News On Japan

Asahi Group Holdings Ltd. said Friday that wholly owned subsidiary Asahi Breweries Ltd. will buy Japanese restaurant operator Nadaman Co. (The Japan News)

Gyudon beef bowl chains, which once saw rapid growth amid the nation's prolonged deflation, are now struggling to survive amid a labor shortage and soaring beef prices. (The Japan News)

The average winter bonus at major companies this year rose 5.78 percent from a year before, a survey by the Japan Business Federation, or Keidanren, showed Thursday. (The Japan News)

Laox, the retailer of electronics and duty-free goods, will open a large store in Tokyo next June to cater to tourists visiting from China and other countries. (Nikkei)

The Diet enacted a revised disaster countermeasure law on Friday to enable the central and local governments to remove abandoned vehicles blocking highways when major disasters strike, to aid rescue and firefighting operations. (Japan Times)

Tourists at Mount Fuji experienced the magnificent spectacle of the sun setting behind the summit. (NHK)

Japanese major newspaper publisher Asahi Shimbun Co. said Friday its president, Tadakazu Kimura, will resign on Dec. 5 to take the blame for inaccurate reports on the country's worst nuclear crisis and the so-called "comfort women" issue. (Jiji Press)

Eight people died at Gunma University Hospital in eastern Japan after having laparoscopic operations for liver resection by the same surgeon between December 2010 and June 2014, the hospital revealed Friday. (Jiji Pressl)

Pedestrians walk in the street in front of the Hokkaido prefectural government building as heavy snow falls in Chuo Ward, Sapporo, on Friday morning. (The Japan News)

Financially troubled breeders are suspected of abandoning a large number of dead and sick dogs recently in various locations around the country. (The Japan News)

Here's one you don't hear every day - a man was arrested in Daisen City, Akita Prefecture last weekend on charges of entering the hotel room of a female acquaintance through the window before proceeding to strike her about the buttocks with a shoehorn that he found in the room. (Japan Today)

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is likely to announce Tuesday his plan to dissolve the lower house soon and call a general election in December, senior ruling party lawmakers said Friday. (Kyodo)

Airlines are increasingly offering overnight flights from Haneda Airport here as travelers seek to pack their weekend trips with more daylight hours for less money. (Nikkei)

Of the Japanese university students due to graduate next spring, 68.4 pct had found employers as of Oct. 1, up 4.1 percentage points from a year earlier and improving for the fourth consecutive year, the education and labor ministries said Friday. (Jiji Press)

Police in Ota, Gunma Prefecture, said Friday they have taken into custody a 14-year-old boy who stabbed a 12-year-old boy in the abdomen while they were both in the school gymnasium. (Japan Today)

Foreign ministers from Japan and 14 Caribbean nations have agreed to step up cooperation in efforts to reform the UN Security Council. (NHK)

A 71-year-old employee at a theme park is in a serious condition after he was hit by a roller coaster on Friday. (Japan Today)

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, at a two-day Group of 20 summit that began here Saturday, stressed that the nation's economy is restoring growth momentum as his "three-arrow" policy, dubbed Abenomics, is helping create a virtuous cycle. (Jiji Press)

A lighting ceremony is held Saturday for the popular Christmas tree in front of the Mikimoto jewelry store in Tokyo's Ginza district. (The Japan News)

A new book of the internationally popular "Doraemon" manga series, which compiles works that are not included in the original 45-volume manga series, will be published next month for the first time in eight years. (Asahi)

Latest Images