A man accused of leading a group assault that killed a university student apologized to the victim and his family in court, saying he had acted out of what he described as a "distorted sense of justice." (News On Japan)

Police are investigating a yakuza gang in Hiroshima after its members allegedly cleared about 3,000 square meters of privately owned forest and used heavy machinery to build an unauthorized access road. (News On Japan)

Emperor Naruhito, Empress Masako and their daughter Princess Aiko began a period of rest at the Nasu Imperial Villa in Tochigi Prefecture on July 16, taking an evening stroll through the grounds in traditional Okinawan kariyushi shirts. (News On Japan)

A former nurse accused of killing a hospitalized patient by mixing human waste into his intravenous drip had searched online for whether injecting feces could cause death, investigators have found. (News On Japan)

A woman believed to be in her 40s to 60s was found bleeding and unconscious on a barge moored off Osaka and was later confirmed dead, prompting police to investigate the possibility that she was the victim of a crime. (News On Japan)

Beauty influencer and businesswoman Reika Miyazaki was sentenced on July 15 to two years and six months in prison, suspended for four years, for evading about 157 million yen in taxes, while her company was fined 40 million yen. (News On Japan)

Convenience store operators in Japan are strengthening safety measures as bear-related damage grows more serious, with Lawson expanding the use of bear repellent spray and considering drone-based remote monitoring. (News On Japan)

A 44-year-old man arrested after four people were injured in a knife attack in Saiki, Oita Prefecture, has told investigators in effect that "anyone would do," suggesting the victims were chosen at random, investigative sources said. (News On Japan)

A wild boar repeatedly charged at a man on the grounds of a food service company in Toyota, Aichi Prefecture, on July 13, injuring two people before being captured about an hour and a half later. (News On Japan)

A 37-year-old gang member known in Tokyo's Kabukicho district by the nickname "Crazy" has been arrested on suspicion of robbing and injuring a teenage girl near Shinjuku Station after threatening her with what appeared to be an ice pick. (News On Japan)

A woman arrested on suspicion of sewing shut the lips of a woman she lived with in Koga, Ibaraki Prefecture, has denied the allegation, telling investigators she has no recollection of the incident. (News On Japan)

Two men died on July 11 in separate water accidents in Aichi and Gifu prefectures, including an Indonesian man who apparently drowned after jumping into a waterfall basin and a fisherman swept away while trying to recover his fishing gear. (News On Japan)

An unauthorized Islamic prayer hall has been built on land in Kawagoe, Saitama Prefecture, where new construction is generally prohibited, prompting the city to order the landowner to remove the structure. (News On Japan)

Empress Masako harvested wild silk cocoons at the Imperial Palace on July 9, continuing the long-standing sericulture tradition passed down through generations of empresses since the Meiji era. (News On Japan)

A firefighter with the Toyonaka City Fire Department has been arrested on suspicion of confining his live-in partner's 6-year-old daughter at their home and causing her injury. (News On Japan)

Three men have been arrested on suspicion of preparing to rob a home in Saitama City after police found new face masks and crowbars hidden in shrubbery at a coin-operated parking lot. (News On Japan)

A 30-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after allegedly stabbing his father, a temple priest in his 70s, to death at their home in Nanao, Ishikawa Prefecture, on July 8, before going to a convenience store and telling a clerk, "I stabbed my father." (News On Japan)

A landslide that occurred directly in front of homes in Koka, Shiga Prefecture, on July 7 caused part of a garden to collapse and cut off a road, bringing down an area about 25 meters wide and 80 meters long, including residential property. (News On Japan)

Silk thread production for strings used in shamisen and other traditional Japanese instruments has reached its peak in Nagahama, Shiga Prefecture. (News On Japan)

A trainee monk has been arrested on suspicion of setting fire to Entsuji, a temple in Imari, Saga Prefecture, after a June blaze destroyed its main hall and living quarters, with the suspect telling investigators he had become dissatisfied with the amount of training and the way he was being instructed. (News On Japan)