KDDI has delayed the release of its financial results as it investigates suspected improper transactions at its subsidiaries, announcing that BIGLOBE and G-Plan may have recorded fictitious sales totaling up to approximately 246 billion yen and that about 33 billion yen may have been diverted outside the companies. (News On Japan)

JR East and Japan Airlines have signed a partnership agreement aimed at regional revitalization and revealed they will consider integrating tickets in the future. (News On Japan)

A man suspected of a hit-and-run drove a high-end sports car into a police patrol car, leaving five people injured. (News On Japan)

A traditional fire festival in which men dressed in white race down steep stone steps carrying blazing torches was held at the World Heritage-listed Kamikura Shrine in Shingu, Wakayama Prefecture, on February 6th. (News On Japan)

Kirin Holdings announced it will sell its U.S.-based group company that produces the bourbon whiskey Four Roses to a major American wine company for up to about 120 billion yen, as the Japanese brewer reviews its business structure and accelerates expansion into health science and related sectors amid a growing shift among younger consumers away from alcohol. (News On Japan)

Toyota Motor announced on February 6 that President Koji Sato will become vice chairman and executive officer Kenta Kon will be promoted to succeed him, with the changes taking effect on April 1, marking the first leadership change in three years since April 2023 while Chairman Akio Toyoda will remain in his post. (News On Japan)

With three days remaining until voting and ballot counting in the Lower House election, Saitama’s 2nd district centered on Kawaguchi City has drawn national attention as a frontline in Japan’s foreign resident policy debate, where multiple candidates are calling for stricter controls. (News On Japan)

A man accused of strangling a 17-year-old girl to death and stealing her wallet at a hotel in Osaka’s Minami district was sentenced to 22 years in prison by the Osaka District Court on February 6th. (News On Japan)

The Engel coefficient reached its highest level in 44 years in Japan, highlighting growing pressure on household budgets as food costs climb. (News On Japan)

About 3,000 Steller sea lions have appeared on an uninhabited island off Hokkaido, marking the largest number for this time of year and adding to fishing losses estimated to exceed 1 billion yen. (News On Japan)

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi met TSMC Chairman and CEO C.C. Wei at the prime minister’s office on February 5th, where Wei said the company plans to produce cutting-edge semiconductors equivalent to a 3-nanometer process at its second plant under construction in Kumamoto Prefecture, marking the first such production in Japan. (News On Japan)

Seven-Eleven has launched a new service in collaboration with female members of Generation Z, raising the question of what a convenience store can offer beyond food and drinks. (News On Japan)

A hunter in his 70s has been referred to prosecutors for allegedly killing a bear without permission at a golf course, with police sending papers on suspicion of violations of the Wildlife Protection and Management Law, including unpermitted capture, also implicating a golf course manager in his 40s and the company operating the facility. (News On Japan)

The Tokyo High Court on February 5th dismissed an appeal by the state in a lawsuit over the remains and hair of Matsumoto Chizuo, a former death row inmate and leader of the Aum Shinrikyo cult, and ordered the government to hand them over to his second daughter. (News On Japan)

Influenza is once again spreading rapidly across the Kansai region, with Osaka Prefecture reaching an advisory-level outbreak for the second time in a single season for the first time in 15 years as infections surge again after the New Year. (News On Japan)

A 28-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of assault after allegedly leading a group attack that left another festival official seriously injured during a danjiri festival in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, in October last year. (News On Japan)

A new wave of high-end hotel development in Nara is accelerating as Kintetsu Miyako Hotels announced plans to open a luxury accommodation facility on former grounds of Todaiji Temple, aiming for an autumn 2028 launch. (News On Japan)

At a daycare center in Suzuka, Mie Prefecture, where the proportion of foreign residents is particularly high, more than 30% of enrolled children hold foreign nationality, and foreign staff have become an indispensable part of daily operations, even as the question of how Japan should accept foreign residents has emerged as one of the key issues in the Lower House election. (News On Japan)

Oigawa Railway, where around half of its entire line has remained out of service for more than three years due to typhoon damage, is pressing ahead with a long and difficult recovery plan toward full reopening in the spring of 2029, as its president—known as a “local railway revival specialist”—makes a painful but strategic decision to prioritize commercially viable steam locomotives while keeping a small margin for dreams. (News On Japan)

Japanese startup ALE announced on February 4 that it will conduct its third demonstration experiment to generate artificial shooting stars in 2028, positioning the project as a step toward eventual commercialization rather than a one-off spectacle. (News On Japan)