News On Japan

Japan Airlines is to introduce an inflight internet service (JAL Sky Wi-Fi) on domestic routes. (Japan Today)

Tokyo DisneySea mascot Duffy the Bear has a brand new friend! And that means new character goods now on sale at the park, and of course hundreds of Disney fans eager to get their paws on them. (rocketnews24.com)

The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has allowed media access to the construction site of an underground frozen wall, which is designed to reduce the massive volume of radioactive wastewater. (NHK)

Miyagi prefectural police said Tuesday that a police officer committed suicide in Tome on Monday, and left a note saying he had suffered power harassment from a superior. (Japan Today)

An Indonesian court Tuesday sentenced a boat skipper to three years' imprisonment over an ill-fated diving trip which killed two of the seven Japanese women taking part. (Bangkok Post)

World number 19 Steve Stricker will miss next week's British Open at Hoylake after deciding not to take up his exemption, organizers said in a statement on Tuesday. (Japan Today)

Osaka High Court upheld a lower court ruling on Tuesday banning a Japanese group from conducting a campaign of harassment that includes hate speech near an elementary school for Koreans in Kyoto, western Japan. (Jiji Press)

North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles toward the Sea of Japan early on Wednesday, and the projectiles, which appear to be versions of the Scud missile, flew about 500 kilometers, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said. (Kyodo)

Japan's Nikkei share average fell to a 1-1/2-week low on Wednesday as the stronger yen hurt exporters, while cooler-than-expected China inflation data also soured sentiment. (Reuters)

The operator of Universal Studios Japan is looking to relist on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in fiscal 2015, which starts next April. (Nikkei)

Japan scrambled fighter jets a record number of times between April and June amid increased activity of Russian and Chinese aircraft, the Defense Ministry said on July 9, and as tension in the East China Sea remains high. (Asahi)

Japanese conservationists say they have found evidence of endangered marine mammals in waters where officials plan to build a US Marine Corps base. (NHK)

More Japanese ninth-grade students who miss long periods of school for reasons other than illness or financial difficulties are going on to high school after graduation from junior high, a follow-up education ministry survey showed Wednesday. (Jiji Press)

A trend is growing among young couples to choose buildings and historically significant spots in their hometowns as wedding ceremony sites in a phenomena known as "gotochi-kon." (The Japan News)

A boy was killed in a mudslide caused by torrential rain in Nagiso, Nagano Prefecture, on Wednesday, local police and firefighters said. (Jiji Press)

An education company in Japan says 7.6 million items of personal information have been leaked, and the number may swell to more than 20 million. (NHK)

A former gangster locked himself in a room in a hospital in Mimasaka, Okayama Prefecture, and held police at bay for four hours before killing himself. (Japan Today)

Japan's Nikkei share average dropped for a fourth day to a fresh 1-1/2-week low on Thursday as worse-than-expected machinery data soured sentiment and U.S. Federal Reserve minutes suggested the end of its stimulus was a sign of economic strength. (Reuters)

Globally acclaimed composer and musician Ryuichi Sakamoto said Thursday he is suffering from cancer and is canceling all professional commitments to focus on treatment. (Japan Times)

Tokyo police set up a task force on Thursday to strengthen controls on quasi-legal drugs, following a spate of crashes involving cars driven by users of those drugs. (Jiji Press)

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