News On Japan

Asteroid Itokawa, reached by a Japanese unmanned space probe in 2005, may be among the candidate asteroids for a possible human exploration project in the mid-2020s, NASA said Thursday. (Kyodo)

A revised national referendum law that lowers the minimum voting age to 18 from the current 20 took effect in Japan Friday. (Kyodo)

A Japanese education ministry panel adopted on Thursday guidelines obliging schools to investigate all suicides of pupils and students in the country. (Jiji Press)

The Supreme Court has decided to suspend a permit for the sale of the Tokyo headquarters building and land of the pro-Pyongyang General Association of Korean Residents in Japan, sources close to the matter said Friday. (Kyodo)

Japan said Friday it had coordinated with South Korea behind the scenes on the wording of the so-called 1993 Kono statement regarding Asian women who were forced to work in Japan's wartime military brothels. (Kyodo)

A member of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly has demanded that her fellow assembly members be punished for making sexist jeers. (NHK)

Kanebo Cosmetics Inc. has decided to make lump-sum payments as compensation to customers who have suffered unwanted white blotches caused by its skin-whitening products, it was learned Friday. (Jiji Press)

The key Nikkei average snapped its three-day winning streak on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Friday, pressured by profit-taking amid a sense of market overheating after the recent surge. (The Japan News)

Japan's Crown Prince Naruhito has expressed his desire for closer ties with Switzerland. He is currently visiting the country to mark the 150th anniversary of diplomatic relations. (NHK)

Japan's maritime authorities have issued a warning over South Korea's planned military drill near the Takeshima Islands in the Sea of Japan. (NHK)

An unemployed 35-year-old woman has been arrested over the theft of a guitar belonging to Ryuji Fujita of the famous husband-wife musical duo Le Couple. (Japan Today)

It's June again, and that means it's time for Himeji City in Hyogo Prefecture to hold its annual Himeji Yukata Festival! The three-day event incorporates around 800 businesses and draws in around 200,000 attendees, many of whom are dressed in traditional Japanese summer wear yukata. (rocketnews24.com)

SoftBank Corp.'s Masayoshi Son said he wants to improve wireless connection speeds and lower monthly bills for U.S. customers as he pursues the acquisition of T-Mobile US Inc. (The Japan News)

Sagawa Express is planning to employ about 10,000 housewives as part-time delivery staff over the next two years to offset a manpower shortage in the logistics and package delivery industry. (Japan Today)

An out-of-service train on the Odakyu Odawara Line partially derailed Thursday evening within the premises of Sagamiono Station in Sagamihara, but no one was hurt, according to police. (The Japan News)

The US military says a part may have dropped off one of its Osprey aircraft as it was flying over Okinawa Prefecture in southwestern Japan. (NHK)

Sapporo Holdings said Friday that it will pay billions of yen in additional liquor taxes on past shipments of Goku Zero, a popular drink that looks and tastes rather like beer but occupied a lower tax bracket. (Nikkei)

Angry farmers from Fukushima brought a large cow to the center of Tokyo on Friday to demand that the government investigate a disease they say cattle have developed since the nuclear disaster started three years ago. (Japan Times)

The International Olympic Committee said Thursday it has awarded a consortium of Japanese broadcasters the exclusive rights in the country to four Olympic Games from 2018 to 2024. (The Japan News)

The Diet, Japan's parliament, enacted on Friday legislation requiring the government to take measures to prevent deaths from overwork. (Jiji Press)

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