News On Japan

For the past three months, Tokyo Metropolitan Police have sought a woman believed to be responsible for the drugging and robbing of multiple men in the metropolis over the last two years. (Tokyo Reporter)

As comedian and noted lover of cinnamon rolls and burritos Jim Gaffigan famously said, going whale watching is kind of boring. It's a handful of hours of waiting around, a brief glimpse of "something I wouldn't even watch on television," and then your most likely drunk tour captain whisking you back to shore in time for happy hour. (rocketnews24.com)

As geisha numbers continue to dwindle, performers in western Tokyo's Hachioji are stepping out of the shadows of their private "floating world" and into the public domain. (Asahi)

The Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry will develop a system to show Japanese TV programs with subtitles in foreign languages, including English and Chinese, to provide a more comfortable viewing experience for foreign visitors, according to sources. (The Japan News)

Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp. has received a welcome boost with new orders for 50 of its Mitsubishi Regional Jet, a domestically produced small passenger plane, at the Farnborough International Airshow held in England through Sunday. (The Japan News)

Police and health officials in Ueda, Nagano Prefecture, said Monday that around 300 students suffered food poisoning at a soccer and rugby tournament. Of those, 120 were taken to hospital but none suffered any lasting effects, police said. (Japan Today)

Police in Izu, Shizuoka, said Monday that a 60-year-old man who was part of a deer-hunting party, was shot and killed by a fellow hunter. (Japan Today)

Starting on Tuesday, the Tokyo Stock Exchange will adopt monetary units lower than Y1 for prices of 100 major stocks to be traded by investors. (The Japan News)

A 49-year-old man arrested Saturday on suspicion of confining an 11-year-old girl at his house here has told police he wanted to be with the girl forever, according to a source related to the investigation. (The Japan News)

Personal information on some 22.6 million Benesse Corp. customers was stored in a smartphone used by a systems engineer arrested last week for allegedly stealing such data from the education service provider, the company has said. (Jiji Press)

A series of water-related accidents across Japan during Marine Day on Monday has left six people dead, three missing and one in a critical condition, according to media and Fire and Disaster Management Agency reports. (Japan Today)

Tokyo stocks rose 0.84 percent on Tuesday, boosted by a weaker yen as traders returned from a three-day holiday weekend. (brecorder.com)

Japanese authorities have decided to use the term "kiken" or "unsafe" drugs to refer to so-called law-evading drugs to raise the awareness of their risks. (NHK)

Inventor and performance artist Showta Mori has been getting a taste of internet fame recently for his videos featuring his quick-draw, arm-mounted iPhone sleeve gun, but that's far from his only creation or even his weirdest creation. (rocketnews24.com)

An agricultural research center in western Japan has developed and commercialized a ladybug as a biopesticide. (Jiji Press)

The Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy, a key Japanese government panel, decided at its meeting Tuesday to introduce a special spending quota under the fiscal 2015 budget in order to help revive regional economies and promote measures related to the government's growth strategy. (Jiji Press)

A group of residents from a village near the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is planning to file for state arbitration so all villagers can be entitled to equal damages regardless of radiation levels of their areas. (NHK)

Hitachi on Monday unveiled standard rail cars developed for overseas customers, an occasion that revealed the company's vaulting ambition for a market dominated by three giants. (Nikkei)

Starbucks Coffee Japan plans to open new outlets at an accelerated pace while shifting its focus from urban centers to suburban areas. (Nikkei)

The Environment Ministry is considering using groundwater welling up from subway tunnels to improve the water quality in moats surrounding the Imperial Palace, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned. (The Japan News)

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