News On Japan

Apparently perplexed but thrilled to find himself in the spotlight, Iwao Hakamada, formerly the world's longest-serving death-row inmate, made his first public appearance Monday in Tokyo since being released from prison and hospitalized. (Japan Times)

Government sources have revealed that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met the eldest son of late Chinese president Hu Yaobang last week. (NHK)

Japanese stocks rebounded from six-month lows on Tuesday after strong U.S. retail sales data helped calm nerves amid the backdrop of an escalating crisis in Ukraine, pulling the yen down and supporting exporters. (Reuters)

The Bank of Japan is ready to adjust monetary policy if necessary, BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said Tuesday. (Jiji Press)

The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant is under pressure to find out why more than 200 tons of highly contaminated water was mistakenly pumped to a wrong building at the compound. (NHK)

Japan's environment minister says the country has surpassed the target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions that it pledged under the Kyoto Protocol on global warming. (NHK)

Many Japanese companies say they need more capital. That's seen as an indication that they're more positive about expanding their business. (NHK)

Japanese Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera has reaffirmed the nation's plan for a 2014 first flight of the Advanced Technology Demonstrator-X (ATD-X) fighter: a prototype for a future fighter to replace the Japan Air Self-Defence Force's Mitsubishi F-2. (janes.com)

A Kyoto University research team developed a new basic technology to extract shale gas trapped deep underground by injecting carbon dioxide into shale bedrock instead of water, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned. (The Japan News)

The World Health Organization has declined to certify Japan as free of measles. (NHK)

Fishermen in Fukushima Prefecture have released young salmon into a local river for the first time in 4 years. (NHK)

Mt. Hiyori in Miyagino Ward, Sendai, has regained its status as "the shortest mountain in Japan" for the first time in 18 years. (The Japan News)

Japan's professional baseball league was facing another ball scandal Tuesday as sports equipment giant Mizuno apologized for a defect that turned the nation's top sport into a slugfest. (Japan Today)

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Tuesday that it has started surveys to measure shallow methane hydrate deposits in five marine areas in Japan. (Jiji Press)

Officials in southwestern Japan are trying to contain the bird flu virus that has infected chickens at a poultry farm. (NHK)

The nation's population has slipped for the third straight year to a 13-year low, the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry said Tuesday. (The Japan News)

A Japanese scientist who supervised the compilation of disputed papers on a purportedly new kind of stem cell says the hypothesis that STAP cells exist is highly rational and should be verified. (NHK)

Japan's Nikkei share average surged on Wednesday after a better performance on Wall Street the day before and comments from Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso that the market took to suggest more stock buying by the government's pension fund. (Reuters)

Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda on Wednesday affirmed the central bank's upbeat view of the economy, even as global financial markets wobble, stressing that growth will pick up around mid-year as the sting of a sales tax hike fades. (Reuters)

Tokyo prosecutors plan to look into whether a man, who has been arrested for allegedly vandalizing copies of Anne Frank's diary, is mentally competent to be held criminally responsible for his actions, informed sources said Wednesday. (Jiji Press)

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