News On Japan

A guide dog user died after falling from a railway platform and being hit by a train in the city of Warabi, Saitama Prefecture, on Saturday, according to local police and the train operator. (the-japan-news.com)

Japanese musician Yoshiki performed two back-to-back sold-out shows at New York's famous classical venue, Carnegie Hall, on Jan 12 and 13. (Japan Today)

In Osaki City, Miyagi Prefecture, a theme park called Kejonuma Leisure Land has been rusting away as a deserted ruin for the past 15 years. (Japan Today)

A Japanese ship has been caught with a slaughtered whale in the Antarctic in defiance of an international court decision against Tokyo's hunts, activist group Sea Shepherd said Sunday. (Japan Times)

Students and graduates of high schools across Japan have completed the unified college entrance examinations. (NHK)

Commercial property prices in Tokyo, a bellwether for the market, look to have peaked as the capital faces a glut of new offices even as the number of workers is set to decline. (Japan Times)

A smoking ban inside restaurants is one of the main pillars aimed at preventing damage from passive smoking in a draft revision to the Health Promotion Law, according to sources. (the-japan-news.com)

An Australian woman and her three sons have been rescued after spending a freezing night on a mountain in Japan. (BBC)

Japanese health officials say a fake product labeled as a drug for hepatitis C was sold in western Japan. (NHK)

It would be "difficult" for Crown Prince Naruhito to begin his reign as new emperor on Jan. 1, 2019, as has been recently reported by Japanese media, due to key events held every year on New Year's Day, a senior Imperial Household Agency official said Tuesday. (Kyodo)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested an organized crime member in the sale of illegal drugs to a woman at a bar in Shinjuku Ward, reports Fuji News Network. (tokyoreporter.com)

A male guest at a business hotel in Hakata Ward leaped from a room window after taking a female employee hostage on Wednesday morning, police said. The man is currently in critical condition, reports Nippon News Network (tokyoreporter.com)

Japanese manufacturers of toilet seats with warm-water sprays will standardize the pictograms on their operating buttons to help foreign tourists. (NHK)

Shiga Prefecture is to suspend advertising giant Dentsu from taking part in bids for projects that the region commissions. (NHK)

Japan's Justice Ministry is considering easing the requirements for permanent residence for highly-skilled foreign professionals. (NHK)

University rugby, the traditional center of the game in Japan, will no longer have a place in the national championships, the Japan Rugby Football Union decided on Wednesday. (Japan Times)

The president of the Japan Shogi Association has officially announced his resignation after a top player of the chess-like game was cleared of allegations of software-assisted cheating. (NHK)

Osaka police have referred the mother of a teenage pop performer to prosecutors on suspicion of allowing her daughter to skip school. (NHK)

Three days off per week are increasingly common in Japan's workplaces as employers seek to improve the work-life balance in line with the government's push for labor reform. (Nikkei)

Dentsu Inc. decided Thursday to promote Senior Vice President Toshihiro Yamamoto to president, replacing Tadashi Ishii who will step down to take responsibility for the overwork-related suicide of a young employee. (Japan Times)

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