News On Japan

Police said Wednesday that two men stole a 4.26-carat diamond ring worth 35 million yen from the Wako Ginza store on Christmas eve. (Japan Today)

Japan police deployed about 4,000 officers to locate a rape and robbery suspect, who escaped during questioning at a prosecutors' office near Tokyo yesterday, public broadcaster NHK reported, without attribution. (Bloomberg)

Keisuke Honda always knew he'd be playing in the Serie A and wearing a No. 10 shirt. The Japan forward was presented on Wednesday as an AC Milan player after signing a 3 1/2-year contract on a free transfer from CSKA Moscow. (Sports Illustrated)

Japan's top sumo wrestlers paraded into a Tokyo shrine on Wednesday (January 8) to usher in the New Year with a traditional foot-stomping performance. (ntd.tv)

For the first time in three years, a crested ibis released into the wild on Sado Island, Niigata Prefecture, has been confirmed on Japan's main island of Honshu, according to the Environment Ministry. (The Japan News)

A committee at the Japan Business Federation, the nation's biggest business lobby known as Keidanren, adopted Wednesday a final draft of the group's guidelines for this year's "shunto" wage talks that show its tolerance of pay scale hikes. (Jiji Press)

Ten people were injured after they tumbled down an escalator that stopped suddenly at Musashi-kosugi Station on the Tokyu Toyoko line in Kawasaki on Wednesday morning. (Japan Today)

Police in Yonago, Tottori Prefecture, said Wednesday they have arrested a 62-year-old man over the death of a 72-year-old woman who died in a fire at her home on Jan 2. Police said the suspect had been warned about stalking the victim. (Japan Today)

You probably missed last year's epoch-making rally in Japanese stocks, and if you are still underweight, you might just do it to yourself again. (Reuters)

Tokyo Electric Power Company on Wednesday stopped using its systems to decontaminate radioactive water at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. (NHK)

Japanese researchers say they have developed a method of culturing iPS cells without using materials made from animal tissue. They say their breakthrough will significantly reduce the risk of infection. (NHK)

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe left for the Middle East and Africa on Thursday to strengthen ties with growing economies there. (NHK)

Tokyo stocks closed down 1.50 percent on Thursday on continued profit-taking with a weaker yen failing to lift the market into positive territory. (Global Post)

China took its propaganda war with Japan to the United Nations on Wednesday, questioning Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's motives for visiting a controversial war shrine and calling on him to correct his "erroneous outlook" on history. (firstpost.com)

Foreign visitors to Japan totaled a record high 11.25 million in 2013, up 2.08 million from a year earlier and topping the 10 million threshold for the first time, according to preliminary data released by the Justice Ministry's Immigration Bureau of Japan. (Kyodo)

An explosion at a chemical factory in central Japan has killed at least five people and injured more than 10 others, according to reports. (The Guardian)

The main opposition Democratic Party of Japan regards former Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa as the most favorable candidate for the Feb. 9 Tokyo gubernatorial election, party members said Thursday. (Kyodo)

Japan's health ministry has filed a criminal complaint against a local arm of Swiss-based drug maker Novartis over its use of manipulated clinical data in its advertisements. (NHK)

Toyota Motor's Aqua hybrid compact car was the top-selling vehicle in Japan in 2013. (NHK)

Police in Tokyo said Thursday that a 64-year-old airline pilot instructor working as a temp for a major airline was recently taken into police custody after it was discovered that he had been smuggling illegal drugs. (Japan Today)

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