A man has been referred to prosecutors by the Metropolitan Police Department for failing to attend a mandatory safety course after being cited for traffic violations while riding an electric scooter. (News On Japan)

Five people have been arrested after repeatedly performing dangerous drift driving on a road in Tokyo’s Ota Ward, sending up clouds of white smoke in the middle of the night and drawing police scrutiny. (News On Japan)

Large amounts of what appear to be illegally dumped garbage line the roadside at the Tokyo Metropolitan Kirigaoka Danchi in Kita Ward, where a decline in residents has left fewer eyes to monitor the sprawling public housing complex that first opened in the 1950s. (News On Japan)

A site supervisor at Fuji-Q Highland in Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi Prefecture, was referred to prosecutors on March 2nd over a fatal accident in February 2025 in which an employee died during maintenance work. (News On Japan)

A former emergency responder and foreign tourists worked together to rescue a woman in her 80s who was trapped inside an overturned light vehicle in Hakuba Village, Nagano Prefecture. (News On Japan)

A 48-year-old woman who works as a lecturer at an Osaka prefectural high school was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a man in Osaka, with the man later confirmed dead at the hospital where he was taken. (News On Japan)

The Konomiya Hadaka Festival, an unusual Shinto ritual dating back more than 1,250 years in which men wearing only loincloths collide violently with one another, was held on March 1st at Konomiya Shrine in Inazawa, Aichi Prefecture, drawing around 10,000 participants who surged toward a designated “sacred man” believed to absorb misfortune through physical contact. (News On Japan)

An avalanche struck an advanced-level course at Madarao Kogen Ski Resort, which spans Niigata and Nagano prefectures, on February 28th, leaving four people injured, including two family members. (News On Japan)

A man in his 50s died after falling while ice climbing in Gero, Gifu Prefecture, on March 2nd, after a report was made shortly after 9 a.m. from a person at the scene in Osakacho stating that he had fallen along with a sheet of ice and become trapped beneath the collapsed mass. (News On Japan)

A man indicted on murder charges over the killing of a 31-year-old nailist in Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture, is suspected of attaching a location-tracking “lost-item tag” to the victim’s car, investigative sources said, with police planning to rearrest him on March 2nd on suspicion of violating the anti-stalking law. (News On Japan)

An eight-year-old Australian girl died after a snowmobile overturned in Hakuba Village, Nagano Prefecture, at around 11 a.m. on February 28th, with authorities investigating the cause of the accident. (News On Japan)

A bearded American man was arrested after allegedly stealing a truck in central Tokyo on February 14th and repeatedly fleeing crash scenes, with one victim saying the driver appeared to be laughing as he sped away. (News On Japan)

The lay judge trial has begun for a man accused of fatally assaulting his six-year-old niece and concealing her body in concrete, after the remains were discovered at a residence in Yao, Osaka Prefecture, with the defendant telling the court on February 26th that the charges were “correct.” (News On Japan)

The number of children born nationwide last year fell for the tenth straight year to a record low, but Tokyo saw a year-on-year increase for the first time in nine years, highlighting how local support measures and job opportunities may help counter Japan’s declining birthrate. (News On Japan)

A drone capturing aerial footage of a waterfall in Koka City, Shiga Prefecture, suddenly plunged from the sky after being attacked by a hawk, destroying equipment worth around 100,000 yen but leaving the operator with what he described as 'the best footage.' (News On Japan)

A real estate executive with alleged ties to an organized crime group was arrested on suspicion of defrauding elderly victims by selling apartments at several times their market value and extracting large sums of cash, in a case that authorities say caused total losses exceeding 700 million yen. (News On Japan)

An elevator at Tokyo Skytree that made an emergency stop with passengers on board was found to have halted due to damage to internal wiring, with operations set to resume from February 26th after safety checks. (News On Japan)

Funabashi in Chiba Prefecture has surged in the latest ranking of the most desirable places to live in the Greater Tokyo area, announced on February 25th, reflecting growing demand for well-connected commuter cities offering relatively affordable housing and convenient urban amenities. (News On Japan)

A ranking of Japan’s most skilled singing prefectures has placed Aomori at No.1 for the second consecutive year, prompting fresh curiosity over why residents there tend to score highly in karaoke assessments, according to a survey conducted by N-Sta. (News On Japan)

A traditional strength-offering ritual known as “Mochiage Chikara Hono,” in which participants lift massive rice cakes to pray for good health, was held at Daigoji, a UNESCO World Heritage temple in Kyoto. (News On Japan)