News On Japan

The government in Tokyo has been authorized to do everything possible to ensure the safety of 11 Japanese nationals taken hostage by militants in Algeria. (presstv.ir)

More than 140 nations including Japan on Saturday adopted the first legally binding international treaty aimed at reducing mercury emissions, capping four years of negotiations on what limits to set on the use of the highly toxic metal. (Japan Times)

Three Chinese government ships Saturday entered Japanese territorial waters around disputed islands, Japan's coastguard said, hours after a veiled US warning to Beijing not to challenge Tokyo's control. (inquirer.net)

Yokozuna Harumafuji pulled out the howitzer for Brazilian big boy Kaisei on Saturday to retain his undefeated record on the seventh day of action at the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament. (Japan Times)

A fish contaminated with radiation levels more than 2,500 times the legal limit has been caught near Japan's crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, its operator said Friday. (Japan Today)

Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida announced the government will sign the Hague Convention on cross-border parental child abductions, addressing one of the few sources of tension in Tokyo's ties with Washington. (Japan Times)

The two-day national center test for university admissions for enrollment this spring started Saturday. (Yomiuri)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police and Fukkuoka prefectural police on Friday announced the bust of speciality gambling parlors operating illegally. (Tokyo Reporter)

Japan says it may fire warning shots and take other measures to keep foreign aircraft from violating its airspace in the latest verbal blast between Tokyo and Beijing that raises concerns that a dispute over hotly contested islands could spin out of control. (abcnews.go.com)

Japanese Economics Minister Akira Amari said on Sunday that the government and the Bank of Japan were getting closer to an agreement on a joint statement on monetary policy expected to be issued next week. (Reuters)

Hospital admissions for flu rose sharply last week, according to the Infectious Disease Surveillance Center (IDSC). (Japan Today)

Japan said Sunday it had received "severe information" about Japanese nationals taken hostage at a gas plant in Algeria, which included unconfirmed details of at least one death. (The West)

Japanese poet Toyo Shibata, who started writing at the age of 92 and whose first anthology sold almost 1.6 million copies, died Sunday aged 101, her son said. (Bangkok Post)

Japan was mourning on Sunday after the death of former sumo grand champion Taiho, who won a record 32 tournaments and became a hugely popular figure in the 1960s when the sport was untainted by the damaging scandals seen more recently. (sportlive)

One-third of households in Japan will be single-person households in 2015, according to an estimate by the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research. (Yomiuri)

Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party) has decided to promote acting President Toru Hashimoto to coleader of the party. (Yomiuri)

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Sunday congratulated Self-Defense Forces personnel involved in the U.N. peacekeeping mission in the Israeli-held Golan Heights during a ceremony at the Defense Ministry. (Japan Times)

Yokozuna Harumafuji gave Gagamaru a public flogging to remain the only unbeaten man standing after eight days at the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament on Sunday. (Japan Times)

While Japan's dispute with China over the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands has been notable for a number of reasons - mostly negative - one of the few positive elements has been the refusal of either side to send in the military. (The Diplomat)

The US agency in charge of transportation safety says a fire sparked after a Boeing 787 Dreamliner landed in Boston was not caused by an overcharged battery. (The Australian)

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