The Grand Prix winner of the '2023 Miss Japan Competition' held on Thursday is 25-year-old Ai Yoshida, a public servant working at the Health and Welfare Office of Saga Prefecture Government. (News On Japan)

A veteran male zookeeper has died after being mauled by a lion during feeding time at a safari park in northern Japan. (News On Japan)

Two men in their twenties have been arrested on suspicion of graffiti with green and black spray paint on the walls of a commercial building near JR Hachioji Station, Tokyo. (News On Japan)

A raccoon dog that was stranded on rocks off the seawall adjacent to Yamaguchi Ube Airport for over 3 days has disappeared after concerned neighbors installed a ladder to help the stricken animal escape. (News On Japan)

A truck driver has died at the scene when his trailer overturned in Konan City, Shiga Prefecture, causing a large-scale potato spillage. (News On Japan)

A 73-year-old unemployed man fatally stabbed his wife and eldest daughter who were inpatients at a neurology hospital in Shizuoka, central Japan, before turning the knife on himself Wednesday afternoon. (News On Japan)

A lawyer for a transgender individual has told Japan's Supreme Court that the requirement of surgery to remove reproductive functions for gender registry changes is unconstitutional. (NHK)

The Chiba District Court has handed down a 13-year prison sentence to a former police inspector who was charged with multiple counts of sexual assault and other crimes against several women. (News On Japan)

Tokyo police have arrested two Japanese men on suspicion of aiding illegal online gambling. (NHK)

A 60-year-old man was crushed to death on Monday under a shrine he was demolishing in Kakogawa City, Hyogo Prefecture. (News On Japan)

Before the war, large numbers of Japanese people immigrated to the Philippines and worked in the cultivation of hemp and other crops. Many of them married local Filipino women and started families. (TV Asahi)

An 18-year-old male high school student was arrested Monday after a random knife attack in a supermarket in Nagaoka City, Niigata, injuring 3 customers. (News On Japan)

A male reggae musician who goes by the name "CHEHON" has been arrested for possessing marijuana in Tokyo. (News On Japan)

A 22-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of repeatedly assaulting a 24-year-old woman over a 20 minute period in an apartment they shared in Kashiwa City, Chiba, leading to her death. (News On Japan)

Japan's Imperial Household Agency says Princess Kako has tested positive for the coronavirus. (NHK)

Fukuoka City has slapped four Chinese nationals with 50,000 yen fines for repeatedly swiping garbage bags containing aluminum cans without permission. (News On Japan)

Witnesses have recounted a close encounter with a bear in a residential area of Sekigawa Village, Niigata Prefecture, when the beast invaded their house and went on a rampage in the bathroom. (News On Japan)

A wave of bridge nameplate thefts has swept across Shizuoka Prefecture, with 90 of the metal plates stolen so far this month. (News On Japan)

Japan's Crown Prince and Princess Akishino have attended a ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the country and Vietnam in its capital Hanoi. (NHK)

Unexpected accidents can happen while giving a final farewell to a loved one, with three deaths reported in Japan from inhaling carbon dioxide inside coffins. (News On Japan)