News On Japan

The government will review fixed property tax breaks for housing land to reduce abandoned houses that are rapidly increasing in number across the country due to the shrinking population, informed sources said. (Japan Times)

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expressed his eagerness Saturday to boost Japan's economic and trade ties with the four Latin American nations comprising the Pacific Alliance, after seeking an early conclusion of a free trade agreement with Colombia. (Kyodo)

The father of a 16-year-old girl arrested last month on suspicion of killing and dismembering a female classmate in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture, said Saturday his daughter's act "can never be forgiven for any reason or cause" and deeply apologized to the victim's family. (Kyodo)

Repeated defacing with graffiti of the disused Iwabuchi Floodgate in Kita Ward, Tokyo, a historic industrial symbol of Japan's modernization, has left management officials scratching their heads over how best to stop the vandalism. (The Japan News)

A vehicle carrying a family of four overturned Friday while attempting to ford a rain-swollen river at a mountainous camping site in the town of Yamakita, Kanagawa Prefecture, killing the mother and two children, local police said. (Japan Times)

Living in the countryside, the usual casual greetings include an observation about the weather, but for the last six weeks around my home in northern Nagano Prefecture, everybody mentioned the caterpillars. Now it's the moths. I've never seen such a plague of them in the 34 years I've been here. (Japan Times)

Texas Central Railway, a privately funded project aimed at bringing high-speed rail travel to the Lone Star State, hopes to revolutionize the U.S. transportation system by partnering with Central Japan Railway Co. to build a bullet train line between Dallas and Houston by 2021. (Japan Times)

Halong has been rapidly intensifying to start the weekend, becoming a super typhoon early Saturday night, local time, with maximum sustained winds of 250 kph (accuweather.com)

Japanese police arrested four people on Saturday on suspicion of defrauding Tokyo Electric Power Co. of 12 million yen in nuclear compensation. (Jiji Press)

One of Japan's biggest summer festivals has kicked off in the northeastern city of Aomori. (NHK)

A 33-year-old man was arrested after he opened the emergency door and jumped from a Philippine Airlines plane as it was approaching the terminal at Narita airport on Saturday. (Japan Today)

Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party) and Yui no To (Unity Party) agreed Sunday to put off the two parties' merger till Sept. 21. (Jiji Press)

A Japanese man received a three-month sentence Tuesday for a drunken altercation with flight attendants during a trip to Hawaii for his honeymoon. (abcnews.go.com)

The Nihonbashi district prospered as Japan's financial and trade center after shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu moved the capital to Edo, the old name for Tokyo, in the early 17th century. (Japan Times)

When it comes to math, students in the United States have trailed their counterparts in Japan on tests of international competition for so long that closing the gap seems utterly hopeless. (Japan Times)

Seeking romance worthy of a fairy tale, young women from across Japan visit Imamiyajinja shrine here in Kyoto's Nishijin district to buy a lucky amulet that might help them snag a rich husband. (Asahi)

A volcano on Kuchinoerabu Island in Kagoshima Prefecture, southern Japan, erupted for the first time in 34 years on Sunday. (NHK)

Police in Tokyo said Sunday that four people were injured after a gas canister at a food stall exploded at a festival in Koto Ward on Saturday night. (Japan Today)

Weather officials warn there is a very high risk of floods and landslides in the Shikoku region of western Japan as torrential rain will continue until Monday. (NHK)

English-language bloggers were quick to react Monday to remarks made by Studio Ghibli producer Toshio Suzuki about "dismantling" the studio's animation production department. (Japan Times)

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