News On Japan

The body of a second-year high school girl was discovered in the sea off Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture, on July 8, in what police believe may have been a suicide caused by bullying. (Japan Today)

Police in Komaki, Aichi Prefecture, have arrested a 65-year-old truck driver over the hit-and-run death of an 83-year-old woman who was dragged for nearly 400 meters. (Japan Today)

Tokyo stocks lost modest early gains to finish down 0.29 percent on Thursday, but a slightly stronger yen helped prop up the Japanese market. (The Standard)

The Japan Football Association on Thursday officially named Mexican Javier Aguirre as Japan's new national team manager. (Japan Times)

The Supreme Court overturned on Thursday an earlier lower court ruling by lay judges in Japan that sentenced parents accused of abusing and killing their daughter in 2010 to a harsher punishment than demanded by prosecutors. (Kyodo)

Colorfully decorated floats have paraded through the streets of Japan's ancient capital Kyoto in the climax of the monthlong Gion Festival. (NHK)

Diplomatic records declassified on Thursday indicate that the Foreign Ministry concluded in 1971 that no passport would be needed for the Emperor should he decide to go abroad. (Japan Times)

A seafood importer in western Japan is recalling frozen fish from Vietnam after finding that packages of the product contained rat poison. (NHK)

Itochu has agreed to an unprecedented capital and business tie-up with Charoen Pokphand Group, one of Thailand's largest conglomerates, as the Japanese company seeks a stronger foothold in Asian markets. (Nikkei)

Members of the Japan Business Federation, or Keidanren, agreed on Thursday to enhance its cooperation with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government. (Jiji Press)

A local office of the health ministry has identified a warehouse in Nanao, Ishikawa Prefecture, where so-called dangerous drugs were processed. (The Japan News)

Japan has been importing from China large quantities of European eel, an endangered species whose export from Europe is forbidden, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned. (The Japan News)

A male health care worker working at a nursing home for elderly people in Tokyo's Edogawa Ward has been arrested for repeatedly beating an elderly woman resident. (Japan Today)

A bolt of lightning strikes over Tokyo skyscrapers in Tokyo on Thursday night. (Japan Today)

Embattled researcher Haruko Obokata was injured Wednesday while being hounded by NHK reporters on her way home from the state-affiliated Riken institute, her lawyer said Thursday. (Japan Times)

Eight historic machines were given Mechanical Engineering Heritage status for fiscal 2014, including snow vehicles used in 1968 by the first Japanese team to reach the South Pole. (The Japan News)

Early commuters exiting JR Tokyo Station on July 25 noticed a mass of people doing the downward-facing dog and other body-stretching positions under the heat of the early morning sun. (Asahi)

Police in Matsudo, Chiba Prefecture, are looking for a man who reportedly tried to get a 9-year-old girl into his car on Friday morning. (Japan Today)

Wild monkeys in the Fukushima region of Japan have blood abnormalities linked to the radioactive fall-out from the 2011 nuclear power plant disaster, according to a new scientific study that may help increase the understanding of radiation on human health. (The Guardian)

Former J-pop star, erotic novelist and television sex guru Aya Sugimoto is already well-known in the Japanese animal welfare community for her strong anti-fur stance, but this year she has taken aim at the abominable state of Japan's pet industry by founding her own animal welfare organization, Eva. (rocketnews24.com)

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