News On Japan

Tokyo stocks have risen 0.89 per cent, tracking a positive lead from Wall Street. The surge comes with higher oil prices lifting confidence and investors hoping the European Central Bank will announce fresh stimuli this week. (skynews.com.au)

A 19-year-old Tokyo teen under arrest on suspicion of entering a convenience store to record himself faking shoplifting has told investigators that he wanted to become famous and have the Juvenile Act revised, the Mainichi Shimbun has learned. (Mainichi)

Talk about a low birthrate. Increasing numbers of married couples and others are choosing to go without sex. (Japan Times)

A Tokyo aquarium known for its tuna breeding program is facing a crisis: the unexplained deaths of its main exhibits. (Japan Times)

The head of the world bowling association has made a pitch for bowling to be included in the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo. (NHK)

A Japanese researcher has estimated about 270 tsunami-caused fires could occur in 22 Japanese prefectures in the event of a massive earthquake focusing on the Nankai Trough in Pacific waters off central and western Japan. (Kyodo)

A survey shows smaller Japanese companies are not benefiting from the weaker yen as much as big corporations. (NHK)

A study by Japan's health ministry has found that married couples are less likely to develop high blood pressure than people living alone. (NHK)

Nissan Motor Co. plans to begin in-house production of minicars in fiscal 2016, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned. (The Japan News)

Japan and France held the first meeting of their ministerial-level economic and fiscal dialogue in Tokyo on Monday, agreeing on cooperation in the lead-up to the February meeting of finance ministers and central bank chiefs of the Group of 20 advanced and emerging economies. (Jiji Press)

Japanese police are seeking a fraud charge against a provincial assemblyman who became globally famous after crying like a baby over his alleged misuse of public funds, a report said Monday. (Japan Today)

A male youth in police custody over the posting of online videos showing him tampering with food on store shelves apparently had plans to remain on the loose until March, investigative sources said. (Japan Times)

China on Monday lodged a protest with Tokyo after Japanese media quoted Japan's foreign minister as saying that a disputed border region between China and India belonged to India, in the latest source of friction between the two Asian rivals. (businessinsider.com)

The estimated number of foreign traveler arrivals in Japan in 2014 jumped by around 3 million from the previous year to a record 13.41 million, boosted by a weak yen and relaxed visa requirements, the government said Tuesday. (Kyodo)

Police have arrested an unemployed 34-year-old man living in Nagoya on suspicion of threatening to kill a child in a message posted on the city's website. (Japan Today)

Japanese stocks made their biggest gain in a month on Tuesday, and Chinese stocks bounced back from a selloff, after data showed China's economy grew faster than expected in the fourth quarter. (marketwatch.com)

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga on Jan. 20 expressed strong anger at a report that the Islamic State had posted a video threatening to execute two Japanese hostages along with a message to the government and people of Japan. (Asahi)

The Islamic State group has issued a video purporting to show a militant threatening to kill two Japanese hostages unless Japan pays a ransom. (BBC)

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has expressed his strong anger against hostage takers. (NHK)

The government is seeking cooperation from the United States and European and Middle Eastern nations to solve a hostage crisis triggered by a group believed to be the radical Islamic State, which has threatened to kill two Japanese hostages unless a $200 million ransom is paid. (The Japan News)

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