Urban Dictionary has coined the trending term COVIDIOT to describe idiots who hoard groceries, don’t follow social distancing, and ignore public health advice during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Tokyo District Court ordered on Wednesday a former television reporter to pay 3.3 million yen in damages for raping journalist Shiori Ito, who has become a symbol of the #MeToo movement in Japan.

The body of a prominent Japanese doctor, who devoted his life to Afghanistan, arrived in Japan on Sunday. Tetsu Nakamura was gunned down last week along with five Afghan colleagues when an armed group ambushed their car.

Hundreds of thousands of homes in Chiba Prefecture near Tokyo remain without electricity a week after a typhoon hit the area. Tokyo Electric Power Company said it is expected to take another two weeks to restore power.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe issued an apology on Friday to family members of former leprosy patients who suffered discrimination under the state’s segregation policy. The statement came after the government decided not to appeal a recent ruling ordering compensation payments.

Japan enforced a stricter law on Friday ahead of this year’s Rugby World Cup in order to clamp down on ticket scalping. Those caught reselling tickets for a profit will face up to one year in prison or a fine of up to 1 million yen, or both penalties.

South Korea’s Supreme Court ordered on Tuesday Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation to compensate four South Koreans for their forced labor during World War Two, which the Japanese government denounced as unacceptable.

Saudi Arabia announced on Friday evening that the missing Saudi journalist had died in a fistfight inside the country’s consulate in Istanbul earlier this month. Turkish officials claimed an audio recording proves that he was brutally murdered by a state-sponsored hit squad.