News On Japan

Japan's Coast Guard officials say a remote Pacific island has expanded to 7 times its original size, following a volcanic eruption about 9 months ago. (NHK)

Nissan Motor Co. premiered its new Datsun mi-DO hatchback at the Moscow International Automobile Salon, which opened to the media on Wednesday. (The Japan News)

It's restart time for the Japanese men's national soccer team after a dismal World Cup showing, and new coach Javier Aguirre has picked five new faces for the 23-man squad. (Wall Street Journal)

Closing in on his 104th birthday, a twinkle-toed Japanese sprinter has thrown down the challenge to the world's fastest man Usain Bolt, telling him: "let's rumble!" (Japan Today)

As Japanese families gathered earlier this month for the traditional "Obon" festival honoring ancestors, some elderly parents broached an awkward but increasingly critical topic: planning for inheritance. (Reuters)

The number of Chinese visitors to Japan dropped dramatically after the government of Prime Minister Abe Shinzō nationalized the Senkaku Islands on September 11, 2012. (nippon.com)

Two more people were said to have contracted dengue fever in Japan on Thursday, a day after the government said it had confirmed the first local infection of the disease in nearly 70 years. (Nikkei)

The minimum hourly wage in Japan for fiscal 2014 will increase by 16 yen from the previous year to 780 yen on average, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said Thursday. (Jiji Press)

Japan hanged two death row inmates Friday in the 10th and 11th executions since the December 2012 launch of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's current government, a source close to the matter said. (Kyodo)

Japan's vital signs remained weak in July, as wages fell further and household spending dropped, signaling continued weakness in the world's third-largest economy. (washingtonpost.com)

The Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said Thursday it has picked anime director Hayao Miyazaki as one of three recipients of its Honorary Award this year. (Japan Times)

Tokyo stocks lost 0.23 percent Friday following a weak slate of Japanese data while investors were also spooked by renewed Ukraine-Russia tensions. (thepeninsulaqatar.com)

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe "was never a real reformer," a Financial Times commentary said Thursday, criticizing him as a backward-looking leader with interest in military revival. (Jiji Press)

The import price of Chinese-grown onions is surging in Japan on reduced supplies after excessive amounts of an agrochemical were detected in them last month. (Nikkei)

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism and several Japanese airlines have established a special committee to discuss countermeasures to resolve the serious shortage of pilots. (Japan Today)

Japanese wireless operator SoftBank Corp will offer a Sony smartphone for the first time, selling a soon-to-be-launched Xperia in Japan, and in the United States via its unit Sprint, sources with knowledge of the matter said. (Japan Today)

The space agency said Friday that it has requested the withdrawal of an article published in U.S. journal Science that was based on observation data from its Hayabusa asteroid probe. (The Japan News)

A new kind of walking tour has been gaining popularity in Tokyo, Osaka and other big cities, with participants visiting entertainment districts and areas where day laborers live to see high school girls solicit men at night and observe homeless people's life on the streets. (The Japan News)

Sekisui House has begun constructing residential buildings in what marks the start of the second stage of the huge Central Park redevelopment project in downtown Sydney. (Nikkei)

Liberal Democratic Party Secretary General Shigeru Ishiba expressed his willingness Friday to join the Cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe if he is invited to do so, sources said. (The Japan News)

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