Police said Friday they have found four dead bodies in an apartment in Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture, in what is believed to have been a family murder-suicide. (Japan Today)

The employment situation for new graduates from four-year universities and other schools in Japan has been improving, a government survey revealed Friday. (Jiji Press)

Japan Atomic Energy Agency President Atsuyuki Suzuki resigned on Friday to take responsibility for a number of inspection flaws at the agency's Monju fast-breeder nuclear reactor in Fukui Prefecture, central Japan. (Jiji Press)

A State Department spokeswoman on Thursday branded remarks by a Japanese mayor defending Japan's wartime system of sexual servitude as "outrageous and offensive," in the first outright criticism of the comments by a U.S. government official. (Kyodo)

Shukan Post (May 24) conveys the difficulties experienced by other parts of the adult-entertainment biz in servicing customers from the communist nation. A deri heru (“delivery health”) call-girl tells the tabloid that she is often requested to arrive at major hotels in the Shinjuku and Ikebukuro entertainment areas of Tokyo by Chinese visitors. (Tokyo Reporter)

Yuichi Miura, 80, has launched his bid to retake the crown as the oldest person to reach the summit of Mount Everest, his management office said Thursday. (Japan Times)

Japanese star chef Miki Nozawa was killed on the German holiday island of Sylt following an alleged dispute with two disgruntled guests about a dish of fried noodles. (ninemsn.com.au)

Anyone expecting a broad overhaul of Japan's economy that would remove barriers to competition will likely be disappointed when Prime Minister Shinzo Abe launches his "Third Arrow" policy next month, but those with more modest expectations may be pleased. (Reuters)

Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto said Thursday he lacked "international awareness" when suggesting U.S. servicemen in Japan use the country's legal adult entertainment industry in order to prevent them from committing sex offenses against locals. (Kyodo)

Japan's National Police Agency on Thursday launched a new center comprising about 20 staff members as part of efforts to better fight cyberattacks. (Jiji Press)

Six sailors were found dead after a fire on a foreign freighter docked at a port in Hokkaido, northern Japan. The sailors are presumed to be Russians. (NHK)

Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto said Thursday he will meet on May 24 with two South Koreans who had to work as "comfort women," or wartime prostitutes for soldiers of the now-defunct Imperial Japanese Army. (Jiji Press)

An adviser to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held talks Thursday with North Korea's No. 2 leader Kim Yong Nam in Pyongyang, the North's official Korean Central News Agency reported. (Kyodo)

NTT Docomo Inc. said Wednesday it will set the prices of upcoming new models of its popular smartphones lower than for existing models. (Yomiuri)

NTT Docomo Inc. said Wednesday it will set the prices of upcoming new models of its popular smartphones lower than for existing models. (Yomiuri)

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

Honda is expected to announce shortly that it will return to Formula One in 2015 as an engine supplier to British team McLaren to revive their championship-winning partnership, a company source said Wednesday. (Japan Today)

Japan's economy grew for a second straight quarter between January and March. (NHK)

Earlier this month, the Osaka Prefectural Board of Education announced a six-month suspension for a 29-year-old female high-school teacher who was working as a prostitute in her free time. (Tokyo Reporter)

Kanagawa Prefectural Police on Sunday announced the arrest of three transvestite Korean nationals for allegedly offering sexual services in Yokohama’s Naka Ward. (Tokyo Reporter)