News On Japan

New W7-series cars for the Hokuriku Shinkansen line arrive at JR Kanazawa Station on Thursday morning shortly before a test-ride event. (The Japan News)

A fifth-grade elementary school boy was stabbed to death near his house in the western Japan prefecture of Wakayama Thursday afternoon. (Jiji Press)

A strong earthquake hit the southern Japan island of Shikoku around 10:25 a.m. on Friday (1:25 a.m. GMT). (Jiji Press)

Tokyo stocks closed 0.82 percent up Friday, boosted by sharp gains on Wall Street and reassurances from the European Central Bank that Greek lenders will get access to funding. (arynews.tv)

A Nagoya municipal elementary school teacher showed pupils an image of the body of a murdered person believed to be one of two Japanese hostages killed by the Islamic State militant group, the central Japan city's board of education has said. (Jiji Press)

Health and welfare officials on Friday morning arrested Adult video (AV) actress and stripper Minako Komukai for possession of stimulant drugs, reports Sports Nippon (Feb. 6). (Tokyo Reporter)

A teenage group from Japan is bending heavy metal into a completely new shape. Babymetal is a trio of girls aged between 15 and 17. They're not typical head bangers, but they're already performing alongside the very best. (NHK)

The Tokyo branch of East Japan Railway Co. (JR East) has announced that the number of applications for Suica electronic cards commemorating Tokyo Station's 100th anniversary had reached a total of about 3.16 million cards - as of 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday. (The Japan News)

The spectrum of autumnal colours is startling. Deep reds bleed into vibrant magenta through to a gentle pink. Bright, summery oranges fade into amber and finish as a striking gold. A dark, wintry pine becomes emerald, then lime and finally a bright apple green. (The West)

Japan's health and welfare ministry says abuse of elderly people is rising throughout the country. (NHK)

A 56-year-old unemployed man being investigated on a charge of possession of illegal drugs escaped from police by stealing a taxi in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, on Friday. (Japan Today)

Data released Friday suggested Japan's economy may have bottomed out and could be set for expansion after an April sales tax increase damped consumer sentiment. (nasdaq.com)

Japan's space agency plans to try again this December to put a troubled Venus probe into orbit around the planet. (NHK)

Wakayama police arrested a 22-year-old man early Saturday on suspicion of fatally stabbing an 11-year-old boy in Kinokawa that spurred a manhunt in Wakayama Prefecture. (Japan Times)

The physicist Richard Feynman (1918-88), studying Japanese while in postwar Kyoto, rapidly ran into difficulties as his teacher tried to get him to learn three separate words for "see." (nippon.com)

In Japan, where youth has long been considered a vital component of traditional feminine beauty, it's not at all unusual for models to make their professional debuts while still in their teens. (rocketnews24.com)

Japan unveiled on Friday a set of measures to ensure the safety of about 1.2 million Japanese nationals living abroad, including a sharp increase in the number of security guards and cameras at 88 overseas schools for Japanese students. (Kyodo)

Researchers in Japan are taking a novel approach in their quest to develop strains of genetically modified rice to boost defenses against hay fever, a condition that makes life a misery for innumerable sufferers. (Asahi)

A Japanese government expert panel is calling for measures to limit gasoline vapor and other unaddressed sources of microscopic airborne pollutants known as PM2.5. (NHK)

A snakelike robot designed to examine the inside of one of three melted reactors at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant is ready to begin work. (Japan Times)

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