News On Japan

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin at their meeting in Milan, Italy, on Friday agreed to continue dialogue between their countries. (The Japan News)

The government on Friday approved Central Japan Railway Co.'s plan to construct the Linear Chuo Shinkansen line, paving the way for the 2027 start of magnetic levitation train service connecting Tokyo and Nagoya in 40 minutes. (The Japan News)

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe played up the improvement in bilateral ties with China at the Asia-Europe Meeting here this week by greeting the Chinese premier and refraining from directly criticizing China's maritime expansionism. (Nikkei)

A 36-year-old woman holding her one-year-old son in her arms jumped off the platform in front of a train at Nezu Station on the Chiyoda subway line in Tokyo, police said. (Japan Today)

Japan has been stung by its third political scandal in a week after the country's new industry minister - whose predecessor resigned over allegations of misspending - admitted that his staff had spent office money at a sex bar. (The Guardian)

Japanese automakers are flying high on brisk North American sales and a weaker yen, with Toyota Motor expected to report a record operating profit for the six months through September. (Nikkei)

Crowds here cheered as rows of huge torches lit up the night skies during the millennium-old Kurama Fire Festival on Oct. 22. (Asahi)

Honda Motor is recalling several models, including the Fit hybrid, for defects. (NHK)

Environment Ministry officials will launch a nationwide study to look into disturbing reports of animals such as wild boars and raccoon dogs eating the buried eggs of endangered sea turtles. (Asahi)

Police have confirmed the 57th death in the eruption of Mount Ontake in central Japan. Another 6 people are still missing after Japan's worst volcanic disaster in decades. (NHK)

The government said Friday it has chosen Nobel physics prize laureates Shuji Nakamura and Hiroshi Amano and five others as this year's winners of Japan's top cultural award, the Order of Culture. (Kyodo)

Confectionery maker Ezaki Glico Co. on Thursday unveiled a new giant electronic billboard in downtown Osaka featuring its signature image of a runner with his hands in the air. (globalpost.com)

A small-scale Japanese study last year, among others, suggested there was a connection between chomping and cognitive function, and the belief in a link between chewing and health is widely held in Japan. (manilastandardtoday.com)

Police have arrested a 64-year-old man from Tsubame, Niigata Prefecture, for threatening a former Asahi Shimbun reporter over stories he wrote about the comfort women issue. (Japan Today)

Stocks gained ground on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Friday, backed by overnight rises in U.S. and European stocks. (The Japan News)

One major volcanic eruption could make Japan "extinct," a study by experts at Kobe University warns, although the chances of that happening are relatively slim. (Wall Street Journal)

Shizuoka Prefecture in central Japan will introduce a system to relay volcanic alerts issued by the Meteorological Agency to hikers' cell phones on Mount Fuji. (NHK)

The Cabinet approved a bill Friday to revise the adult entertainment business law to enable dance clubs to operate past midnight, provided they meet interior lighting regulations. (Japan Times)

An experts' panel of Japan's health ministry agreed Friday to allow an antiflu drug developed by a Fujifilm Corp. group company to be used for Ebola if any patient is found in the country. (Jiji Press)

Japan's Meteorological Agency is warning that a volcano may erupt in the Kirishima mountain range in Kyushu. Mount Ioyama straddles the southwestern prefectures of Kagoshima and Miyazaki. (NHK)

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