News On Japan

Anime is one of Japan's prized industries - but behind the scenes, underpaid artists are working under harsh conditions. (NHK)

The industry ministry Tuesday proposed lowering the country's reliance on nuclear power to 20 percent-22 percent of all sources of electricity by fiscal 2030 from 28.6 percent in fiscal 2010. (The Japan News)

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday agreed to strengthen the two countries' alliance on a global scale under the recently revised defense cooperation guidelines. (Jiji Press)

Almost 50 years after the Beatles delivered memorable performances at Tokyo's Nippon Budokan arena, former band member Paul McCartney returned to the venue on Tuesday with a special treat for his fans. (Japan Today)

A team of Japanese rescue workers on Wednesday are stepping up their search operations in Durbar Square in central Kathmandu, a day after arriving in the capital to look for survivors of Saturday's deadly earthquake. (Japan Times)

Not only is April 29 Showa Day and a national holiday, it's also the birthday of none other than Ultra Station Master Tama, the adorable feline in charge of Kishi Station in Wakayama Prefecture. (rocketnews24.com)

Police in Tokyo's Adachi Ward have charged a 31-year-old man and his 28-year-old wife with fatally abusing their 3-year-old son and then disposing of his body in a river. (Japan Today)

"Frozen," "Alice in Wonderland" and "Beauty and the Beast" are to get their own zones at Tokyo Disney Resort. (Asahi)

Despite the twinkling pink lights scattered across the ceiling, showy floral centerpieces and curtains of crystals dressing up the windows, the Obamas' eighth state dinner, in honor of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, was a somewhat subdued affair. Light on the glitz and heavy on the government. (washingtonpost.com)

Trains and planes were full Wednesday as the Golden Week holiday exodus got under way. Around 650,000 Japanese people are expected to travel abroad during the Golden Week holiday period from Wednesday through May 6, down slightly by about 0.5% from the level in the same period of last year, leading travel agency JTB Corp said. (Japan Today)

Police in Handa, Aichi Prefecture, have arrested a 51-year-old man after the skeletonized body of his father was found in his apartment on Tuesday. (Japan Today)

MINAMI-SANRIKU, Miyagi Prefecture--Every week, a woman prays in front of the rusted skeletal framework of a building that once housed this town's disaster response center, the site where her husband was swept away by the 2011 tsunami. (Asahi)

The first ladies of Japan and the United States visited a primary school near Washington on Tuesday and observed a class conducted in Japanese. (The Japan News)

Bullet train service on the Tohoku Shinkansen Line in eastern and northeastern Japan was suspended for about 4½ hours on Wednesday due to a power failure caused by a broken overhead line in Fukushima Prefecture, East Japan Railway Co. said. (Japan Times)

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has addressed the US Congress and pledged his country would do more for world peace and stability. (NHK)

Tesla Motors wants to increase free, rapid-charging stations for its electric vehicles in Japan to about 30 this year and eventually have hundreds scattered across the country. (Nikkei)

Japan's central bank has defied expectations it might expand its monetary stimulus to help get growth back on track, keeping policy unchanged despite data showing factory output fell in March. (Japan Today)

Japanese shares suffered their biggest loss in four months on Thursday on weak U.S. growth figures and lacklustre earnings from Japanese companies including Honda Motor. (Reuters)

Japanese actor Ken Watanabe says he is over the moon to learn he has been nominated for a Tony award. The awards are regarded as the US theatrical world's highest honor. (NHK)

The Tokyo District Court on April 30 sentenced the last Aum Shinrikyo member on the most wanted list to an indefinite prison term for a number of crimes, including the 1995 nerve gas attack in the capital. (Asahi)

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