News On Japan

In the chilly final years of the last ice age, hunting communities in Japan may have served up warm fish stews of salmon and shellfish for dinner. (nbcnews.com)

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has called for a review of the school textbook screening guideline to better reflect the ideas, such as patriotism, contained in the revised basic education law. (NHK)

As a part of an ongoing sweep of illegal massage parlors, Tokyo Metropolitan Police on Tuesday announced the arrest of the manager of an operation in Chiyoda Ward on prostitution charges. (Tokyo Reporter)

A 28-year-old assistant Osaka district court judge has been fired after he was arrested for filming up a woman's skirt while on a train last August. (Japan Today)

The pink cherry blossoms that explode into bloom every spring in Washington, D.C., are famous around the country, flowering due to a courtesy gift from Japan more than a century ago. But one of the first attempts to send the flowers over to the capital didn't go so well. (livescience.com)

A rat causing a power outage by short-circuiting a temporary switchboard. Another blackout occurring as workers install anti-rat nets. Holes in the linings of huge underground tanks leaking radioactive water. (Time)

Tokyo stocks rallied further on Thursday, closing at their highest level since July 2008 with exporters the main beneficiaries as the dollar approaches the 100 yen mark. (Economic Times)

Japanese billionaire Kazuo Okada and his companies are being investigated in the United States for potential violations of anti-bribery laws in relation to a $2 billion casino project in the Philippines, according to a court filing. (Reuters)

The Japanese and U.S. governments are expected to reach an accord on Friday in their preliminary consultations on Japan's entry into Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade talks, Japanese government sources said Thursday. (Jiji Press)

Police on Thursday arrested a 30-year-old employee of the Taito Ward office in Tokyo for allegedly assaulting a police officer. (Japan Today)

Two buses, both carrying South Korean tourists, have collided in Kumamoto Prefecture, southwestern Japan, injuring 27. (NHK)

Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, says more radioactive water has leaked at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. The trouble occurred on Thursday during work to transfer contaminated water. (NHK)

Tokyo Disneyland (or "TDL" as it's known to the Japanese) turns 30 on April 15, but like George Clooney, or heck, even the famed Mouse himself, age hasn't withered it a bit. (Japan Times)

Four Japanese automakers, including Toyota Motor Corp and Nissan Motor Co, are recalling 3.4 million vehicles sold around the world because airbags supplied by Takata Corp are at risk of catching fire or injuring passengers. (Reuters)

Members of Myanmar's Muslim minority Rohingya community said they have been barred from a gathering to welcome democracy hero Aung San Suu Kyi when she visits Japan. (Gulf Times)

Photos showing Russian President Vladimir Putin playing with a puppy he received recently from Japan were posted on his official website Wednesday. (Yomiuri)

For the second time in seven months, Toyota Motor Corp. and Ford Motor Co. both claim to produce the world's top-selling car. The clash shows how counting in the global automotive industry is complicated. (Japan Times)

Japanese shares slipped on Friday, coming off a near five-year high, but they still ended the week sharply higher, buoyed by optimism that bold central bank policies would revitalise the economy. (Economic Times)

JR East said Friday that a train in Funabashi, Chiba prefecture, traveled 48 kilometers with one carriage door open after a cord from a passenger's rucksack became stuck in the mechanism and prevented it from closing. (Japan Today)

The Japanese government decided at a cabinet meeting Friday to put a special law to combat new highly virulent strains of influenza into effect on Saturday, in the face of the spread of the H7N9 bird flu strain in China, which has reportedly killed 10 people. (Jiji Press)

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