News On Japan

The mobile phone records of a 13-year-old boy who was found fatally stabbed last week along the Tama River in Kawasaki show the Line messaging app was used to contact a former schoolmate just around the time he was killed, it was learned Thursday. (Japan Times)

Japan's House of Representatives Budget Committee on Thursday found that embattled former Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Koya Nishikawa has received a total of 10 million yen from two companies. (Jiji Press)

A Thai Airways passenger plane that left Japan has hit turbulence over northeastern Thailand, injuring 11 people on board. (NHK)

Local government officials in Okinawa Prefecture, southwestern Japan, are surveying coral reefs to assess the impact of preparations to build an air base for the US Marines. Prefectural government officials say giant concrete weights set on the seabed may have damaged the reefs. (NHK)

Visitors to Kamakura are spoiled for choice. There are more than 1,000 religious structures-many with historical roots in the 13th and 14th centuries when Kamakura was the political capital of Japan-museums, Meiji-period buildings, boutiques, restaurants, beaches and green, hilly hiking trails. (Japan Today)

Crown Prince Naruhito made an unexpected appearance outside the Imperial Palace on Feb. 25, surprising pedestrians as he jogged around the residence on a public running path. (Asahi)

Qantas plans to double service between Australia and Japan in August, part of an effort to shore up its international business. (Nikkei)

For a time, shopping for electronics was just about the only thing to do in Tokyo's Akihabara neighborhood. In recent years though, the area has gone through a renaissance, and it's now packed with restaurants and cafes, too. (rocketnews24.com)

In a crackdown on overcharging of customers, Tokyo Metropolitan Police on Wednesday announced the bust of two hostess clubs in Shinjuku Ward, reports TV Asahi (Feb. 25). (Tokyo Reporter)

Luxury marque Montblanc is to sell fountain pens made from a "miracle pine" tree that survived the 2011 tsunami, for a hefty $4,400, an official said, with just 20 percent of takings donated to local people. (AFP)

Nuclear Regulation Authority Chairman Shunichi Tanaka criticized Tokyo Electric Power Co. for not disclosing information immediately after rainwater contaminated with high-level radioactive materials leaked from its ruined Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant through a trench into the sea. (The Japan News)

The Supreme Court dismissed Thursday a lower court ruling that nullified suspensions and other disciplinary action against two male members of a company in Osaka due to sexual harassment in the workplace. (The Japan News)

Officials at Japan's Internal Affairs Ministry say consumer prices rose for the 20th straight month in January. But the pace of increase is slowing down. (NHK)

Japanese police have arrested three boys on suspicion of murdering a 13-year-old junior high school student in Kawasaki City, near Tokyo. (NHK)

Japan's Nikkei share average hit a fresh 15-year high on Friday on upbeat Japanese industrial output data, while the market awaited an announcement from the country's biggest pension fund on its latest asset allocations. (thehindubusinessline.com)

Prince William laid a floral tribute at the Commonwealth War Cemetery in Yokohama on Friday morning as he began a visit to Japan. (Japan Times)

A court here handed down suspended sentences on Feb. 27 to two Vietnamese who stole and ate goats that were kept in a park in Minokamo, Gifu Prefecture. (Asahi)

A Japanese railway company is trying to find out the cause of a glitch that affected ticket vending machines at more than 400 stations in and around Tokyo. (NHK)