News On Japan

Japan's national Olympic team has left for the Russian city of Sochi ahead of the opening of the Winter Olympic Games in the city. (NHK)

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said Friday it will reduce the amount of public pension payouts for fiscal 2014, which starts in April, by 0.7 percent from the current fiscal year. (The Japan News)

Oriental Land Co., the operator of Tokyo Disney Resort, reported record group sales and profits for April-December 2013, thanks chiefly to events celebrating the 30th anniversary of Tokyo Disneyland. (The Japan News)

Japan Tobacco Inc. has applied for government approval to raise cigarette prices in April in line with the consumption tax increase to 8 percent from the current 5 percent, according to the company. (The Japan News)

Tokyo Electric Power Co. (9501), operator of the wrecked Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power station, returned to profit in the first nine months of its fiscal year after raising customers' electricity rates and cutting costs. (Bloomberg)

A trove of ancient documents unearthed at the Vatican could shed light on the brutal crackdown on Christianity in isolationist Japan under its samurai rulers, scholars say. (China Post)

The Sendai High Court upheld on Friday a death sentence handed down against a man when he was a minor, ruling his age alone does not call for a lesser punishment. (Kyodo)

The Japan Tourism Agency has devised guidelines to improve signboards and make them easier to understand for foreign visitors. (NHK)

A 23-year-old woman who works as a school clerk in Osaka has been disciplined for having tattoos. (Japan Today)

A risk-management firm in Thailand is cautioning Japanese residents to stay at home on election day on Sunday to avoid possible clashes between anti-government protesters and government supporters. (NHK)

Japan's Prince and Princess Akishino are in Argentina to commemorate 50 years since a bilateral immigration pact came into effect. (NHK)

A man found dead in waters off a western Japanese city last month has been identified as a 30-year-old government employee. (NHK)

Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto said at a meeting of Osaka Ishin no Kai, a regional party he heads, on Saturday that he would resign as mayor to trigger an election in which he will seek voters' support for his plan to transform Osaka Prefecture into a metropolis like Tokyo. (The Japan News)

Police said Saturday they have arrested a 31-year-old employee of the Ministry of Justice for photographing up a woman's skirt on a train in Tokyo. (Japan Today)

Utsunomiya became the biggest spender on gyoza per household in 2013, retaking the top spot from Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, after falling behind for the first time in 2011, according to Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry data. (The Japan News)

Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki's "Kaze Tachinu" (The Wind Rises) won the Annie Award for Writing in an Animated Feature Production on Saturday. (Jiji Press)

Japanese researchers have succeeded in raising the temperature and atmospheric pressure of a hydrous mineral to extremely high levels that are near the Earth's core. (NHK)

Japan won its Davis Cup World Group tie on Sunday, clinching a quarterfinal berth when Frank Dancevic of Canada was forced to retire in the second set of his reverse singles match with Kei Nishikori. (tennis.com)

Astronaut Koichi Wakata is all about doing science. From the Kibo Module, or its official name, the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM), he sets up microscopic analysis of plants that have been grown in space. (akihabaranews.com)

The Japanese yen is currently in a sweet spot that has helped companies report bumper profits at the close of 2013, although any further adjustment to the currency could prompt anger from the US. (insidejapantours.com)

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