News On Japan

TELL (Tokyo English Life Line) on Tuesday said it has redesigned its website. The new telljp.com website is devoted to increasing awareness and understanding of mental health issues, supporting those in need in the community and promoting fund-raising events. (Japan Today)

Suntory Holdings Ltd. gained the top spot in terms of revenue among four major Japanese brewers for the first time ever in the business year that ended in December, boosted by its acquisition of U.S. spirits maker Beam Inc. in May. (The Japan News)

Hot off its listing on the New York Stock Exchange, Shake Shack, a U.S. hamburger shop chain with a gourmet flair, is coming to Japan. (Nikkei)

The International Atomic Energy Agency suggested Tuesday that Japan consider releasing radioactive water into the ocean, after drastically reducing its radiation levels, to enhance safety at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. (Kyodo)

Japan Post Group is in final talks to acquire leading Australian logistics company Toll Holdings for an estimated 600 billion yen ($5 billion), a move that would give it access to vast overseas distribution channels. (Nikkei)

Japan's government is raising its estimates on damage from a possible megaquake and ensuing tsunami in eastern to northern parts of the country along the Pacific Ocean. (NHK)

The voting age for national elections will likely be lowered to 18 from the current 20, starting with the next upper house election in the summer of 2016, as both ruling and opposition parties are set to submit to parliament as early as next week a bill for that purpose, lawmakers said Tuesday. (Kyodo)

Heavy snow is expected to fall Wednesday in wide areas in the Kanto region, including Tokyo's 23 wards, with the weather agency alerting commuters in the capital over possible disruptions of public transportation. (Japan Times)

Police in Osaka are investigating the death of a 71-year-old man whose body was found in his apartment in Nishinari Ward on Sunday morning. (Japan Today)

A woman clad in a yukata robe is fast asleep inside a room at rustic onsen hot springs resort. At her side is a male companion who unfastens the garment's obi sash and begins to slowly remove her underwear. He then proceeds to sexually violate her. (Tokyo Reporter)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police on Tuesday announced the bust of a maid cafe in the Akihabara area of Chiyoda Ward for employing teenage girls to provide services classified as adult entertainment, reports TBS News (Feb. 17). (Tokyo Reporter)

The Bank of Japan has held off launching fresh stimulus, even as weak growth figures earlier this week aggravate concerns about the strength of a recovery in the world's number three economy. (theaustralian.com.au)

The U.S. Coast Guard is searching for a Japanese student reported overboard from a fishing vessel off Hawaii. (Japan Today)

Japan's Nikkei share average closed at a fresh eight-year high on Wednesday after U.S. stocks rallied on hopes that a debt deal would be reached with Greece, while investors digested the Bank of Japan's decision to keep policy unchanged. (Reuters)

It was a triple murder cum attempted robbery that shocked a nation that was already reeling from the crime spree by a doomsday religious cult, coming just four months after the cult's deadly nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway system. (Japan Today)

Discount chain Don Quijote has launched what it calls an unprecedented service for tourists by accepting payment in seven foreign currencies. (Japan Times)

Annual wage negotiations are going into full swing in Japan as labor unions of major automakers submit their demands to management. (NHK)

Harry Potter is working his magic at Universal Studios Japan, where themed attractions on the Hogwarts wizard are helping to break the park's visitor record. (Asahi)

Police are investigating a golf course in Kani, Gifu Prefecture, where two boys drowned in a pond earlier this week, and nearby residents say there was a hole in the facility's fence, raising suspicions that its operator was lax about safety. (Japan Times)

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said Monday its Akatsuki space probe, which is scheduled to reattempt a survey of Venus in December, has successfully passed the point in its route closest to the sun. (The Japan News)

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