News On Japan

A car being pursued by a police patrol car crashed into a taxi, killing its driver, and then hit other cars causing several injuries, in Tokyo, police said. (Japan Today)

Drone makers are showcasing their latest products at an exhibition near Tokyo. (NHK)

The government is considering reducing the upper limits of overtime allowed for workers as part of a push to overhaul Japan's notoriously demanding labor culture. (Japan Times)

FUJISAWA, Kanagawa Prefecture--The city education board here apologized to a junior high school student with leukemia who suffered psychological shock when a teacher implied he was using his illness to cut classes. (Asahi)

Child abuse reports in Japan have hit a record high. The National Police Agency says officers reported 37,020 children under 18 to child welfare centers last year on suspicion of being abused. (NHK)

Japan's national broadcaster NHK has announced that its official broadcast song for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics and Paralympic Games will be "Hero," performed by popular Okinawan singer Namie Amuro. (Japan Today)

Aomori Prefectural Police have launched a murder investigation following the discovery of a woman's body inside her apartment in Aomori City, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Mar. 25). (Tokyo Reporter)

Japan on Friday executed two death row prisoners, local media reported, as the government-backed by public opinion-continued to ignore calls by international rights groups to end capital punishment. (Japan Today)

The opening on Saturday of the Hokkaido Shinkansen Line, a high-speed railway connecting Hokkaido with Honshu via an undersea tunnel, will be the culmination of an epic project 42 years in the making. (Japan Times)

The World Car Awards judging panel said Thursday that it has chosen Mazda Motor Corp.'s MX-5 sports car as the 2016 World Car of the Year. (the-japan-news.com)

A 35-year-old man has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for killing his ex-girlfriend in 2014. (Japan Today)

The Japan Sports Agency issued a notice to schools across the country on Friday to cancel performances of gymnastic formation, a collective art based on gymnastics using only human bodies, unless safety is ensured, in the wake of a series of related accidents. (the-japan-news.com)

The troubled Japanese electronics maker will accept a proposal by Hon Hai, better known by its trade name Foxconn, to cut the initially agreed investment of 489 billion yen ($4.3 billion) by around 100 billion yen, the sources said. Sharp and Hon Hai will each hold a board meeting Wednesday, aiming to sign the deal Thursday, they said. (Kyodo)

Only 6.3 pct of Japanese universities use the results of third-party English proficiency tests, such as TOEFL, as part of their regular entrance examinations, an education ministry survey showed Friday. (Jiji Press)

A new express bus terminal in central Tokyo will open early next month. The new facility will have the most arrivals and departures in all of Japan. (NHK)

Japanese researchers have begun testing a huge telescope to detect and observe gravitational waves. (NHK)

The Imperial Palace's usually off-limits Inui Street was opened to the public on March 25 for a large crowd of cherry-blossom viewers who arrived a bit too early. (Asahi)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police on Thursday announced the re-arrest of a 27-year-old man believed to be behind the molestation of multiple women in Edogawa Ward, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Mar. 25). (Tokyo Reporter)

The Japan Sports Agency says 9 schoolchildren have died and more than 90 others have been left with physical disabilities due to acrobatic group gymnastics in schools over nearly 50 years. (NHK)

A poplar tree which became a famous tourist attraction on farmland in Biei, Hokkaido, was cut down in late February by its exasperated owner, who had grown sick of unwelcome visitors trampling his fields. (Japan Today)

Latest Images