The government will only partially lift a ban on North Korean ships entering Japan but may expand the privilege depending on the progress of a new probe by Pyongyang into the whereabouts of kidnapped Japanese. (Nikkei)
Japan wades carefully into opening ports to North Korean ships
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IOC panel chief backs review of Tokyo Olympic venues
The chief of an International Olympic Committee panel expressed understanding on Friday about Tokyo's intention to change the original plans for some of the venues to be used for the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. (Jiji Press)
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QR code inventor wins European award / Masahiro Hara
The European Patent Office on June 17 awarded Masahiro Hara of Denso Corp. and his team the Popular Prize of the European Inventor Award 2014 for developing the QR code, which shows Internet addresses when read by smartphones and other devices. (The Japan News)
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RIMPAC naval exercise begins off Hawaii, involving Japan, China
A U.S.-led international naval exercise called RIMPAC started in waters off Hawaii on Thursday, involving mainly Pacific-rim nations including Japan and China. (Jiji Press)
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Daichi-2 satellite sends first batch of images
Japan's space agency JAXA has released the first batch of images from a land observation satellite that was launched in May. (NHK)
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Work-related mental illness claims rise to record high in FY 2013
The number of people in Japan who claimed workers' compensation for work-related depression or other mental illness rose to a record 1,409 in the past year to March, according to data released by the labor ministry Friday. (Kyodo)
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Japanese ballerinas snag gold, silver at U.S. competition
Japanese ballerinas Shiori Kase and Tamako Miyazaki grabbed the top two prizes Friday in the senior female division of an international ballet competition in Jackson, Mississippi. (Kyodo)
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Growing overseas demand for Japan's square watermelons
The demand for square watermelons grown in Japan is growing in countries outside the nation, Japan's officials say. (SBS)
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Reform in Japan: The third arrow
During Japan's Meiji restoration, which began in 1868, a group of reform-minded officials and citizens worked together to stamp out feudalism, prise open borders and push the country onto a path of rapid industrialisation. (The Economist)
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Zushi beach ban on alcohol, loud music goes into effect
A resolution that bans playing loud music and drinking alcohol at the only beach in Zushi, Kanagawa Prefecture, went into effect Friday as the beach became the first in the Kanto region to open its swimming season. (Japan Today)
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Japan to oblige mobile carriers to remove SIM locks from handsets
The Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry plans to basically oblige mobile phone carriers to "unlock" their handsets so they can handle other companies' services, informed sources said Friday. (Japan Times)
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New expressway section to ease traffic through central Tokyo
A new section of the Metropolitan Intercity Expressway opened Saturday, linking three major highways in the Kanto region. The smoother flow of traffic is expected to ease congestion in central Tokyo and bring more tourists to areas along the new route. (The Japan News)
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World Bank Kim optimistic about Abe's '3rd arrow'
World Bank President Jim Yong Kim has voiced optimism about the Japanese government's growth strategy, which is the "third arrow" of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's three-pillar economic policy package called Abenomics. (The Japan News)
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100 firms work together to produce nanocellulose
About 100 companies in Japan will work together to put nanocellulose, made from wood fibers, into practical use as a next-generation material, with one-fifth the weight of steel but about five times the strength. (The Japan News)
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Japanese fun house imitated in China
The operator of a Japanese amusement park is considering legal action against a company in China that has opened a facility similar to its own. (NHK)
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Table flipping competition held in Iwate
An unusual contest was held in Iwate Prefecture on Saturday. It consists of flipping a traditional short-legged table known as a chabudai to express anger or frustration. (NHK)
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Why 'Frozen' is the most popular movie to hit Japan in a decade
Frozen, the Disney cartoon-musical that swept the US in late 2013 and early 2014 only arrived in Japan in mid-March. And since then, it's completely taken over the country. (Quartz)
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Dogs save people from bears
A 63-year-old man has been treated in hospital after surviving a bear attack in the city of Kanazawa in central Japan. (NHK)
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'My Man' wins top prize at Moscow film festival
Japanese movie "My Man" has won the top award at a film festival in Moscow. The movie's star Tadanobu Asano scooped the best actor prize. (NHK)
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N. Korea fires short-range missiles off east coast
North Korea fired two short-range missiles off its east coast Sunday toward the Sea of Japan off its east coast, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency said, citing South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff. (Nikkei)
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