News On Japan

Japan's Prince and Princess Akishino have attended an illumination ceremony at the Colosseum in Rome. (NHK)

A commuter train leaving a Yokohama station during Wednesday morning’s rush hour was unable to close one of its door and proceeded to the next station travelling at 120 km/h with the door left open, affecting 40,000 passengers. (NOJ)

Investigative sources with the Tokyo Metropolitan Police revealed on Wednesday that a homeless man has admitted to starting a fire that damaged a number of buildings in the historic Golden Gai district last month, reports Fuji News Network (May 12). (Tokyo Reporter)

The efforts by the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to revive Japan's economy through various initiatives, referred to collectively as Abenomics, have certainly had their ups and downs. But up to now, little criticism has been heard about the negative impact such efforts have had on Japan's environment. (Japan Today)

Soaring costs could diminish the number of major Japanese car makers to just three or four players by 2021, according to automotive research firm Kelley Blue Book. (cnbc.com)

At the length of a school ruler and weighing only 200 grams, flying 8,000 kilometres from Japan to Australia would be no easy feat. (abc.net.au)

Japan risks losing $56 billion (6,223bn yens) over the next 10 years by building coal power plants it won't be able to use, a report released Wednesday warns. (mining.com)

Nissan Motor plans to take a controlling stake in scandal-hit Mitsubishi Motors. Nissan says it will spend 2.2 billion dollars to buy 34-percent of Mitsubishi, becoming its largest shareholder. (NHK)

Struggling electronics maker Sharp Corp. said on Thursday it plans to name Tai Jeng-wu, director and the No. 2 executive of Taiwanese contract electronics manufacturer Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., as its new president. (the-japan-news.com)

Prominent Japanese theater director Yukio Ninagawa, whose productions ranged from Shakespeare plays, Greek tragedies to contemporary dramas, died of multiple organ failure on Thursday. He was 80. (Jiji Press)

Although local excitement appears to be building about a plan for the Group of Seven leaders to visit Japan's most prestigious shrine later this month, some religious scholars are taking issue with the move as a possible conflict with the principle of the separation of religion and state. (Japan Today)

Four major drugstore operators in Japan have reported stellar earnings for the year ended March, thanks to voracious shopping appetite of foreigners visiting the country. (Nikkei)

The 2018 edition of the Giro d'Italia cycle race could kick off in Japan, it has been suggested, with four stages held in the Shizuoka Prefecture to the east of Tokyo. (insidejapantours.com)

World Rugby announced Wednesday the draw for the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan will be held in the country in May 2017, the first time it will be conducted outside Britain or Ireland. (Japan Times)

A power outage Thursday morning at an electrical substation in Kawasaki disrupted train services in the Tokyo metropolitan area, affecting some 240,000 commuters, East Japan Railway Co. (JR East) said. (Japan Times)

In March, two fathers spoke via Skype at a news conference, with their voices masked electronically and their faces not shown. They did not want to reveal their identities. (Japan Times)

The Sanja Matsuri, a symbolic festival of Tokyo that attracts more than 1.8 million people to the Asakusa district in Taito Ward, will be held from Friday. (the-japan-news.com)

Prince Akishino, the younger son of Emperor Akihito, and his wife, Princess Kiko, paid a courtesy call on Pope Francis at the Vatican on Thursday, the Imperial Household Agency said. (Japan Times)

French prosecutors say large payments may have been made in connection with Tokyo's bid to host the 2020 Olympics from a Japanese bank account to a company linked to the son of a former world athletics chief. (NHK)

A male Shiga Prefecture city official known online as the "nipple man" was arrested on Sunday for allegedly flashing high school girls on a train, drawing shock and ire from the mayor of his city. (Tokyo Reporter)

Latest Images