Princess Aiko, the only daughter of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, arrived at the Nakanoshima Museum of Art in Osaka on the afternoon of August 20, where she was scheduled to view Johannes Vermeer's masterpiece Girl With a Pearl Earring during a two-day visit to Osaka and Shiga prefectures. (News On Japan)

Four workers were killed after being struck by a limited express train while carrying out vegetation-clearing work on the tracks at Shin-Kanuma Station on the Tobu Nikko Line in Kanuma, Tochigi Prefecture, on August 20. (News On Japan)

Firefighters battling a house fire in Narita, Chiba Prefecture, on August 19 were forced to contend with large numbers of bees swarming around the scene after an attempt to burn a bee nest apparently set the roof ablaze. (News On Japan)

Handheld fans have become a summer essential in Japan, but a rise in accidents involving hair becoming caught in the devices is prompting warnings over injuries, potential legal liability and fires caused by lithium-ion batteries. (News On Japan)

Seven people were injured after a Toei bus and a trailer collided in Tokyo's Koto Ward shortly after 6 p.m., leaving the bus mounted on a central median. (News On Japan)

Tokyo is preparing to allow hunting of Asian black bears for the first time in about 20 years, with a proposed hunting season from November through February and an annual capture target of around 34 animals in parts of the Tama region, including Hachioji. (News On Japan)

Princess Aiko attended the opening ceremony of an international conference on semiconductor physics on the morning of August 17, expressing condolences for those killed in the Kumamoto earthquake and torrential rain in Chiba Prefecture before addressing researchers from around the world. (News On Japan)

Police are investigating after a custom-made chili pepper-shaped lantern worth more than 200,000 yen was smashed outside a restaurant in Kyoto's Gion district, with security camera footage capturing a person striking and destroying the shop's distinctive symbol. (News On Japan)

A 77-year-old man charged with attempted murder has gone missing after apparently leaving a hospital in Hakodate, Hokkaido, where he had been admitted for medical treatment, prompting prosecutors and police to search for him. (News On Japan)

A fire broke out at Sairinji temple in Saga city on the morning of August 18, engulfing the building in flames and prompting the dispatch of 10 fire engines and two ambulances, with no injuries reported so far. (News On Japan)

A Turkish national has been arrested on suspicion of performing illegal drift driving on a public road in Yatomi, Aichi Prefecture, as police prepare to strengthen enforcement around facilities linked to the Asian Games and Asian Para Games. (News On Japan)

A 77-year-old hunter from Sunagawa, Hokkaido, who won a Supreme Court ruling overturning the revocation of his firearms license, filed a damages lawsuit against the national government and Hokkaido on August 17 after discovering that one of four seized hunting rifles had been destroyed years earlier without being returned to him. (News On Japan)

A 12-year-old British girl who disappeared while visiting Japan with her family was found safe in Yokohama on Saturday night, about 59 hours after leaving their private lodging in Tokyo, with police saying there was no indication that she had been involved in a crime. (News On Japan)

Osaka's Nishinari Ward, long known as a working-class neighborhood that accepted people from diverse backgrounds, is being rapidly reshaped by Chinese-led property development and a surge in special-zone private lodgings, bringing new business and tourism while displacing some longtime elderly residents. (News On Japan)

The death toll from record-breaking torrential rain in Chiba Prefecture has risen to 10, with 29 people injured, more than 1,500 homes damaged and one person still missing three days after the disaster. (News On Japan)

A fire that broke out in grassland at a fishing port in Tomamae, northern Hokkaido, spread to an adjacent warehouse and workshop on August 15, burning for about six hours before being brought under control. (News On Japan)

Young people continue to gather at "Gurishita" in Osaka's Minami entertainment district despite persistent risks of drug abuse, prostitution and violent crime, while a nearby support center is operating around the clock during the summer vacation period to help those with nowhere else to turn. (News On Japan)

A 39-year-old father was taken to a hospital in cardiac arrest on August 15 after entering the sea to rescue his two young sons who appeared to be in difficulty off the coast of Toyoura, Hokkaido. (News On Japan)

An Akita prefectural official has been suspended for six months and demoted two ranks after an investigation found he had joined an online media interview from a love hotel while with a woman who was not his wife, despite initially claiming he was at home because he was unwell. (News On Japan)

A 12-year-old British girl visiting Japan on a family trip has been reported missing after surveillance footage showed her leaving a private lodging facility alone in Tokyo's Ota Ward on the morning of August 13. (News On Japan)