A 49-year-old woman named Masae Sakurai, a part-time worker living in Ibaraki Prefecture northeast of Tokyo, was arrested on July 6, 2026, on suspicion of injuring her 42-year-old roommate by sewing her lips together with a needle and thread at Sakurai’s house on June 29. The injured woman, who had been living with Sakurai since around April 2025, told police she had been too scared to run away before the incident. After the attack, she fled to a nearby shop where an employee called the police. Authorities have not disclosed whether Sakurai has admitted to the allegations. Police also suspect other residents of the house may have been present during the incident.

In unrelated news from Tokyo, Japanese moon transport company ispace announced on July 8, 2026, that it will start a new lower-cost lunar cargo business using the Starship heavy rocket and moon lander developed by Elon Musk's SpaceX. The company has purchased 500 kg (1102 lb) of capacity on a Starship scheduled to land on the moon as soon as 2030. ispace plans to build a lunar surface vehicle capable of hosting payloads from clients worldwide sharing the ride to the moon.

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