongoing firefighting operation involving 13 emergency vehicles.
A sex business allegedly operating under the guise of a massage parlor in an area where such operations are prohibited has been raided by police, leading to the arrest of its female operator and others.
Copper roofing panels were stolen from several shrines in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, including a city-designated cultural property, in the latest case amid a nationwide surge in copper thefts targeting shrines and temples across Japan, where soaring metal prices have fueled crimes that leave historic religious buildings damaged, exposed to the elements, and facing repair costs of millions of yen.
A fire that broke out in Kagamino, Okayama Prefecture, shortly after noon on May 20th destroyed three buildings, including a home, after flames from open burning spread to dead leaves and then to nearby structures.
Six people, including a senior member of a group affiliated with the Sumiyoshi-kai crime syndicate's Kohei-ikka faction, have been arrested on suspicion of opening a gang office in a prohibited area near a nursery school in Tokyo's Itabashi Ward.
A man who visited a police station in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, in the early hours of May 21st allegedly sprayed a transparent liquid inside the building, causing six police officers to complain of eye and throat pain and be taken to hospital with minor injuries.