News On Japan

The first filling station in the Kanto area for fuel cell cars that run on compressed hydrogen gas opened in Tokyo's Nerima Ward on Thursday. (Japan Today)

Tokyo shares ended Friday sharply higher on weaker yen and the U.S. Federal Reserve's assurance that it could be patient in raising its key interest rate. (shanghaidaily.com)

The Bank of Japan decided Friday to maintain its easy monetary policy and assessment of the economy, upgrading part of its evaluation of economic activities at its last policy meeting of the year. (Kyodo)

Japan and the United States said Friday they will put off until the first half of 2015 a planned revision of their defense cooperation guidelines, keeping in step with Tokyo's efforts to legislate the use of the right to collective self-defense. (Kyodo)

A researcher embroiled in a fabrication scandal that has rocked Japan's scientific establishment said Friday she would resign after failing to reproduce results of what was once billed as a ground-breaking study on stem cells. (Japan Today)

Solar winds suddenly speed up when they reach a certain distance from the sun, according to Japanese researchers, who announced the discovery Dec. 18. (Asahi)

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says from next spring he will designate special local zones where the government promotes deregulation and supports regional economic revival. (NHK)

Visitors have flocked to view the debut of twin giant panda cubs at a zoo in Wakayama Prefecture in midwestern Japan. (NHK)

Japan's transport ministry has ordered Hokkaido-based air carrier Airdo to correct its lax safety management. (NHK)

Japanese businesses that ordinarily rely on domestic demand are breathing a sigh of relief as foreign tourists flock to duty-free shops and fast-food restaurants. (Nikkei)

Japan has recently been reveling in just how darn pretty the famous Kinkakuji temple in Kyoto looks with freshly fallen snow. (rocketnews24.com)

The Niigata prefectural government started clearing a section of National Highway Route 405 in Tsunan in the prefecture on Friday, after a landslide mixed with snow blocked off about 50 meters of the road the night before. (The Japan News)

The probability for the Kanto region to be hit by a powerful earthquake - lower 6 or higher on the Japanese intensity scale of 7 - within 30 years has risen, the government panel's latest quake probability map showed Friday. (The Japan News)

Architect Kingo Tatsuno appears to have breathed his youthful experience in Europe into his design of Tokyo Station, which marks the centennial of its opening on Saturday. (The Japan News)

The government has decided to levy consumption tax on e-books, digital music and other electronic media sold online by overseas vendors from October, according to sources. (The Japan News)

The Ministry of Labor, Health and Welfare and the National Institute of Infectious Diseases said Friday that an influenza epidemic is spreading across Japan. (Japan Today)