News On Japan

The newly crowned Miss World Japan is hardly a typical Japanese woman. Being half-Indian is only part of it. (indiatimes.com)

A shinkansen bullet train driver came under fire Thursday after an online photo emerged of him operating it with his feet up. (Japan Times)

Seven more cases of measles were confirmed here on Thursday as Japan grapples with a mostly foreign strain of the virus it once eradicated years ago. (Tokyo Reporter)

The Japanese government slammed North Korea for its fifth nuclear test Friday and vowed to consider further unilateral sanctions against it for defying international warnings over its nuclear and missile programs. (Japan Today)

Natsuo Yamaguchi, head of the Komeito party, which forms a ruling coalition with the Liberal Democratic Party, on Friday secured a fifth two-year term as party leader that lasts until September 2018. (Japan Today)

Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike said Friday she will request a 12.6-billion-yen supplementary budget for fiscal 2016 to take additional measures to shorten the Japanese capital's long waiting list of applicants for nursery facilities. (Jiji Press)

Japan's finance ministry has decided to increase the issuance of 40-year bonds by nearly 4 billion dollars. (NHK)

NHK Chairman Katsuto Momii on Thursday said the national broadcaster intends to continue collecting subscription fees for cell phones equipped with the One Seg mobile television function, saying there are obstacles to following a government directive to conduct a study of the situation. (the-japan-news.com)

Prosecutors dropped rape charges against an up-and-coming actor on Friday in a high-profile case that led to his famous actress mother tearfully apologizing to the public over the controversy that engulfed her son. (Japan Today)

Once a blip on the calendar, Halloween has grown into a major event in Japan. And this year, major theme parks here are once again looking to generate some scary numbers by offering bigger, better attractions celebrating the season of orange and black. (Nikkei)

Japanese aviation authorities on Friday followed their US counterparts by urging passengers not to turn on or charge Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphones on aircraft following reports of explosions from faulty batteries. (AFP)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have charged a 21-year-old man with the unlawful raising of a number of reptiles, including a Burmese python, at his residence in Edogawa Ward, reports the Asahi Shimbun (Sept. 9). (Tokyo Reporter)

North Korea's notable progress in its nuclear and missile developments, underpinned by Friday's nuclear test, is becoming a real security threat to Japan, which hosts a bulk of U.S. military bases as Washington's key ally in East Asia, analysts say. (Japan Today)

Koichi Kato, a former Liberal Democratic Party secretary general and top government spokesman, died of pneumonia on Friday at a Tokyo hospital, sources close to the lawmaker said Saturday. He was 77. (Kyodo)

Until the early 1990s, when the asset-inflated bubble era ended, Japanese consumer prices were commonly thought to be substantially higher than those in other developed countries. Thanks to more than two decades of deflation, that's no longer the case, but one sector has remained dear: publishing. (Japan Times)

A transport ministry panel has drafted a numbering system for the Japanese expressway system so even foreign drivers will be able to understand it. (Japan Times)

The Hiroshima Carp clinched the Central League title after beating the Yomiuri Giants 6-4 on Saturday at Tokyo Dome to end a long title drought. (the-japan-news.com)

A government panel has decided to shorten the minimum stay for tourists at minpaku accommodations based on rented private homes to three days and two nights instead of seven days and six nights. (Japan Times)

Japan is negotiating the sale of Shinmaywa US-2+ search and rescue aircraft with India not for any economic gain but because it considers India a friendly country, Tokyo has said amid reports that the deal for 12 amphibious aircraft had collapsed over pricing and technology transfer issues. (indiatimes.com)

An extraordinary session of Japan's Diet is set to be convened in September for the ratification of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has previously pledged the swift passage of the TPP. (globaltimes.cn)

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