News On Japan

The Bank of Japan said in a quarterly report Monday that it has kept its basic assessments of the current economic situation in all of the country's nine regions intact from the previous report. (Jiji Press)

Low-cost carrier Thai AirAsia X said Monday that its direct flights to Japan's Narita and Kansai airports from Bangkok will start on Sept. 1, and it is offering the first 50,000 seats booked online for a promotional price of 2,990 baht ($92) one-way. (Nikkei)

It's been a week since Yoko Ono made her festival debut at Glastonbury. A week, however, is a long time on the internet. While music critics have been fairly kind - if not particularly enthusiastic - about the 81-year-old's performance, netizens have let rip on the singer-songwriter's erratic wailing, with one criticising Ono's voice as sounding "like a goat with a sore throat". (rocketnews24.com)

McDonald's Holdings Co. (Japan) said Monday that its same-store sales in June fell 8 percent from last year, down for the fifth straight month. (The Japan News)

Japan's transport ministry is weighing plans for an initial public offering by Kyushu Railway, one of the last government-owned blocs of the old national rail network. (Nikkei)

The standard vehicle models for taxis are expected to switch from sedans to minivans with a ceiling height 18 to 45 centimeters higher, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned. (The Japan News)

Police said Monday that a 28-year-old man and a 16-year-old girl were found dead in the man's apartment in Tokyo's Itabashi Ward. (Japan Today)

Former prime minister Junichiro Koizumi has again criticized the Japanese government's plan to restart nuclear power plants. (NHK)

Tokyo Electric Power Co. will replace the Windows XP operating system in its 48,000 personal computers by September 2015, instead of 2018 as originally planned, the company said Monday. (The Japan News)

A new space museum, TeNQ, opens Tuesday at the Tokyo Dome City commercial complex in Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo. (The Japan News)

Police in Fussa, Tokyo, said Monday they have arrested a 39-year-old man for destruction of property after he confessed to pouring ink, ketchup and sauces into Japan Post mailboxes. (Japan Today)

Nagano prefectural police on Monday arrested a 29-year-old man on charges of violating animal cruelty laws after it was discovered that he had posted an online video in which he drowned a cat in a river. (Japan Today)

Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe has called for Japan and Australia to walk forward with "no limit," likening the countries' new economic and military agreements to taking part in a rugby scrum together. (abc.net.au)

Tokyo stocks ended down 0.42 percent on Tuesday after a Wall Street sell-off, while exporters were hit by a stronger yen. (thepeninsulaqatar.com)

Japan's current account surplus in May fell 7.7 pct from a year before to 522.8 billion yen, the Ministry of Finance said Tuesday. (Jiji Press)

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his Australian counterpart Tony Abbott signed bilateral accords on Tuesday to boost cooperation on defense equipment and technology and free trade after they held summit talks in Canberra to bolster bilateral ties. (Kyodo)

An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.6 has struck western Hokkaido, the northernmost main island of Japan. No tsunami warning was issued. (NHK)

Japan on Tuesday vowed to make a stern protest to China after a regional Chinese newspaper printed a map of the country with mushroom clouds hovering over the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and accused the Japanese of wanting war again. (newsweek.com)

Due to the passing of time, the number of survivors of the 1945 atomic bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki has dropped to its lowest level, at about 192,000. (NHK)

Japanese restaurant operators and retailers handling beef and wine have praised Japan's economic partnership agreement with Australia, as it is expected to bring down procurement prices. (Jiji Press)

Latest Images