News On Japan

The president of Tokyo Electric Power Company has pledged that the utility will fulfill its responsibility for dealing with the aftermath of the accident at the Fukushima nuclear power plant. (NHK)

The health ministry confirmed Friday another person has tested positive for the Zika virus, which has been spreading throughout Latin America since last year. (Japan Times)

The Japanese government announced a plan Friday to reduce the annual number of traffic fatalities to 2,500 or fewer by 2020 and make the country's roads the safest in the world. (Japan Today)

Prosecutors on Friday sought the death penalty for a man accused of murdering a 6-year-old girl and abandoning her body in Kobe in 2014, saying the case showed a brutal disregard for human life. (Japan Times)

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged Friday to redouble efforts in enhancing child care services after an anonymous blog complaining about the chronic shortage of nursery schools drew nationwide attention. (Japan Today)

The number of foreign residents in Japan came to 2,232,189 at the end of 2015, rewriting an all-time high, the Justice Ministry said Friday. (the-japan-news.com)

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry decided Friday to create in July a certification system for "omotenashi" hospitality at services companies such as hotels and restaurants. (the-japan-news.com)

The government will gear up its promotion drive in the Tohoku region, naming 2016 as the region's "inaugural year of tourism reconstruction" in the basic post-disaster reconstruction policy adopted at Friday's Cabinet meeting. (the-japan-news.com)

Family members of children who've been diagnosed with thyroid cancer in Fukushima Prefecture have formed a group to exchange information and share concerns. (NHK)

A 25-year-old police officer committed suicide by shooting himself in the toilet at a police station in Yokohama on Saturday. (Japan Today)

A 61-year-old male principal of a junior high school in Osaka has told his students that giving birth to two children or more is the "most important thing" for a woman, according to the city education board. (Japan Today)

The Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series competition will be held at the Sandanbeki cliff in the town of Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture, on Oct. 16, the first time for the event to come to Japan. (the-japan-news.com)

Dozens of new high-rise office, commercial and other buildings are scheduled to open in central Tokyo in the years leading up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games. (the-japan-news.com)

A 53-year-old woman has been sentenced to 18 years in prison after being found guilty of setting off five gas cylinder explosions in Sapporo between January and April 2014. (Japan Today)

Police said they arrested a 37-year-old man on Saturday on suspicion of killing Risa Kagaya, a female member of an acting troupe in Tokyo, last August. (Japan Today)

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe who heads the ruling Liberal Democratic Party renewed his resolve to win the House of Councillors election this summer at the party's convention in Tokyo on Sunday. (Kyodo)

South Korea's Lee Sedol, the world's top go player, defeated Google's artificial intelligence system AlphaGo on Sunday for the first time, in the fourth match of a five-game series. (Kyodo)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested an American male in a drunken-driving incident that left a motorcyclist dead in Machida City, reports TV Asahi (Mar. 13). (Tokyo Reporter)

Police in Ashiya, Hyogo Prefecture, said Sunday they have arrested a 15-year-old boy on suspicion of stabbing his mother to death with a kitchen knife. (Japan Today)

A health ministry research group estimates that 9.14 million people nationwide have "hidden" metabolic syndrome (see below), displaying multiple problems such as high blood pressure and high blood sugar despite not being overweight. (the-japan-news.com)

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