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)

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)

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)

During the election period, the spread of videos containing false information has emerged as a growing problem, with an Islamic religious facility in Osaka becoming the target of misleading footage that circulated widely online, prompting confusion and concern among those involved. (News On Japan)

Copper prices, which have been climbing partly due to the weaker yen, are now behind a growing wave of thefts across Japan, with criminals targeting everything from agricultural facilities to the roofs of remote mountain shrines. (News On Japan)

A man has been arrested on suspicion of deliberately crashing his bicycle into a woman from behind on a dark street in December 2025, injuring her before grabbing and touching her multiple times, with police saying the suspect apologized briefly before fleeing the scene. (News On Japan)

Thirteen men and women who were detained by local authorities at a special fraud base in Cambodia and transferred to Japan last month have been re-arrested on suspicion of attempted fraud, according to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. (News On Japan)

A man wanted by police was arrested in Motobu, Okinawa Prefecture, after fleeing his vehicle and attempting to escape on foot, prompting a dramatic chase involving four officers that ended with his capture on suspicion of selling stolen tools worth about 100,000 yen. (News On Japan)

A Thai girl who was 12 at the time arrived in Japan in June last year and was introduced by her mother to a massage parlor in Tokyo’s Bunkyo Ward, where she was illegally made to work and provide sexual services, with Thai police officials indicating that six people, both Japanese and Thai, are suspected of being involved. (News On Japan)

Two Japan Ground Self-Defense Force members stationed at the Yao Garrison were dismissed from service after being found to have used cannabis, with the case coming to light after a colleague raised concerns and reported the matter to a superior. (News On Japan)

A dry weather advisory has been in effect in central Tokyo for 14 consecutive days, and as of February 2nd, no significant rainfall had fallen for a full month since January 2nd. (News On Japan)

A vehicle believed to have been used in an attempted robbery at Haneda Airport has been found on a riverbed in Kanagawa Prefecture, with investigators suspecting that the perpetrators attempted to destroy evidence by spraying the car with a pink fire extinguisher. (News On Japan)

Tokyo’s net in-migration, defined as the number of people moving in exceeding those moving out, declined for the first time in four years last year, even as population inflows into the capital have remained elevated since the COVID-19 pandemic. (News On Japan)

Three men have been arrested on suspicion of selling tusks from endangered elephants on an online auction site after falsely labeling them as “mammoth tusks” or “ivory-style” products. (News On Japan)

A traditional “fukumame” bean-tossing event was held on February 1st at Tsutenkaku Tower in Osaka’s Naniwa Ward, ahead of the Setsubun festival, drawing crowds eager to invite good fortune a little early. (News On Japan)

Behind the image of technological perfection, social order, and cultural refinement lies a society marked by unresolved historical trauma, extreme work culture, rigid social structures, and growing isolation. (TRNGL)

A man who was sentenced to death for killing two people, including a university student, about 20 years ago has died at the Osaka Detention House, where he was being held. (News On Japan)

A woman who was left suspended from a ski lift at a resort in Otari Village, Nagano Prefecture, has been confirmed dead after her backpack became caught in the seat as she was getting off the lift. (News On Japan)

The arrest of the head of Japan’s largest sex industry scout group just five days after a public warrant was issued has cast fresh light on the shadowy business of so-called “sex industry scouts,” a system believed to have generated more than 44 billion yen and allegedly involved ties to organized crime. (News On Japan)