News On Japan

A Japanese woman who sent a set of traditional dolls to US President John F Kennedy more than 50 years ago has been traced after an appeal, it's reported. (BBC)

People across Japan on Wednesday held celebrations and protests to mark National Foundation Day. (NHK)

Tokyo's Shibuya Ward plans to issue certificates recognizing same-sex couples as being in "relationships equivalent to marriage," becoming the first local government body in the country to do so. (Japan Times)

The bodies of two students who went missing on Feb 9 while climbing Mt Amida in the Yatsugatake mountains of Nagano Prefecture, were found on Wednesday. (Japan Today)

Tokyo's Nikkei index surged Thursday to end at its highest level in more than seven years, boosted by a weak yen and upbeat machinery orders, while investors shrugged off concerns about floundering Greek debt talks. (globalpost.com)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police on Thursday announced the raid of a pachinko parlor operating illegally in Taito Ward, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Feb. 12). (Tokyo Reporter)

Blood found on a knife found in the home of murder suspect Oshu Nakamura matches the DNA type of the boy who was stabbed to death last week in Kinokawa, Wakayama Prefecture, police sources say. (Japan Times)

Japan's soccer association says its top officials were not at fault in the lead-up to the dismissal of men's national team head coach, Javier Aguirre. (NHK)

Japan's Ministry of Communications on Friday will begin negotiating with the Australian government to reduce the surcharges incurred by smartphone users when traveling between the two countries. (Nikkei)

On February 11, Keanu Reeves was spotted just walking down the street in Akihabara like any other tourist, and he was instantly mobbed by fangirls and fanboys alike, each one clamoring for the best "Keanu selfies" that they could get. (rocketnews24.com)

Achieving a primary budget surplus in five years will require Japan to shrink its current deficit by an annual 2.5 trillion yen ($21 billion) through a combination of economic growth and spending cuts. (Nikkei)

A 24-year-old woman walking home alone was knocked down and had her underwear stolen by a man in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, early Wednesday morning. (Japan Today)

U.S. private-equity firm Bain Capital will acquire a company running more than two dozen resort hotels and bathhouses in Japan, betting on its ability to profit from a rising tide of foreigners visiting the country. (Nikkei)

Police in Fukui said Thursday they have arrested a 17-year-old girl on suspicion of illegally disposing of a corpse after the body of her newborn baby girl was found on a nearby riverbank. (Japan Today)

The operator of the disaster-hit Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant on Thursday began experiments using cosmic rays in an effort to look at the condition of the damaged reactor cores, hoping it will help determine how to remove the melted fuel they hold. (Japan Times)

The Islamic State militant group said in its English-language magazine published Thursday that the recent hostage crisis involving two Japanese men was aimed at shaming Japan after the country pledged aid for countries fighting the group. (Kyodo)

The U.N. Security Council on Thursday unanimously approved a resolution designed to cut off financing to so-called Islamic State and other terrorist groups and individuals, threatening to impose sanctions on those who trade smuggled oil that is believed to have become an important source of revenue for them. (Kyodo)

Searchers have found parts of what appear to be a Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force helicopter which disappeared during a training flight over southwestern Japan. (NHK)

Yellow Cab, a venerable talent agency known for busty pin-up idols and models, has filed for bankruptcy, announced research firm Teikoku Databank on Friday, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Feb. 13). (Tokyo Reporter)

Police in Motomachi, Okinawa, said Friday they are investigating the murder of a 72-year-old woman whose body was found with numerous stab wounds. (Japan Today)

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