The hiker's GPS watch, which uses satellite signals to log routes and monitors heart rate, was retrieved after the fatal attack, the Asahi Shimbun reported.

Kareem El, a civilian from Washington, D.C., visiting Okinawa, was held by U.S. military police for declining to provide identification.

This follows joint drills by Chinese and Russian strategic bombers and fighters on Tuesday that prompted Japan and South Korea to scramble planes to monitor them.

Japanese police have suspended the car driving licences of nearly 900 cyclists after they were caught riding bicycles under the influence of alcohol, local media report. Authorities deemed that the offenders were "likely to pose a significant danger when driving a car".

The American playwright and actor Jeremy O. Harris has been released from detention in Japan. He was taken into custody last month on suspicion of smuggling the psychadelic drug ecstasy.

Japanese journalist Shiori Ito's documentary, “Black Box Diaries,” has finally premiered in Japan after facing legal hurdles.

Japan's core inflation rate likely held well above the central bank's 2% target in November, a Reuters poll showed on Friday, although moderating food price hikes have taken some pressure off consumers ahead of an expected rate hike next week.

China and Japan clash over 'dangerous' radar incident as Chinese jets target Japanese aircraft near Okinawa, escalating military tensions between the nations.