1. Japan’s Imperial Household Agency says it has dismissed an aid to the Emperor’s family for stealing 3.6 million yen, or about 25,000 dollars, from an account for the family’s living expenses. The agency says it fired the unidentified chamberlain in his or her 20s on Thursday. 2. Police have arrested a man on suspicion that he had attempted to kill schoolchildren by driving into them in western Japan. Seven children of an elementary school in Nishinari Ward, Osaka, were hit by a car near the school at around 1:30 p.m. on Thursday on their way back home. The 28-year-old suspect, Yazawa Yuki, told investigators that he drove his car into the group of children in an attempt to kill them as he was fed up with everything in his life. 3. NHK has found that about one third of accommodation facilities in the Oku-Noto region in northern Ishikawa Prefecture remain closed after a massive earthquake struck the region on New Year’s Day last year.