News On Japan

Japanese government officials are planning to tighten controls on mercury as part of an international effort to regulate the material. (NHK)

South African Ambassador to Japan Mohau Pheko has lodged a protest with the Sankei Shimbun against a column which she saw as hailing apartheid, the major Japanese daily revealed Sunday. (Jiji Press)

Japan's economy rebounded from recession to grow an annualized 2.2 percent in the final quarter of last year, giving a much-needed boost to premier Shinzo Abe's efforts to shake off decades of stagnation even as the global outlook deteriorates. (Reuters)

The Nikkei Stock Average ended at a more than seven-year high Monday after data showed the Japanese economy rebounded from recession in the last quarter of 2014. (Kyodo)

A 21-year-old woman remained in a coma Monday after she was hit by a piece of a sign that fell from a building above and came crashing down upon her in Sapporo on Sunday. (Japan Today)

Michelle Obama will make her first visit to Japan as U.S. first lady in mid-March, according to a Foreign Ministry official. (Asahi)

Last month, the Japan Family Planning Association released the results of a survey about sexual activity conducted among 3,000 married participants. (Tokyo Reporter)

Police have arrested 3 senior members of a yakuza crime syndicate based in the western Japanese city of Kitakyushu, for alleged involvement in an attempted murder. (NHK)

A Japanese aquarium has captured the first footage of conger eels spawning eggs. (NHK)

Central Japan Airport said Monday that it will offer a free smartphone application to tourists from abroad, starting next month. (The Japan News)

Dentsu Inc. on Feb. 16 announced that its global business headquarters Dentsu Aegis Network Ltd. has acquired Soap Creative Pty Ltd., a leading independent digital creative agency in Australia. (Asahi)

Japanese shipments of traditional flip-phones rose in 2014 for the first time in seven years while smartphone shipments fell, highlighting Japanese consumers' tenacious attachment to the familiar and typically less expensive older models. (Japan Today)

Former New York Yankees pitcher Hiroki Kuroda returned to Japan's Hiroshima Carp on Monday after seven years in Major League Baseball and having taken a whopping 80 percent pay cut. (AFP)

Japanese movie director Momoko Seto, a resident of France, has won the Audi Short Film Award for her film titled "Planet Sigma" at the 65th Berlin International Film Festival. (The Japan News)

A town in Nagano Prefecture has claimed a new snowman-building world record, an official said Monday, after a winter storm dumped tonnes of the white stuff. (Japan Today)

Police in Setagaya Ward, Tokyo, said Monday they have arrested a 25-year-old private detective on suspicion of killing his 24-year-old girlfriend. (Japan Today)

Residents of Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture, have voted in favor of installing air conditioning in city primary and middle schools near an Air Self-Defense Force base. (The Japan News)

Tokyo's Setagaya Ward has said it may follow Shibuya's lead in recognizing long-term same-sex couples, days after the neighboring district announced a vote on the matter. (Japan Times)

A minor tsunami has hit the coast of northern Japan after an advisory was issued following a 6.8-magnitude earthquake in northern Japan. (9news.com.au)

Japan's Nikkei share average fell on Tuesday, retreating from a near eight-year high after talks between Greece and euro zone finance ministers on a new debt deal collapsed. (Reuters)

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