They help collect taxes, promote tourism and save the environment, but Japan's mascots cannot escape controversy (guardian.co.uk)

A fire in the shopping arcade at Shibuya Station in Tokyo disrupted operations for 90 minutes on Sunday morning. (Japan Today)

An assistant police inspector in Oku, Tokyo, has been arrested for groping a 15-year-old girl on a train. (Japan Today)

Ekan Ikeguchi, the chief priest of Saifukuji temple who placed the winning bid at an auction for the headquarters building of the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon), apologized at a press conference Friday for giving up the purchase after failing to procure enough funds. (Yomiuri)

Japan's continued resort to the death penalty raises a number of troubling questions. In recent years a cascade of revelations about forced confessions, faked evidence and prosecutors withholding exculpatory evidence indicates that a number of people have been wrongly convicted for crimes they didn't commit. (Japan Times)

The area known as Uguisudani, located in Taito Ward, is one of the larger red-light districts of Tokyo. Boasting approximately 2,000 working gals with ages that begin under 20 and reach beyond 80, it may be the city’s most diverse. Shukan Post (May 17) dispatches writer Shoichiro Yamafuji to poke around, so to speak, and he winds up taking a journey back in time. (Tokyo Reporter)

Police on Friday arrested a 22-year-old woman after the remains of her newborn son were discovered in her bedroom in Sapporo. (Japan Today)

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)

Five people were taken to hospital to be treated for heatstroke as temperatures fluctuated across Japan on Thursday and Friday. (Japan Today)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police on Wednesday announced the arrest of members of the Ota Rengo and Konami bosozoku motorcycle gangs on weapons charges. (Tokyo Reporter)

Local singer Iryn Namubiru has been arrested in Tokyo, Japan, where she had gone to perform at a music concert. (newvision.co.ug)

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)

A patient at a psychiatric hospital has died after being assaulted by a male nursing assistant, police said Wednesday. (Japan Today)

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)

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)