News On Japan

The soft yen is prompting more Japanese to travel within the country rather than going abroad for the upcoming year-end and New Year's holidays. (Nikkei)

Police in Tokyo's Nerima Ward have arrested a 40-year-old man for snatching a bag from a woman's bicycle and are questioning him about his involvement in 40 similar cases. (Japan Today)

Above the converging crowds at the famous Shibuya scramble crossing in Tokyo glows the unmissable bright green sign of Starbucks, a magnet that pulls in a steady stream of hip, young Japanese. (koreaherald.com)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police on Tuesday announced the arrest of a pair of suspects, both Chinese females, aged 27 and 30, who are believed to have robbed multiple drunken users of automatic teller machines, reports TBS News. (Tokyo Reporter)

In apparent activist opposed to the relocation of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa set himself on fire Tuesday in Hibiya Park in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, police said, adding the man was pronounced dead at a hospital. (Japan Times)

The Foreign Ministry says a child was returned from Japan to Germany last month in line with the Hague Convention on cross-border child custody disputes. (NHK)

Japan's governing and opposition parties are rapidly preparing for a possible general election amid growing speculation that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will dissolve the Lower House soon. (NHK)

Police in Seki, Gifu Prefecture, said Wednesday they have arrested an unemployed 20-year-old man on suspicion of fatally stabbing an 81-year-old man and his 73-year-old wife. (Japan Today)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police on Sunday arrested the leader of a bosozoku motorcycle gang for allegedly extorting a hostess club in Edogawa Ward, reports the Sankei Shimbun. (Tokyo Reporter)

Two women were injured after they were hit by a car that plowed into the front of a supermarket in Noboribetsu, Hokkaido, on Wednesday morning. (Japan Today)

Tokyo stocks rose 0.43 percent on Wednesday as a weak yen and another record close on Wall Street helped pushed the Japanese market to a fresh seven-year high. (brecorder.com)

When the lights change at the Shibuya crossing in Japan's capital, one of the world's busiest pedestrian thoroughfares, hundreds of people with their eyes glued to smartphones pick their way over the road. (Capital Digital Media)

A man and his wife in their 60s were injured by a bear in Takayama, Gifu Prefecture, on Wednesday morning. (Japan Today)

Japanese weather researchers say Japan has experienced heavier hourly rainfalls due to global warming. (NHK)

Police in Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture, said Wednesday they have arrested an unemployed 39-year-old man for posting a death threat on the blog of "talent" Kawori Manabe. (Japan Today)

Japan stood by its decision to bar a Korean singer from entering the country but denied that its move was due to his recent performance on the Liancourt Rocks, a set of disputed islets that lie between the two countries. (Wall Street Journal)

Aoshima (青島), which is incorporated into Ozu City, Ehime Prefecture, is a small, unpretentious island in the Seto Inland Sea of Japan (which one of our English-language correspondents has covered extensively). However, the 0.5 km² island does have one unique claim to fame-it's known as a paradise for cats and cat lovers. (rocketnews24.com)

Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations agreed Wednesday to advance integration for further development even after establishing a more integrated ASEAN Community next year, with ASEAN chair Myanmar calling for a "rules-based and norm-based ASEAN." (Kyodo)

A 93-year-old woman has been found murdered in her own apartment in Maebashi, Gunma Prefecture, police said Thursday. (Japan Today)

Hackers have used compromised Wi-Fi networks at luxury hotels in Japan to steal sensitive information from business executives and corporate researchers as part of a data theft campaign, according to a recent report by a Russian security software company. (Japan Times)

Latest Images