Footage released by the Nagano Prefectural Police mountain rescue unit captured the moment an earthquake struck during an operation to save two climbers who had fallen on a steep slope of Mount Shirouma in the Northern Alps. (News On Japan)

The Japanese government on April 21 revised the Three Principles on Transfer of Defense Equipment and related guidelines, in principle allowing the export of weapons with lethal capabilities. The move marks a major turning point in Japan's postwar security policy. (News On Japan)

China's exports of rare-earth magnets to Japan in March fell 17.3% from the previous month to 184 tons, China's General Administration of Customs said on April 20. (News On Japan)

The approval rating for the cabinet of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi rose 3.1 percentage points from March to 70.2%, recovering to the 70% range for the first time in two months, according to an FNN public opinion survey. (News On Japan)

Rain affected parts of Japan on Tuesday morning as a low-pressure system and front moved through, bringing heavier downpours in some areas. Skies are expected to clear across much of the country this afternoon. However, yellow sand drifting in from the Asian continent is forecast to spread over a wide area, raising concerns over reduced visibility and worsening health conditions. (News On Japan)

Japan's weather agency and the Cabinet Office issued a 'Hokkaido-Sanriku Offshore Subsequent Earthquake Advisory' after an earthquake measuring upper 5 on Japan's seismic intensity scale struck off Sanriku. (News On Japan)

Japan's logistics sector is struggling with a severe driver shortage, driving efforts to develop autonomous trucks as a potential solution to a growing freight transport crisis. (News On Japan)

Japan's annual National Academic Achievement Test began on Monday for sixth-grade elementary school students and third-year junior high school students nationwide. (News On Japan)

Taxi fares in Tokyo's 23 wards, as well as Mitaka and Musashino, rose by about 10% on Monday, marking the first increase in the central Tokyo area in roughly three and a half years. (News On Japan)

JR East has launched a preview version of its new online Shinkansen booking platform, JRE GO, promising reservations in as little as one minute and easier handling of sudden schedule changes. (News On Japan)

A 20-year-old university student has been arrested on suspicion of breaking into an apartment in Osaka and stealing cash, with police believing he played a key role in recruiting minors for illegal work schemes. (News On Japan)

A fire broke out at a four-story apartment building in Okinawa City in the early hours of April 19th, leaving one person dead, with authorities suspecting the victim may be a man in his 70s who served as chairman of a local crime group. (News On Japan)

A bear that had remained in a residential area in central Sendai since early Sunday morning was euthanized last night in an emergency cull. No injuries were reported. (News On Japan)

North Korea launched several missiles on Sunday morning, with reports suggesting they may have included a submarine-launched ballistic missile, or SLBM. (News On Japan)

Running a business with integrity and good values is the highest road most owners strive to be on. However, sometimes being good isn’t enough to spare you from legal trouble. (News On Japan)

A 37-year-old father arrested over the alleged abandonment of his son's body in a forest in Kyoto Prefecture may have contacted associates to say the child had gone missing before the boy's school informed the family, investigators said. (News On Japan)

A shortage of naphtha, a key petrochemical feedstock used in a wide range of products, is pushing up the cost of housing materials in Japan and raising concerns that home prices could climb by as much as 30%. (News On Japan)

Japan is often viewed abroad as a country with an unusually visible sexual culture, shaped by adult videos, erotic manga and a wide range of related subcultures. (Japanese Comedian Meshida)

The annual spring garden party, held at the Akasaka Imperial Gardens in Tokyo, has once again drawn attention to a pressing issue facing Japan's Imperial Household: how to maintain the number of family members as it continues to decline whenever female royals marry. (News On Japan)

The city of Nara is preparing to search for geothermal sources, hoping onsen facilities can help increase overnight stays in the ancient capital, where the city has long struggled to turn day-trippers into hotel guests despite being one of Japan's best-known sightseeing destinations, ranking last nationwide in annual overnight visitors in 2021 and underscoring weak tourism spending. (News On Japan)