News On Japan

Rakuten, Japan's e-commerce market leader, and JD.com, China's leading direct online sales company, on Wednesday announced the signing of an agreement to establish a Rakuten online flagship store on JD Worldwide, JD.com's cross-border platform. (xinhuanet.com)

Experience the samurai spirit first-hand with original swords and armour at the recently opened Samurai Museum. (rocketnews24.com)

A large-scale and long-lasting tremor would likely cause skyscrapers in coastal districts of Japan's three major metropolitan areas to sway violently in the event of a massive earthquake originating in the Nankai Trough off Japan's Pacific coast, a government report indicated Thursday. (Jiji Press)

Osaka Prefectural Police believe foreign soccer fans were behind the theft and assault that took place at a convenience store in Chuo Ward on Wednesday night, reports TBS News. (Tokyo Reporter)

Chiba Prefectual Police have arrested a a 46-year-old male office worker for killing his two daughters with poisonous gas in their residence in Sodegaura City, reports Nippon News Network. (Tokyo Reporter)

Policymakers at the Bank of Japan have decided to introduce supplementary measures in an effort to further boost the country's economy. (NHK)

Construction workers will launch a project on Friday to bore a tunnel through a mountain range in central Japan. (NHK)

Japanese leaders welcomed a South Korean court's acquittal of the former Seoul bureau chief for the Sankei Shimbun, saying the verdict removes a barrier in efforts to resolve the more difficult "comfort women" issue. (Asahi)

A 47-year-man in Aichi Prefecture has been arrested for allegedly putting a dog collar around the neck of a former girlfriend and confining her for 38 hours before she managed to flee, police said. (Japan Times)

Japan on Friday carried out the first execution of an inmate sentenced to death in a lay judge trial following the country's introduction of the judicial system in 2009, Justice Minister Mitsuhide Iwaki said. (Kyodo)

In preparation for the much-anticipated worldwide release of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," Toho Cinemas Ltd. has tripled its 4-D motion effects theaters to nine stretching from Tokyo, Yokohama, Kawasaki and Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture, to Nanba in Osaka. (Japan Times)

Osaka Prefectural Police have launched an investigation after a vehicle plowed into the entrance of an office of an organized crime group in Naniwa Ward on Friday, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Dec. 18). (Tokyo Reporter)

Maverick Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto ended his eight-year career as a politician Friday, keeping his promise to do so made when his pet project to promote decentralization of power was rejected in a local referendum in May. (Japan Today)

The markets were in for a rough ride on Friday. The Bank of Japan unexpectedly announced that it was tweaking its quantitative and qualitative easing program, and at first the change was widely interpreted as additional easing. BOJ Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda was quick to dismiss such talk, leaving investors scratching their heads. (Nikkei)

A 71-year-old man has turned himself in a police station in Nasushiobara, Tochigi Prefecture, after killing his wife. Police said Masane Tsunematsu drove to the police station with the body of his wife in the car. (Japan Today)

In many countries, Christmas is a time to spend with the family, but in Japan the holiday is associated with organized events. It is an especially important date night for singles, although friends may also meet up. (nippon.com)

The leaders of Japan and Australia have agreed that their nations will strengthen trilateral security cooperation with the United States. (NHK)

Japan's most famous anime production house is back in the animation saddle, with a European director holding the reins. (Japan Today)

Another welfare ministry official is suspected of receiving cash in a high-profile bribery case involving Japan's new national identification system for social security and taxation, informed sources said Saturday. (Jiji Press)

A plan to open a day care center for children in the metropolitan Shioiri Park in Arakawa Ward, Tokyo, was approved in late November at a committee meeting of the special zone for the metropolitan area. (the-japan-news.com)

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