News On Japan

Co-leader of the opposition Japan Restoration Party Toru Hashimoto has said that the system of so-called comfort women, which was used to recruit women into sexual servitude for soldiers, was necessary at the time to maintain discipline in the Japanese military during World War Two. (NHK)

Police on Tuesday arrested a 49-year-old man on suspicion of stabbing to death his two teenage children at their home in Mihara, Hiroshima Prefecture. (Japan Today)

A three-day rout in the bond market has raised concerns that the Bank of Japan is getting more than it bargained for, by prodding investors to shift money out of the safety of government bonds faster than the government expected. (Reuters)

Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare decided Tuesday to allow families on welfare to save for university admission fees for their children. (Jiji Press)

Three men robbed a McDonald's outlet of approximately 2 million yen in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, on Tuesday morning. (Japan Today)

Struggling Japanese electronics maker Sharp has posted a record net loss for the business year that ended in March. (NHK)

The Japanese Fisheries Agency seized a Taiwanese fishing boat on Tuesday after it was found operating within Japan's exclusive economic zone off a southwestern island without permission. (Jiji Press)

A 28-year-old man pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges of killing the mother and grandmother of his former girlfriend in Nagasaki Prefecture, southwestern Japan, after stalking her. (Jiji Press)

The government and Australia are set to reach an agreement in principle as early as early as next month to lower the tariff on frozen beef from Down Under, according to officials in Tokyo. (Japan Times)

A 9.0-magnitude earthquake occurring in the Nankai Trough south of Japan's main island would cause up to 1,774 deaths on the Izu and Ogasawara island chains off Tokyo, the metropolitan government's Disaster Prevention Council estimated Tuesday. (Jiji Press)

The Nuclear Regulation Authority decided Wednesday to order the operator of the Monju fast-breeder nuclear reactor to suspend preparations for resuming operations at the facility in Fukui Prefecture, central Japan. (Jiji Press)

The Nikkei index gained over 2 percent to end above the 15,000 mark Wednesday for the first time since December 2007, propelled by a falling yen and buoyant global equities. (Kyodo)

Japan's economy grew for a second straight quarter between January and March. (NHK)

Honda is expected to announce shortly that it will return to Formula One in 2015 as an engine supplier to British team McLaren to revive their championship-winning partnership, a company source said Wednesday. (Japan Today)

More than 500 people in court costumes paraded through the ancient capital of Kyoto on Wednesday in the traditional Aoi Festival. (NHK)

NTT Docomo Inc. said Wednesday it will set the prices of upcoming new models of its popular smartphones lower than for existing models. (Yomiuri)

In "Soapland"-Sopurando, a Tokyo red-light district-the price of a basic half-hour "massage" has recently gone up for the first time since 1990. (The Economist)

A 70-year-old woman has been rescued from a toilet in which she had been waiting for help for three days, Hiroshima police said Friday. (Japan Today)

A 24-year-old woman was in a serious condition Friday after being stabbed by a man whom she reported to police for stalking her in Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture. (Japan Today)

A 5-year-old boy sustained an injury at a shopping mall in Nagoya on Friday after his hand became trapped in an escalator. (Japan Today)

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