News On Japan

From electronic kimonos to sensors that know what your pet is feeling, the Japan's Wearable Device and Technology Expo promises to reveal some of this year's most creative - and oddest - technological innovations. (dailymail.co.uk)

The Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (GSI) has decided to design new map symbols that are easier for foreigners to understand in preparation for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games. (the-japan-news.com)

A magnitude-6.7 earthquake hit northern Japan at about 12:25 p.m. on Thursday, registering a lower 5 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7 in Hokkaido and Aomori Prefecture. There was no tsunami as a result of the quake. (the-japan-news.com)

Marketing condoms is kind of a tricky business. Unlike other products aimed at male buyers, like a juicy hamburger, ice-cold beer, or high-performance sports coupe, when it comes to condoms you can't really make a commercial that shows the user having the time of his life while actually using the product being pushed. (rocketnews24.com)

Officials with Tokyo's metropolitan government say flu season has started in the Japanese capital. (NHK)

Travel agency JTB will offer farm stays in Japan's Tochigi Prefecture starting Friday in a bid to attract foreigners looking for an experience off the beaten trail. (Nikkei)

On Mount Fuji, the white is not in sight--and for locals that just ain't right. (Asahi)

Criminal offenses in Japan have dropped for the 13th year in a row to the lowest level since the end of World War Two. (NHK)

A ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker said Thursday that so-called "comfort women" were "prostitutes," referring to women forced into wartime Japanese military brothels, but retracted his remarks after they drew a swift rebuke from South Korea. (Kyodo)

Two men suffered burns to their faces and were rushed to hospital Thursday following an explosion at a pizza shop in Kobe, police said. (Japan Times)

Consumers in Aichi Prefecture have been warned not to buy Coco Ichibanya brand beef cutlets after it emerged that some 5,000 pieces due for disposal were instead illegally sold to two supermarkets. (Japan Times)

A night ski bus veered into the opposite lane of a mountain road here, crashed through a guard rail and tumbled down a slope, killing at least 14 people and injuring 27 on Jan. 15. (Asahi)

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry will launch a probe to identify companies neglecting their obligation to have employees join the appropriate public pension scheme, officials have said. (the-japan-news.com)

Foreign investors sold more shares than they bought in the Tokyo market last week, triggering 5 consecutive days of decline in the key stock index. (NHK)

Japanese picture "When Marnie Was There" has been nominated for an Academy Award for best animated film, it was announced in Beverly Hills on Thursday. (Japan Times)

Japan's Coast Guard says one of its aircraft has confirmed that ice floes are approaching the coast of the country's northernmost prefecture, Hokkaido. (NHK)

The city of Osaka passed the nation's first ordinance by a major city against hate speech late Friday. (Japan Times)

A 38-year-old man who drove his car onto the sidewalk in Tokyo's Ikebukuro district on June 24, 2014, killing one pedestrian and injuring six others, was sentenced to eight years in prison by the Tokyo District Court on Friday. (Japan Today)

It's a world of physical and virtual twirls, sudden drops, aggressive giants, roaring monsters and persistent zombies. It's a world of "kawaii" and pop, bubbling colors. It's a story of fighting spirits and game, anime and manga-inspired stories, wrapped up in a cutting-edge technology and J-pop fashion. Welcome to Universal Studios Japan (USJ)'s "Universal Cool Japan 2016." (Japan Today)

Kengo Kuma, the architect of Japan's new 2020 Olympics stadium, refuted allegations by British-Iraqi designer Zaha Hadid that his design borrowed from blueprints she made and which organizers dropped last year. (Japan Today)

Latest Images