News On Japan

East Japan Railway Co., or JR East, has suffered another suspicious fire in Tokyo following a string of similar fires at or near the firm's railway lines in the capital, it was learned Saturday. (The Japan News)

Ben Kuroki, who overcame the American military's discriminatory policies to become the only Japanese American to fly over Japan during the second world war, has died. He was 98. (theguardian.com)

Japan is one of the world's least religious countries, according to a Gallup survey this year. Yet some observers have noted an uptick in the number of young people visiting religious sites at pivotal moments in their lives. (csmonitor.com)

Three women were slightly injured and 69 homes damaged as severe winds hit the city of Chiba, Chiba Prefecture, just east of Tokyo, on Sunday, according to the prefectural government. (Japan Today)

Toshiba Corp. revealed Monday it fell into the red last fiscal year, in a report delayed due to a massive accounting scandal that forced the Japanese industrial conglomerate to correct its net balance by more than 155 billion yen ($1.3 billion) over a nearly seven-year period. (Kyodo)

Yahoo Japan Corp. said Sunday that about 2.58 million messages addressed to some 970,000 account holders in its free email service, Yahoo Mail, were lost in late August due to a computer system problem. (Japan Times)

A 55-year-old man was arrested Sunday on suspicion of stabbing a taxi driver to death in Akita Prefecture, police said. (Japan Times)

The Justice Ministry plans to start using mobile terminals at airports that will take photos and fingerprints of foreign visitors while they are queuing for immigration in a bid to speed up procedures at the inspection desks. (Japan Today)

Traditional forms of lighting and the latest technology from Japan are attracting visitors at an interior trade show outside Paris. (NHK)

A drunken 60-year-old man was arrested for allegedly kicking a Pepper robot in a fit of rage at a SoftBank Corp. store, police said. (Japan Times)

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will likely be re-elected uncontested in the presidential election for his ruling Liberal Democratic Party. (NHK)

While Typhoon Kilo will narrowly miss Japan, newly formed Tropical Storm Etau will bring flooding rain to the country this week. (accuweather.com)

Japan's gross domestic product for April-June shrank a revised 0.3 pct from the previous quarter in price-adjusted real terms, an improvement from the preliminary reading of a 0.4 pct drop, the Cabinet Office said Tuesday. (Jiji Press)

The Finance Ministry is planning to tap into the new My Number ID system as a way to provide consumers with refunds on certain goods when the consumption tax is hiked from 8 percent to 10 percent in 2017, sources said. (Japan Times)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a former national rowing champion for sexually assaulting a woman in her apartment in Kita Ward, reports Sports Hochi (Sep. 7). (Tokyo Reporter)

Members of Japan's Self-Defense Forces and the US military have conducted a drill for transporting wounded SDF personnel. (NHK)

A major push is under way in this city known for its high cuisine to set up a college dedicated to promoting "washoku" dishes that are a staple of dinner tables across Japan. (Asahi)

A record 12,958 foreign students found jobs with the nation's companies and research institutions in 2014. The number increased by 1,311 from a year earlier and marks a record for a second consecutive year. (The Japan News)

The government has launched one policy after another in its efforts to boost the number of visitors from overseas and encourage them to spend more money. (The Japan News)

The Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi, a new group that split from Japan's largest crime syndicate, the Yamaguchi-gumi, has issued a document declaring its launch, investigative sources said. (Japan Times)

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