News On Japan

Japan's Nikkei share average fell 2.3 percent on Friday morning after US stocks dropped for a fifth day and the yen rose after Switzerland abandoned its cap on the franc, hurting Japanese exporters such as electronics and car manufacturers. (brecorder.com)

The results are in: 2014 was the hottest year on record. The National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) released a new report Friday that declared 2014 as the Earth's warmest year yet. (msnbc.com)

The massive earthquake that violently rocked western Japan in January 1995 brought one of the active faults responsible for the disaster into view on the ground surface in the northern part of Awajishima Island, Hyogo Prefecture. (Jiji Press)

Sumo wrestlers frequently engage in superstition. For instance, I have heard of wrestlers who drink only one brand of beer simply because its logo is a white star. In sumo jargon, a win is "shiroboshi," which translates literally as "white star." (Asahi)

The former head of the bankrupt Mt. Gox Co. bitcoin exchange was originally believed by U.S. investigators to be the secret mastermind behind the Silk Road online drug marketplace, an agent who infiltrated the website told jurors at the trial of the man prosecutors now accuse of running it. (Japan Times)

A member of the Japanese Red Army convicted of a 1986 mortar attack on the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta is being held by U.S. immigration authorities for deportation after spending nearly two decades in federal prison, U.S. authorities said Friday. (Kyodo)

Japan moved a step closer to the knockout stage of the Asian Cup on Friday, beating Iraq 1-0 courtesy of a first-half Keisuke Honda penalty. (The Japan News)

The average retail price of regular gasoline in Japan dropped for the 25th straight week as of Tuesday, tying the record for the longest consecutive decline, according to the Natural Resources and Energy Agency. (The Japan News)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police on Thursday arrested a 28-year-old male for robbing a customer of a short-term stay establishment in Shinjuku Ward following a dispute last month, reports TBS News (Jan. 16). (Tokyo Reporter)

The National Institute of Infectious Diseases said Friday that in the week from Jan 5-12, there were an estimated 2.06 million cases of influenza treated by hospitals nationwide-surpassing numbers for the same period last year. (Japan Today)

The Sapporo Snow Festival, organized by the city government and the Sapporo Tourist Association, started all the way back in 1950, when a group of local high school students was assembled to sculpt six snow statues in the city's Ōdōri Park, a place which in previous winters had typically been used only for the dumping of snow cleared from the surrounding streets. (nippon.com)

Prosecutors in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture, say a 16-year-old girl accused of murdering and dismembering a classmate last July has been judged to be criminal responsible after a series of psychiatric tests. (Japan Today)

The National Center for University Entrance Examinations on Saturday began two days of tests across the nation. The center said that 559,132 students are sitting for the exams at 690 test centers nationwide. (Japan Today)

Saturday marks the 20th anniversary of the earthquake that hit Kobe City and its surrounding areas in western Japan. (NHK)

Thousands of history buffs visited the Koyamada ruins here on Jan. 18 to see the recently unearthed burial mound that may have been constructed for Emperor Jomei (593-641). (Asahi)

Japanese Health Ministry officials say a Japanese woman who returned from the West African nation of Sierra Leone has tested negative for the Ebola virus. (NHK)

Journalist Jacques Lhuillery, whose more than three decades with Agence France-Presse took him to three continents, died overnight at age 61, the news agency said Sunday. (Japan Times)

A man on a bicycle sprayed a liquid at two high school girls as they were walking to school in Takatsuki, Osaka, on Monday morning. (Japan Today)

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu agreed Sunday that their countries will work together to fight terrorism following recent terrorist attacks in France. (Jiji Press)

Two Argentinians who had been skiing at the Ryuoo Ski park in Yamanouchi, Nagano Prefecture, on Sunday were killed after being engulfed by an avalanche. (Japan Today)

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