A 15-year-old junior high school student arrested for fatally stabbing an 84-year-old woman on a street in Chiba City was found to have purchased 'monkshood' seeds of the highly toxic plant aconite before the incident, according to police. (News On Japan)

A Peruvian man has been arrested for a hit-and-run incident after driving the wrong way on the Shin-Meishin Expressway and triggering a four-car accident that left four women injured. (News On Japan)

A 70-year-old man fell from a high-rise apartment building in Osaka and struck a cyclist on the sidewalk below, resulting in the deaths of both men. (News On Japan)

Four elementary school boys were injured in a hit-and-run incident in Misato City, Saitama Prefecture, and police have arrested a Chinese national who was riding in the vehicle, suspecting he knowingly accompanied a drunk driver. (News On Japan)

Spring has brought a wave of newborn animals to North Safari Sapporo, a privately run zoo in Minami Ward, Sapporo City, even as the facility remains under pressure to remove illegal structures and relocate its animals. (News On Japan)

A soft drink vending machine caught fire late Saturday night in Asahikawa City, Hokkaido, with no clear cause found in the surrounding area. (News On Japan)

A senior member of the Kudo-kai crime syndicate, designated as a particularly dangerous group, was arrested on Friday in Kitakyushu for allegedly operating an illegal dice gambling den known as 'Tabusai,' which reportedly generated over one million yen in a single night. (News On Japan)

A sightseeing boat carrying 25 people caught fire off the coast of Ogijima Island in Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture on the evening of May 16th. All passengers and crew were safely rescued by a nearby fishing boat, and no injuries were reported. (News On Japan)

A road collapse in Yashio City, Saitama Prefecture is expected to take five to seven years to fully restore, local officials said on Friday, following the recovery of a truck cab that had remained lodged in the sewer system since the January accident. (News On Japan)

Eighty years have passed since the end of World War II, yet the memories of its fiercest battles continue to echo in the heart of Okinawa. The district of Omoromachi in central Naha, now a lively urban hub filled with people, was once the site of one of the bloodiest clashes of the Battle of Okinawa—the Battle of Sugar Loaf Hill. (News On Japan)

A car crashed into a residential fence in Kyoto City after first hitting a utility pole and veering erratically for several hundred meters, according to local police. The incident occurred in a quiet residential area, where a witness who heard a strange noise captured the scene on video as the vehicle approached and came to a halt after plowing into the home’s boundary fence. (News On Japan)

A woman in her 20s and two other individuals were arrested on Thursday on suspicion of defrauding a visually impaired man by luring him through a dating app and charging him excessive fees at a bar. (News On Japan)

Two 16-year-old girls have been referred to prosecutors on suspicion of obstructing business operations after drinking tea directly from a shared pitcher at a Sukiya beef bowl restaurant in Osaka. (News On Japan)

The number of cormorants living near Lake Biwa has surged in recent years, and their impact is increasingly spilling into nearby residential neighborhoods. Once limited to the shoreline and riverbanks, the birds are now flocking to urban areas, causing serious problems with their droppings, foul odor, and incessant cries. Residents say the situation is becoming intolerable. (News On Japan)

Japan’s growing donut market has entered a new phase with the opening of popular American chain Randy’s Donuts’ first store in Daikanyama, Shibuya, marking its debut with handmade offerings and an iconic oversized donut monument as the 'donut Sengoku era' intensifies. (News On Japan)

A 36-year-old unemployed man has been arrested on suspicion of abducting a teenage girl who was later found dead in Yamagata Prefecture. The suspect, Hiroki Kishinami from Fukushima City, has previously been arrested three times for offenses including the abduction of minors and assisting in suicides. (News On Japan)

Loose socks, once a symbol of 1990s gyaru fashion, are making a stylish comeback among Japan's Gen Z, driven by a broader 'Heisei retro' trend that celebrates nostalgic aesthetics. In Harajuku, young people are pairing the evolved, shorter versions of the socks with miniskirts and shorts. (News On Japan)

A growing number of credit card fraud cases in Japan has been linked to a shadowy underground labor network, where Chinese nationals are suspected of stealing Japanese consumers' card data. (News On Japan)

A 30-year-old Vietnamese man has been arrested for allegedly stealing 22 high-end bonsai trees worth a total of 670,000 yen from a garden center in Akishima, Tokyo. (News On Japan)

Shizuoka Prefectural Police have launched a new initiative offering gasoline discount coupons to promote the use of their crime prevention app. This is the first such campaign in Japan to tie fuel discounts to public safety app downloads. (News On Japan)