North Safari Sapporo, a private zoo in Sapporo’s Minami Ward, has come under scrutiny after submitting a removal plan for its illegal structures to the city government. The plan lacks critical details regarding the removal process and, most notably, fails to address the fate of the animals housed at the facility. (News On Japan)

Kyoto’s annual Miyako Odori, a spring tradition in the Gion Kobu district, is set to return with geiko and maiko performing in stunning asagi-colored costumes. (News On Japan)

An exhibition featuring works by young artisans was held Sunday in Naha as part of an initiative to preserve the traditional techniques of Ryukyu lacquerware. (News On Japan)

Prince Hisahito, the eldest son of the Akishino family, has obtained a driver's license as part of his preparations to enroll at Tsukuba University. (News On Japan)

A 43-year-old company employee was arrested on February 14th for allegedly breaking into a high school clubroom in Nagoya’s Chikusa Ward and stealing uniforms and other items. (News On Japan)

Historical footage has surfaced showing Emperor Showa visiting Kumano City, while the Crown Prince and Princess toured agricultural research facilities in Aichi Prefecture. (News On Japan)

South Korean police announced the arrest of 39 individuals involved in smuggling gold from Hong Kong to Japan via Incheon Airport, disguising the metal as clay to evade detection. (News On Japan)

A US Navy sailor stationed in Japan has been referred to prosecutors on suspicion of negligent driving resulting in death after a car-motorcycle collision in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, last September that killed a 22-year-old man. (News On Japan)

Across Japan, aging underground infrastructure is leading to a rising number of road collapses, with an estimated 10,000 cases annually—about 29 per day. Nearly 30% of these incidents in urban areas are attributed to deteriorating sewer pipes. (News On Japan)

Authorities in Kobe are investigating a series of suspicious stones found placed on residential gates, warning they may serve as burglary markers. (News On Japan)

Aichi’s famed Konomiya Hadaka Festival took place on February 10th at Konomiya Shrine in Inazawa City, where men clad in only fundoshi loincloths clashed in a frenzied struggle. The traditional event, which has continued for over 1,200 years, centers around the ‘Shin Otoko’ or ‘Sacred Man,’ chosen by lottery, whom participants believe will cleanse them of misfortune if they manage to touch him. (News On Japan)

Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts is undergoing its first major renovation since its opening, and during the process, a ceiling from 1936 was discovered. The museum also found graffiti left from the postwar period when the building was under the control of the General Headquarters (GHQ) of the Allied Forces. (News On Japan)

Six Kyoto University students have been arrested for storming the university’s main administration building during a 2022 dormitory festival with about 250 others, disrupting operations with loudspeakers, leading police to conduct a search of Kumano Dormitory on Sunday. (News On Japan)

Gen Z, known for valuing their personal time, is redefining how they unwind after work. From low-alcohol cocktails to board games, new trends are emerging in Tokyo's nightlife scene. (News On Japan)

The annual Otomo Festival took place on February 6th at Kamikura Shrine, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Shingu City, Wakayama Prefecture. The event saw men clad in white robes, each carrying a flaming torch, racing down the shrine’s steep stone steps in a centuries-old tradition. (News On Japan)

A 55-year-old demolition worker has been arrested on suspicion of violating Hokkaido’s Public Nuisance Prevention Ordinance after entering a convenience store wearing only stockings on his lower body and exposing himself to a female clerk. (News On Japan)

A newly built public toilet in a remote village in Nara Prefecture has become the subject of controversy—not for its design, but for its staggering cost of nearly 1 billion yen. (News On Japan)

Aichi Prefecture’s Konomiya Shrine in Inazawa is famous for its Hadaka Matsuri (Naked Festival), which will be held on February 10th this year. However, a similar festival has been held for over 70 years at Hoko-in Temple in Ogaki City, Gifu Prefecture. (News On Japan)

North Safari Sapporo, a zoo in Sapporo, Hokkaido, known for allowing visitors to stay near lions and seals and often referred to as Japan’s 'most dangerous zoo,' is now facing potential closure due to a dispute over its land use. (News On Japan)

Two self-styled "private arrest" YouTubers have been handed suspended sentences after being convicted of inciting a man to bring illegal drugs. (News On Japan)