News On Japan

Osaka Prefectural Police said on Thursday that they plan to apply fresh charges to a Kyoto woman already in custody for the murder of two men with whom she had a relationship, reports the Sankei Shimbun (June 11). (Tokyo Reporter)

Japanese stocks rose on Thursday to snap a four-day losing streak and bouncing from three-week lows, taking heart from Wall Street's rally overnight and as Greece appeared to inch closer to reaching a cash-for-reform deal with its creditors. (Reuters)

Heavy rain hit Japan's southwestern Kyushu region on Thursday, with local authorities advising a total of 370,000 residents in 14 municipalities to evacuate, due to increased landslide risks. (Jiji Press)

Japan's National Tax Agency plans to introduce new criteria for defining "Japanese sake" to prevent producers of foreign-made sake from using the term on their labels. (NHK)

A small private jet landing at Konan airport in Okayama City overshot the runway and ended up in a lake on Wednesday. (Japan Today)

The Diet, Japan's parliament, enacted legislation on Thursday to strengthen tests for drivers aged 75 or older for signs of dementia. (Jiji Press)

The government has worked out a draft bill to ban drones from flying over crowded urban areas as well as during nighttime, sources close to the matter said Thursday, a move taken in response to concerns that the unmanned aircraft could be used for terrorist attacks. (Kyodo)

The Japan Meteorological Agency said Thursday it has raised its volcanic alert for Mount Asama in central Japan from Level One to Level 2, citing the possibility of a small-scale eruption. (Jiji Press)

Tama, the popular calico cat stationmaster at Kishi Station in Kinokawa, Wakayama Prefecture, died on Monday. She was 16, which would be considered around 80 in human years. (The Japan News)

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed in telephone talks on Wednesday that their countries will continue dialogue for the president's possible visit to Japan by the end of this year. (Jiji Press)

An expert panel is warning that several species of snails that helped place Japan's Ogasawara Islands on the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites are facing extinction. (NHK)

The government is poised to sign a contract with two major general contractors for the construction of the new National Stadium, which will be the main venue for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, with no changes made to the original plan, it has been learned. (The Japan News)

A man who robbed and murdered a female passerby in 2007 with 2 others whom he became acquainted with through a mobile phone website has been executed. (NHK)

As a part of an ongoing crackdown, Tokyo Metropolitan Police on Thursday announced the bust of three clubs in Shinjuku Ward for overcharging customers, reports TBS News (June 25). (Tokyo Reporter)

An all-girl pop group's lyrics criticizing the ruling Liberal Democratic Party have hit a sour note with the Yamato municipal government. (Asahi)

A group of parents in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture, eastern Japan, on Thursday filed a petition with a local court against the municipal government's new rule to dismiss children from nurseries when their parents take postnatal leave after their younger brothers or sisters are born. (Jiji Press)

The Japanese and Chinese governments are making arrangements to sign next month at the earliest an agreement on setting up a maritime communication mechanism in a bid to avert accidental clashes in nearby waters, sources close to bilateral ties said Thursday. (Kyodo)

Publisher Sanseido KK is recalling 10,000 Japanese textbooks, which are used by many elementary schools in Tokyo, after an illustration showing a girl with three arms was mistakenly printed. (Japan Today)

A hearing-impaired Japanese politician used text-to-speech software on her computer to pose questions during her debut at a local assembly. (NHK)

The trial of a 65-year-old man charged with killing five of his neighbors in the mountain hamlet of Shunan, Yamaguchi Prefecture, in July 2013, opened on Thursday. (Japan Today)

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