Government to put Japanese family names first when using Roman alphabet from Jan. 1

Police have arrested a 19-year-old man on suspicion of murder after a 17-year-old high school student was found unconscious on a riverbank in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, and later pronounced dead.

Four men have been arrested in connection with a mass assault that erupted during a traditional festival in Saijo, Ehime Prefecture, leaving seven people injured after more than 30 participants became involved in the violence.

A gigantic Chinese-made hose measuring about 150 meters in length, up to 2 meters in diameter, and weighing an estimated 300 tons has washed ashore on the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture, prompting local authorities to launch a large-scale removal operation.

A fire broke out at Arima Inari Shrine near the Arima Onsen hot spring resort area in Kobe on the night of June 9th, destroying multiple buildings and leaving an elderly Shinto priest and his wife with minor injuries.

Two men, including the head of the Japan Cycling Association, have been arrested by the Metropolitan Police Department on suspicion of defrauding two men in Kagoshima Prefecture out of 30 million yen by falsely promising a massive return on a purported patent-related investment.

A bear that had been repeatedly spotted in commercial and residential areas of Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture, was captured in a residential neighborhood at around 3:30 p.m. on June 9th after authorities used a tranquilizer gun, but the city remains on alert because police say they cannot rule out the possibility that another bear may still be roaming the area.

Nara Prefectural Police have arrested seven people, including a 46-year-old Yokohama man who described himself as a "messenger of God," on suspicion of unlawfully confining a teenage boy entrusted to their care by his parents, allegedly threatening him, confiscating his belongings, and forcing him to sleep naked.

A man believed to be in his 50s or 60s was found dead with knives lodged in his left eye and abdomen inside a container at a company property in Kobe's Suma Ward on June 8th, prompting police to investigate the possibility of a criminal case.