News On Japan

Japan's Nikkei rose to a fresh 15-year high on Thursday, getting in sight of 20,000, on hopes that foreigners will continue to buy Japanese stocks due to optimism about an economic recovery and strong corporate profits. (Reuters)

Japan's parliament enacted Thursday a record 96.34 trillion yen ($803.45 billion) budget for fiscal 2015 which started April 1, aiming to achieve economic recovery while pursuing fiscal rehabilitation. (Kyodo)

The Supreme Court has ruled that parents are not liable for accidents caused by their children if consequences of their actions were considered highly unforeseeable. (NHK)

A giant bluefin tuna weighing more than 400 kilograms has been caught in the Pacific Ocean off western Japan. (NHK)

Thousands of people are flocking to an annual cherry blossom viewing at Japan Mint in Osaka, western Japan. (NHK)

In Japan, there's no escaping Rakuten. Since its 1997 founding, the shopping-website operator has become much more than an Amazon.com look-alike-it's expanded into sports, financial services, even family planning. (Bloomberg)

Fast Retailing Co Ltd raised its full-year earnings forecasts on Thursday after sales at its Uniqlo casual-wear stores in Greater China and South Korea grew more strongly than expected, showing that its overseas expansion is bearing fruit. (Reuters)

McDonald's Japan has marked its second-biggest yearly decline in sales since the company was listed in 2001. (NHK)

For weeks, my spies in Siam were telling me that nobody at "The King and I" could understand a word Ken Watanabe was saying. And when I say nobody, I mean nobody - from the actors to the audience to the ushers. (nypost.com)

Japan's atomic regulator is "very close" to finishing its review of two reactors in southern Japan that are slated to be the first to restart under new rules introduced since the Fukushima nuclear disaster, one of its commissioners told Reuters. (Reuters)

South Korean prosecutors have released video footage which they say shows a Japanese swimmer stealing a camera during the Asian Games in Incheon last year. (NHK)

Any guy who's watched a harem anime before - one where a single male is surrounded by many women - has probably giggled to himself about what it would be like to be in a similar situation himself. (rocketnews24.com)

Police in Tokyo said Thursday they have arrested a 40-year-old man on suspicion of throwing bodily fluid on a girl's skirt on a crowded train last December. (Japan Today)

A number of stains apparently made by an oil-like liquid have been found at temples and shrines in Nara Prefecture, including a World Heritage site. (The Japan News)

Fire-breathing, building-stomping Godzilla was welcomed in part of Tokyo on Thursday as a sign of prosperity, not destruction. (huffingtonpost.com)

Japanese transport ministry officials say the Asiana Airlines passenger jet was flying at normal altitude until one minute before it landed and skidded off the runway at Hiroshima Airport. (NHK)

Police in Toride, Ibaraki Prefecture, said Thursday they are questioning a 36-year-old man over an incident on Wednesday morning in which a 47-year-old man was shot in the calf by an arrow from a crossbow as he was riding his bike home. (Japan Today)

Tattooed guests have been given the thumbs up to take a dip in the public baths at a chain of luxury resorts--so long as they cover their inked skin with a sticker. (Asahi)

An analysis of the G8 nations has highlighted striking differences in calories and other macronutrients purchased from packaged food in these countries with Mediterranean and Japanese diets being the healthiest, according to Euromonitor. (foodnavigator-asia.com)

Many women of various ages are visiting shops and studios in Kyoto that offer lessons on how to dress and behave like maiko, the young entertainers of Kyoto's hanamachi entertainment districts known for their beautiful clothing, glamorous white makeup and graceful behavior. (stripes.com)

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