"When are you taking your paid holiday?" Such a question may be heard more often from your superiors now that a bill making it mandatory for companies to ensure workers take at least five paid holidays a year has been submitted to the current Diet session. (The Japan News)
Firms to encourage use of paid holidays
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Sunshine 60 observatory to be renovated
The observatory at Sunshine 60 in Toshima Ward, Tokyo, will be closed for about one year from May 7 for renovation work, the first suspension of operations since the building opened in 1978. (The Japan News)
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Emperor hosts spring garden party
Japan's Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko hosted the annual spring garden party at the Akasaka Palace imperial garden in Tokyo on Tuesday. About 1,800 guests attended the event. (NHK)
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Yahoo hires advisers, looks at selling Yahoo Japan stake
Yahoo Inc announced it is looking at cashing in its stake in Yahoo Japan Corp, which could be worth almost $9 billion before tax, news that boosted Yahoo's stock price. (Reuters)
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Free wireless service eyed to help promote tourism
The government plans to set up public wireless local area networks at 30,000 locations nationwide, including tourist spots and evacuation facilities, by 2020, the year of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. (The Japan News)
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U.S. Treasury freezes assets of Kodo-kai yakuza group
The U.S. Treasury on Tuesday slapped sanctions on the Kodo-kai, calling it the most violent arm of Japan's powerful Yamaguchi-gumi yakuza crime syndicate. (Japan Today)
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More than 100 lawmakers visit Yasukuni shrine
More than 100 Japanese lawmakers on Wednesday paid homage at Yasukuni shrine, risking fresh anger from Asian neighbors that fell victim to Tokyo's aggression last century. (Japan Today)
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Burritos rise again as Taco Bell returns to Japan
Fast food chain Taco Bell returned to Japan on Tuesday, re-opening its first outlet in decades as more U.S. quick service restaurants plan to open shop in the country ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. (Reuters)
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Paul McCartney starts Japan tour after cancellation last May
Former Beatle Paul McCartney kicked off a five-date concert tour of Japan on Tuesday in Osaka after canceling his original tour in the country last May due to ill health. (Japan Times)
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Japan stocks at 15-year peak, oil down as Saudi ends Yemen air campaign
Japanese shares rallied to a 15-year high on Wednesday on expectations of improved corporate earnings, while oil sagged after Saudi Arabia ended its military campaign in Yemen, easing tensions in the energy-rich Middle East. (Reuters)
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Japan logs 1st trade surplus in nearly 3 yrs in March
Japan logged a customs-cleared trade surplus of 229.3 billion yen in March, posting the first surplus in two years and nine months, the Ministry of Finance said Wednesday. (Jiji Press)
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Abe pledges to contribute to peace and prosperity
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has delivered a speech at the Asian-African Summit in the Indonesian capital Jakarta. He pledged to contribute to peace and prosperity in Asia and Africa based on remorse for Japan's actions during World War Two. (NHK)
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Nikkei ends above 20,000 for 1st time in 15 years
The Nikkei Stock Average ended Wednesday above the 20,000 threshold for the first time in 15 years as robust Japanese trade data boosted confidence in the country's economic recovery. (Kyodo)
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Drone with 'minuscule' quantity of radiation lands on Japan PM's office
A drone marked with a radioactive sign landed on the roof of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's office on Wednesday and tested positive for a "minuscule" amount of radiation, media reported. (Reuters)
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The Zushi Beach Film Festival resists the ban on loud music and tattoos
Zushi Beach - a popular getaway for people seeking to escape Tokyo's stifling summer heat - may have banned "loud" music, tattoos and barbecues, but hey, at least it still has a film festival. (Japan Times)
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Wild Ones' Kase found dead at home
Kunihiko Kase, frontman of the music band "Wild Ones," was found dead at his home in Minato Ward, Tokyo, early on Tuesday. The Metropolitan Police Department is examining the cause of death, with the view the musician may have killed himself. He was 74. (The Japan News)
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Space weather forecasters grossly miss mark
An aurora that was observed last month in Japan for the first time in 11 years was found to have been caused by a geomagnetic storm with a scale exceeding the space weather forecast (See below) made by the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology, raising alarm bells over the miscalculation. (The Japan News)
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Abe, Xi agree to promote Japan-China strategic partnership
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed Wednesday to strengthen their countries' mutually beneficial strategic partnership and help promote regional stability and prosperity. (Jiji Press)
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ANA to help rescue Skymark
The operator of All Nippon Airways has agreed to join a Japanese investment fund in a bid to turn around Skymark Airlines. (NHK)
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Nearly extinct western gray whale sighted again in coastal waters off Niigata
A mysterious western gray whale, listed as a critically endangered species, was spotted off the coast here recently, the first sighting of the mammal on the Japan Sea side since last year. (Asahi)
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