News On Japan

Pop singer-songwriter Aska is set to be arrested for allegedly breaking the stimulants control law while on parole for his 2014 drug offense, investigative sources said Monday. (Japan Times)

Despite being one of the most seismically active countries on the planet, Japan has an earthquake insurance penetration that remains astoundingly low. (Nikkei)

Japan's agriculture ministry says a suspected bird flu virus has been detected in dead chickens and ducks at farms in the northern prefecture of Aomori and in the central prefecture of Niigata. (NHK)

Japan is scheduled to introduce at the start of December a set of new laundry tag symbols for clothes and other textile products, in line with international standards. (Jiji)

Fukuoka Prefectural Police have arrested a boss of an organized crime group for allegedly stabbing his common-law wife to death in the town of Tachiarai after the couple engaged in a dispute, reports TV Asahi. (tokyoreporter.com)

Overturning a lower court decision, Nagoya High Court ruled on Monday the mayor of Minokamo in Gifu Prefecture, central Japan, guilty of receiving a total of 300,000 yen in bribes linked to the city's project to introduce a rainwater cleanup system. (Jiji)

The centuries-old wooden carving of a tiny sleeping cat has been returned to a Shinto shrine in Nikko, north of Tokyo, after months of restoration work. (NHK)

Officials of 4 groups preparing for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games are studying proposals to relocate some venues. (NHK)

The average consumption spending by Japanese households in October fell 0.4 pct from a year before in price-adjusted real terms, down for the eighth consecutive month, a government report showed Tuesday. (Jiji)

Perhaps one of the most tragic illnesses of our time is the loss of one's memory through dementia in old age. Seeing a loved one gradually lose themselves is probably only second to the fear and confusion of living through a neurodegenerative disease. (rocketnews24.com)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a 40-year-old man for molesting a woman on a train in Higashi-Murayama City, reports TBS News (tokyoreporter.com)

A highly contagious avian flu outbreak has been confirmed at poultry farms in Niigata and Aomori prefectures, forcing local governments to cull more than 300,000 chickens and ducks on Tuesday. (Japan Times)

Hiroto (大翔) and Aoi (葵) were ranked as the most popular baby names for boys and girls in 2016, according to a survey conducted by Meiji-Yasuda Seimei, a major insurance company in Japan. The company surveyed 8,947 baby boys and 8,509 baby girls who were born this year and whom they insured. (Japan Today)

The Japanese government plans to scrap the prototype fast-breeder reactor Monju, which has been hit by a number of safety problems. (NHK)

Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida says he will continue to work toward Japan's hosting of 3-way meeting of the leaders of Japan, China and South Korea by the end of this year. (NHK)

The House of Representatives, the powerful lower chamber of the Diet, Japan's parliament, passed a controversial pension system reform bill on Tuesday. (Jiji)

An avalanche hit three university students on the Tateyama mountain range in central Japan Tuesday morning, leaving one dead. (Jiji)

The Japanese government plans to draw up by the end of this year guidelines aimed at increasing wages of nonregular workers to some 80 pct of those of regular employees, informed sources said Tuesday. (Jiji)

Prince Akishino, the younger son of Emperor Akihito, said on the occasion of his 51st birthday on Wednesday it was "good" that his father had expressed his desire in August to abdicate out of concern about his age. (Kyodo)

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