News On Japan

A body of a female scuba diver found Tuesday near the Indonesian resort island of Bali has been identified as Ritsuko Miyata, one of the two remaining Japanese women who disappeared while scuba diving in the area last week, according to medical officials. (Kyodo)

Tokyo stocks ended 0.52 percent lower on Wednesday afternoon as investors locked in gains after the Nikkei index hit a 2-week high the previous trading day. (Xinhua)

Police in Fuefuki, Yamanashi Prefecture, said Wednesday that a 57-year-old man was found dead at his home on Monday morning. (Japan Today)

Tokyo prosecutors raided Novartis Pharma K.K. on Wednesday over its alleged use of exaggerated advertising for a blood pressure-lowering drug, following a criminal complaint filed by the health ministry last month. (Kyodo)

An aide to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has expressed disappointment at U.S. criticism of Abe's visit in December to the war-linked Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, but the top government spokesman on Wednesday hurriedly denied that the aide was expressing the government's view. (Kyodo)

Cathay Pacific Airways says nine people were injured when a Boeing 747 hit severe turbulence over Japan. (cbsnews.com)

McDonald's Holdings Co. (Japan) said Wednesday that Sarah Casanova, president of operating unit McDonald's Co. (Japan), will become president of the parent company to succeed Eiko Harada, who has been in the top post for 10 years. (The Japan News)

Amid a sharp increase of low-priced steel product exports from China, other countries have been invoking antidumping duties (AD) or launching antidumping investigations to protect their domestic industry, moves the Japanese government and steel industry are worried may harm the free trade system. (The Japan News)

Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology said Wednesday that it will introduce English language requirements for entry applicants from fiscal 2016, using scores from TOEIC and other external English tests. (Jiji Press)

The rate of smartphone users among students owning mobile phones at elementary, junior high and high schools in Japan stood at 56.8 pct in late 2013, up 20.8 percentage points from a year earlier, a Cabinet Office survey showed Wednesday. (Jiji Press)

US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew wants Japan to do more to boost domestic demand. It's high on his agenda for the meeting of the G20 finance ministers and central bank chiefs in Sydney, Australia this weekend. (NHK)

Despite prime minister Shinzo Abe brash declaration that "Japan is back" in a speech last September to the New York Stock Exchange, Abe faces a thornier challenge in ensuring that his "Abenomics" recovery spreads beyond boardrooms to the Japanese people. (leadertelegram.com)

The embattled head of Japan's public broadcaster NHK insisted Wednesday it would remain impartial, after his controversial remarks about wartime sex slavery reportedly jeopardised an interview with US ambassador Caroline Kennedy. (AFP)

Japan's government described consumer prices as "rising moderately", using that wording for the first time since October 2008, a sign that the economy is making steady progress towards exiting 15 years of stubborn deflation. (Reuters)

Seiichi Eto, a special adviser to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, deleted Wednesday a YouTube post in which he criticized the United States for expressing disappointment at Abe's visit to war-linked Yasukuni Shrine in December. (Jiji Press)

A record number of international travelers visited Japan last month, thanks to a sharp increase in visitors from Asian countries. (NHK)

Tokyo stocks have fallen 2.15 per cent, tracking a fall on Wall Street and as the yen gained strength after gloomy data dented investor confidence. (Sky News)

Japan's exports rose sharply in January, the Finance Ministry said Thursday, though the gain came in below economists' expectations. (marketwatch.com)

Etsuro Honda, an architect of Japan's so-called Abenomics economic policy, denied Thursday he had praised Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's controversial visit to the war-linked Yasukuni Shrine in a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal. (Kyodo)

Four Japanese scuba divers who went missing off Bali for three days left hospital Thursday and prepared to return home, as they revealed they were "swallowed by big waves" during a terrifying ordeal at sea. (Jakarta Globe)

Latest Images