News On Japan

The Israeli embassy in Tokyo donated 300 books on Anne Frank on Thursday after books on the famous victim of the Holocaust were found to have been vandalized at public libraries in the Japanese capital. (Jiji Press)

The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China passed legislation on Thursday to designate two key anniversaries of the war with Japan as national days, according to state-run news agency Xinhua. (Jiji Press)

The party is about to slow down for patrons of one of Japan's most popular beaches, and it may be over altogether for servicemembers here displaying "scary" tattoos. (stripes.com)

Japan's core consumer price index in January rose 1.3 pct from a year earlier, up for the eighth straight month, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said Friday. (Jiji Press)

Tokyo stocks closed 0.55 percent lower Friday after the dollar fell against the yen on a cautious view of the US economy by Federal Reserve chief Janet Yellen. (brecorder.com)

Central Japan Railway Co (JR Tokai) has applied to the transport ministry for approval to increase the speed of trains on the Tokaido shinkansen line from 2015. (Japan Today)

Japan's space agency has successfully launched an H2A rocket carrying a satellite that can survey precisely rainfall on most of the earth. (NHK)

Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso on Friday expressed eagerness to hold discussions with other ministers and government agencies about what is behind the recent trouble in the "bitcoin" virtual currency market. (Kyodo)

Japan's Lower House of the Diet has passed the country's largest-ever draft budget. (NHK)

Mazda Motor Corp. chairman Takashi Yamanouchi opened the company's new small-car assembly plant in Mexico Friday, calling it the company's "most important global strategic base." (autoweek.com)

A symbol of Tokyo's Kamata area for the past 45 years, a tiny Ferris wheel atop Kamata Station's shopping center will suspend operation on Sunday, with its fate after the facility's renovation uncertain. (The Japan News)

Japan's Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko on Friday visited the Tokyo island of Izu Oshima, where 36 people were killed in mudslides triggered by a powerful typhoon last October. (Jiji Press)

Ten of Japan's 47 prefectures issued warnings against air pollution from microparticle PM 2.5 between Tuesday and Thursday, Environment Minister Nobuteru Ishihara revealed Friday. (Jiji Press)

Construction work began Friday on a new wholesale fish and fruit and vegetable market in Tokyo to replace the current site at Tsukiji. (Japan Today)

Japanese police and regulators on Friday raided quasi-legal drug stores across the country for the alleged violation of the narcotic drug control law. (Jiji Press)

Similarities in the recent acts of vandalism on books related to Anne Frank have led investigators to suspect a single person is responsible, according to sources. (The Japan News)

The Mt. Gox bitcoin exchange in Tokyo filed for bankruptcy protection, acknowledging that a significant amount of the virtual currency had gone missing. (cbsnews.com)

Japan's Fast Retailing Co Ltd , parent of apparel chain Uniqlo, has expressed interest in buying J.Crew Group Inc from its private equity owners, a person familiar with the matter said on Friday. (Reuters)

Nearly 2,000 people marched in a Japanese city Saturday to mark the 60th anniversary of a US hydrogen bomb test at Bikini Atoll, amid heightened anti-nuclear sentiment in the country after the Fukushima crisis. (Global Post)

Mt. Gox on Friday filed for bankruptcy protection in Japan, and it could be a matter of time before the troubled bitcoin exchange takes the same step on U.S. soil. (Wall Street Journal)

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