News On Japan

Police have arrested a 19-year-old girl on suspicion of killing a 77-year-old woman. The girl, who is a student at Nagoya University, was quoted by police as saying she wanted to kill someone and that anyone would do, NTV reported Wednesday. (Japan Today)

Japan stocks gained further on Wednesday to a fresh one-month high, as the yen weakened versus the greenback ahead of the outcome of the Federal Reserve's policy meeting later in the day. (marketwatch.com)

China will this year hold its first large-scale military parade since 2009 to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, reports said Tuesday, with one key goal described as being to "frighten Japan". (dailymail.co.uk)

The mother of a Japanese hostage held by Islamic State extremists appealed publicly Wednesday to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to save her son after his captors issued what they said was a final death threat. (Japan Today)

Japan Inc has changed too much for traditional monetary and fiscal incentives to work on their own. So the ripest targets for the Bank of Japan could well lie outside Tokyo and the headquarters of the country's once world-beating companies (business-standard.com)

A US court has ordered investment firm MRI International to pay 584 million dollars in damages to Japanese investors. (NHK)

Japan's space agency says its asteroid explorer Hayabusa2 is flying well after the launch in early December. (NHK)

The top US trade official says he expects countries negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade deal to reach agreement on agricultural tariffs within several months. (NHK)

Lawson will scale back its network of 100-yen (84 cents) convenience stores by over 20% and withdraw from the minisupermarket business to focus more on chains enjoying brisk sales. (Nikkei)

Unseasonably high temperatures in Hokkaido this week are affecting preparations for the famous Sapporo Snow Festival, which will be held from Feb 5-8. (Japan Today)

Police have arrested a 67-year-old man for spraying graffiti on cars, concrete walls and other areas in a residential neighborhood of Sapporo in Hokkaido. (Japan Today)

Japan's leading independent budget airline Skymark Airlines Inc filed for protection from creditors late on Wednesday, blaming a weak yen and a dispute with Airbus Group for its financial straits. (Reuters)

The fate of Japanese freelance journalist Kenji Goto, believed to be held captive by the Islamic State militant group, has remained unknown after a new 24-hour deadline for negotiations on his life, set by the group, appears to have passed late Wednesday night. (Jiji Press)

Japan's Emperor and Empress have invited former leprosy patients from both Japan and abroad to the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. (NHK)

Jordan said on Wednesday it had received no assurance that one of its pilots captured by Islamic State insurgents was safe and that it would go ahead with a proposed prisoner swap only if he was freed. (Reuters)

Skymark Airlines Inc. expressed its intention Thursday to swiftly find sponsors for restructuring, a day after filing for court protection from creditors, with its new president blaming a weaker yen and ensuing higher fuel costs for its bankruptcy. (Kyodo)

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says the government is doing all it can to get the release of Japanese journalist Kenji Goto. (NHK)

Paul McCartney, who had to cancel all his concerts in Japan last year due to an illness, announced on his blog Thursday that he will return to Japan for four concerts in April as part of his "Out There" world tour. (Japan Today)

The Islamic State group released a message late Wednesday purportedly by Japanese hostage Kenji Goto, extending the deadline for Jordan's release of an Iraqi would-be hotel bomber linked to al-Qaida. (abcnews.go.com)

Already reeling from a handful of scandals, Japan's fast-food industry faces a new problem: diners are no longer heading out for meals like they used to. (cnbc.com)

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