News On Japan

Police in Tokyo said Friday they are looking for a man who sprayed a 17-year-old girl with a liquid resembling paint thinner as she walked home on Wednesday night-the third such incident to occur in the area since last month. (Japan Today)

A woman in her 20s who was bitten by a mosquito in Ueno Park in Tokyo's Taito Ward earlier this month has been confirmed infected with dengue fever, the Tokyo metropolitan government said Friday. (The Japan News)

The education ministry will help promote consolidation of public primary and middle schools facing falls in the number of students, informed sources said. (The Japan News)

The U.N. International Strategy for Disaster Reduction said Friday that it will display at Geneva International Airport the Tangible Earth, a Japanese-developed interactive digital globe that visualizes disasters such as typhoons as well as air pollution. (Jiji Press)

The transport ministry is trying to lure more international carriers to Tokyo's Haneda Airport by cutting landing fees by half between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m., starting in November. (Asahi)

SoftBank said on Saturday that it expects to book an extraordinary group profit of about 500 billion yen ($4.55 billion) related to Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding's listing in the U.S. in the first half of fiscal 2014, which started in April. (Nikkei)

This was anything but the day Japan expected on Saturday, the first day of the judo competition at the 17th Asian Games. (Kyodo)

Two vending machines were torched and the money taken from them in Tokyo's Katsushika Ward on Saturday morning, bringing to 19 the number of vending machines which have been destroyed by fire in the area since Sept 15. (Japan Today)

The identities of 35 dementia sufferers were unknown in 26 municipalities across the nation at the end of May, according to the government's first nationwide survey of such persons. (The Japan News)

Finance chiefs of the Group of 20 industrial and developing economies agreed Sunday to take additional measures to ensure meeting their commitment to a growth target amid increasing risks. (Kyodo)

New Komeito, the junior member of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party-led ruling coalition, confirmed Natsuo Yamaguchi, 62, as its head for a fourth term at a party convention held in Tokyo on Sunday. (Jiji Press)

As part of efforts to transform increasingly depopulated regional cities into "compact cities," the central government will encourage local governments to relocate aged public facilities to the premises or buildings of regional offices that are scheduled to be rebuilt by the national government, according to sources. (The Japan News)

Sony Corp. has unveiled a new smart eyewear device that connects with compatible smartphones to offer information such as text and images onto the user's field of view. (The Japan News)

The Yokosuka city government in Kanagawa Prefecture has decided to introduce a fee for entering uninhabited Sarushima island, located off the city in Tokyo Bay, starting April next year, according to the city government. (The Japan News)

The organizers of the coming ninth Rome Film Festival said Saturday that they will give the Maverick Director Award, a special prize, to Japanese director Takashi Miike. (Japan Times)

Two of Japan's small opposition parties merged and launched a new political party Sunday, the country's third largest, in a bid to stir political realignment. (Kyodo)

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said he wants to continue constructive dialogue with Russian President Vladimir Putin and study the possibility of his visit to Japan. (NHK)

Japanese parents watched with glee on Sunday as sumo wrestlers tried to reduce their babies to tears, in a centuries-old ritual believed to bring good health to bawling infants. (Japan Today)

Tropical storm Fung-wong is moving northward over waters east of Taiwan and is set to approach the Japanese island prefecture of Okinawa early Monday. (NHK)

As another one of those tricky wasei-eigo words, "new half" refers to transsexual individuals and those people who identify more with the opposite gender. (rocketnews24.com)

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