A Japanese TV program on New Year’s Eve has come under fire after a comedian showed up with his face painted black to impersonate Eddie Murphy. A US columnist argued on Twitter that black people were not a punchline nor a prop.

Yoshiharu Habu, 47, became the first professional shogi player to win lifetime titles in all 7 major title matches on Tuesday. After beating the opponent, he said he still hasn’t grasped the reality.

Britain’s royal family on Monday officially announced the engagement of Prince Harry to American actress Meghan Markle. She has starred in the US legal drama Suits since 2011.

A tourism promotion video for Miyagi prefecture in northern Japan featuring a well-known model is receiving mixed reviews. Seven assembly women asked the governor on Friday to remove it because of some sexually suggestive scenes.

Some 950 people attended a party to celebrate the 50th anniversary of a popular dress-up doll named Licca-chan near Tokyo on Monday. Invitation cards were included in a limited edition of the doll released 25 years ago.

Mao Kobayashi, a former newscaster who chronicled her battle with breast cancer on her blog, died at the age of 34 on Thursday. British broadcaster BBC had picked her as one of the 100 most inspirational and influential women in November 2016. BBC reported that her blog was “groundbreaking”.