A 47-year-old man accused of possessing cannabis in Nagoya has been acquitted after the Nagoya High Court ruled that the procedures used to seize the evidence were illegal. The decision, handed down on October 9th, became final after prosecutors decided not to appeal. (News On Japan)

A Tokyo District Court has ruled that addressing a colleague using the 'chan' suffix constitutes sexual harassment, ordering a male employee to pay 220,000 yen in damages. (News On Japan)

A 38-year-old man was killed on October 24th in the village of Higashinaruse, Akita Prefecture, after attempting to rescue a couple in their seventies who were being attacked by a bear. (News On Japan)

A memorial service marking 80 years since the end of World War II was held in Shari, a town in Hokkaido’s Shiretoko region, on October 22nd to honor those who perished in the Northern Territories and other areas. (News On Japan)

Police in Osaka arrested a 48-year-old man on October 22nd after a tense 14-hour standoff in which he allegedly held a woman at knifepoint inside an apartment. A special tactical unit forced entry into the residence late at night, ending the standoff without injuries. (News On Japan)