News On Japan

Indonesia has revoked a four-year ban on beef and cattle imports from Japan, in a move to reduce dependence on Australian shipments and diversify its supply sources, an official in the Southeast Asian nation's agriculture ministry said on Friday. (indiatimes.com)

Visitors to a summer resort in central Japan are being treated to the sight of a field of sunflowers in full bloom. (NHK)

Japan's prime minister during the Fukushima disaster says Australia should be trying to wean other countries away from nuclear power, not increase exports of uranium. (abc.net.au)

The Bank of Japan is sticking to its expectation of an improving domestic economy and gradually rising inflation fueled by its current policies, despite growing skepticism among private analysts about the health of the recovery and the adequacy of the central bank's efforts. (Wall Street Journal)

According to the Japan Times, government sources indicated on Thursday that India and Japan are currently finishing negotiations to create a formal bilateral framework between their foreign and defense ministers, or a "two-plus-two" dialogue mechanism. (thediplomat.com)

The number of Vietnamese tourists visiting Japan in the first six months of this year has surged 50 percent year on year, a tourism association has reported, citing a significant reduction in tour prices to the East Asian country. (tuoitrenews.vn)

Back when Chika Kako was a junior engineer for Toyota Motor Corp., she had to run the gantlet of cringe-worthy questions from her predominantly male cohorts. "Why aren't you married?" (autonews.com)

Rare "monocoque" bus models manufactured during the Showa era (1926-1989) have been drawing attention around the nation. (The Japan News)

In Japan, there's the phrase "neko no te mo karitai" (literally "want to borrow even a cat's hand"), meaning that you're so busy, you even want the cat to help. Well, Pizza Hut took this idiom to heart in its new campaign, hiring four rough-and-tumble cats to manage a franchise called Pizza Cat! (rocketnews24.com)

Police in Saitama said Saturday they have arrested a 32-year-old man on suspicion of assaulting and robbing a 24-year-old woman as she walked home last week. (Japan Today)

The Bank of Japan may have to pursue its aggressive monetary policy easing for "some time" to fully vanquish deflation, BOJ Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda said Saturday. (Japan Times)

Suppliers to Apple Inc are scrambling to get enough screens ready for the new iPhone 6 smartphone as the need to redesign a key component disrupted panel production ahead of next month's expected launch, supply chain sources said. (investing.com)

Thousands of people danced to the sounds of Brazilian music at an annual samba carnival in Tokyo on Saturday. (NHK)

Eight incoming freshman college students from Japan were riding in a small car that ran off a California freeway and hit a power pole, leaving three of them dead and five of them injured, officials said. (abcnews.go.com)

A Malaysia Airlines plane bound for Tokyo was forced to turn back due to pressure problems inside the aircraft after being in the air for almost an hour, a top aviation watchdog official said Sunday. (Japan Today)

Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force has shown reporters its annual live-fire drills at the foot of Mt Fuji. (NHK)

Former money winner Momoko Ueda captured the CAT Ladies by a single shot to end a three-year drought on Sunday. (Japan Times)

Skylark's application to list its shares is expected to be approved by the Tokyo Stock Exchange as early as this week, paving the way for the family restaurant operator to go public in late September at the soonest. (Nikkei)

Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami's book "Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage" topped the New York Times best-selling hardcover fiction list for the week after being translated into English and put on sale Aug. 12. (Japan Times)

A 22-year-old postgraduate student was killed in a hit-and-run incident in Hachioji, Tokyo, police said Sunday. (Japan Today)

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