TOHOKU Police arrested two members of Greenpeace Japan on Friday on suspicion of stealing a box of whale meat in connection with the conservationist group’s claim that crew members of a Japanese whaling ship had themselves stolen the meat. (1) [THE JAPAN TIMES]

TOHOKU People evacuated from their homes in Iwate and Miyagi prefectures following a major earthquake last week offered prayers at 8:43 a.m. Saturday, the exact time the deadly quake hit on June 14, in remembering the 12 victims of the disaster. [KYODO]

TOHOKU More than 70 percent of evacuees from the magnitude 7.2 earthquake in northeastern Japan did not take any substantial preparations for a powerful temblor, a Kyodo News survey showed Friday. [KYODO]

HOKKAIDO The Hokkaido government will let members of nongovernmental organizations, including outspoken protesters, to set up base at public camping grounds near the venue of the Group of Eight Toyako Summit. [ASAHI]

TOHOKU A rift extending for about 15 kilometers has appeared on the surface of the ground in five districts following the magnitude 7.2 earthquake that struck Japan’s Tohoku region on June 14, it has emerged. [MAINICHI]

TOHOKU Hundreds of rescuers and residents in areas struck by Saturday’s Iwate-Miyagi Inland Earthquake were ordered to evacuate Wednesday, as one of the dams on the lakes created by a landslide triggered by the quake appeared close to collapse. [YOMIURI]

TOHOKU The government stepped up its search on Wednesday for those who went missing following a powerful earthquake in the Tohoku region as heavy rain was forecast to hit the region. [MAINICHI]

HOKKAIDO Prosecutors on Monday arrested a senior land ministry official and two construction company executives on suspicion of rigging the bidding process for a public river works project in 2005. [ASAHI]

TOHOKU A 10th victim of the deadly earthquake that struck the Tohoku Region was found here Monday morning as rescuers continued their desperate search for survivors. [MAINICHI]

HOKKAIDO A traditional ceremony in which Japan’s indigenous Ainu people expressed their happiness to gods and ancestors was held here, following a Diet resolution for Japan to formally recognize Ainu as being indigenous. [MAINICHI]

TOHOKU As the Akita District Court handed down a sentence of life imprisonment to Suzuka Hatakeyama on Wednesday for murdering her daughter and a 7-year-old boy in Fujisatomachi, Akita Prefecture, the boy’s parents shook with emotion in the court’s gallery. [YOMIURI]

HOKKAIDO The Sapporo District Court handed Wednesday a four-year prison term to the president of Meat Hope Co. for defrauding clients and consumers by mislabelling its products. [ASAHI]

HOKKAIDO Japan’s immigration authorities have denied a German anti- globalization activist entry to Japan at a port in Japan’s northernmost island of Hokkaido, where security checks have been tightened ahead of July’s Group of Eight summit, his supporters said Friday. [KYODO]

TOHOKU Aomori Prefecture, which for years has resisted moves to establish a site to dump radioactive waste in its backyard, is now pondering the wisdom of having such a blanket ban in place. [ASAHI]

HOKKAIDO The cash-strapped city of Yubari took another financial hit over the weekend, after the roof of the municipal swimming pool collapsed under the weight of snow on top of it, city official said. [MAINICHI]

TOHOKU A perfume that smells like cherry blossoms of Hirosaki Park, one of Japan’s most popular cherry blossom viewing spots, went on sale on Friday. [MAINICHI]

HOKKAIDO Asahikawa Medical College Hospital said Thursday it had leaked to four companies about 2,220 samples taken from people who took tests for syphilis and HIV as well as about 350 coliform and staphylococcal strains over about 2-1/2 years beginning in August 2004. [YOMIURI]

TOHOKU A giant statue of Japanese action hero Ultraman has been placed in Fukushima Airport’s terminal building with officials hoping it will boost passenger numbers. [MAINICHI]

TOHOKU The head of a post office in Odate, Akita Prefecture, was arrested Friday on suspicion of forging hundreds of 10,000 yen bills, police said. (1) [KYODO]

TOHOKU A tofu manufacturer based in Morioka has eluded sewage charges for about 20 years by manipulating a sewage meter placed at a factory in Yahaba, Iwate Prefecture, according to the Yahaba municipal government. [YOMIURI]