Japan's economy contracted in July-September, snapping three straight quarters of expansion, squeezed by weakening demand and complicating policymakers' efforts to revive faltering growth. (Reuters)

A 43-year-old man who claimed he was "a woman inside" was arrested on suspicion of trespassing Monday after he was found in the women's bathing area at a hot spring facility in central Japan, police said. (Kyodo)

The Japan Tourism Agency has instructed the international travel reservation service, Booking.com, to alert users to incidences of credit card fraud on its website. (NHK)

Japanese astronaut Onishi Takuya, a former passenger jet pilot, will head to the International Space Station around 2025. (NHK)

Wednesday marks 46 years since a 13-year-old junior high school girl was kidnapped by North Korean agents. (NHK)

Many women imprisoned in Japan suffer serious human rights abuse and mistreatment, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. (hrw.org)

Kegon Falls in the city of Nikko, north of Tokyo, is currently being illuminated at night to attract tourists even after the end of the fall foliage season. (NHK)

Japanese YouTuber "Rengoku Koroaki", known for citizen's arrest themed videos, has been apprehended for posting a video of a woman surrounded by 5 to 6 men while being falsely accused of reselling theatre tickets. (News On Japan)

An NHK opinion poll shows the approval rate for the Cabinet of Japan's Prime Minister Kishida Fumio has fallen below 30 percent for the first time since he took office two years ago. (NHK)

Japanese manufacturers are repurposing idle factories to expand their production capacity of semiconductors used in electric vehicles. Remodeling existing plants is faster than building new ones from scratch. (NHK)

Japanese low-cost airline Skymark is looking to enter the logistics market following Suzuyo Holdings move to become the airlines largest shareholder. (News On Japan)

Japanese e-commerce giant Mercari has announced their entry into the part-time job market, starting next spring. (News On Japan)

Four men and women have been arrested for allegedly forcing Vietnamese women, who came to Japan as technical interns, into prostitution. (News On Japan)

A proposal to raise the rate of childcare leave benefits from the current 80% to 100% of take-home income would require both parents to take at least 14 days off, according to Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. (News On Japan)

Naomi Osaka's latest Nike collection is paying tribute to her heritage and experiences. The former world No. 1's latest Nike collection is inspired by New York and Japan, two places near and dear to her heart. (tennis.com)

Japan will ease regulations on clinical trials for new drugs developed overseas, Nikkei has learned, scrapping the rule that in principle drugs' safety must be tested on Japanese before they can be launched in the domestic market. (Nikkei)

Recently, Japan's McDonald's has introduced an innovative system in some locations where washrooms have a slot designed to sanitise our phones. (ndtv.com)

Japan's government has approved the resignation of State Minister of Finance Kanda Kenji, who repeatedly failed to pay taxes for his company. (NHK)

This season's strongest cold air mass across Japan has sent temperatures plummeting, with some locations in Hokkaido recording over 50 cm of snowfall. (News On Japan)

A police officer fired two shots at a man armed with a knife who is believe to have attacked and injured a nearby woman in Osaka on Monday morning. (News On Japan)