News On Japan

Hideki Matsuyama moved up a place to fourth in the world golf rankings released Sunday, matching the highest-ever position by a Japanese male player. (Japan Times)

The Cabinet is set to approve a bill next month to impose longer prison terms on rapists, and cover male rape victims for the first time, government sources said Monday. (Japan Times)

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday sought to deny allegations that he is linked to an Osaka-based ultranationalist kindergarten as the public outcry over the operator and its alleged efforts to indoctrinate children with xenophobia and pre-war militarism grows. (Japan Times)

Some Japanese banks have recently launched services allowing customers to pay for their shopping abroad using debit or prepaid cards linked to foreign currency deposits. (the-japan-news.com)

Car-bicycle collisions accounted for about 40 pct of fatal traffic accidents in Japan last year in which passenger cars bumped into other vehicles as they encountered at intersections or other parts of the road, a National Police Agency survey has revealed. (Jiji)

The Japanese government is planning to reduce penalties for those who plot serious crimes like terrorism but turn themselves in before actually committing them under a contentious anti-conspiracy bill it is preparing, sources close to the matter said Monday. (Kyodo)

The emperor and empress of Japan departed Tuesday for a one-week trip to Vietnam and Thailand. (Japan Today)

The bodies of four men who went missing after going ice fishing in the northeastern prefecture of Iwate were found Tuesday in a pond, local police said. (Japan Today)

Police in Chofu, Tokyo, have arrested a 23-year-old man on suspicion of killing his 89-year-old grandfather. (Japan Today)

A strong quake with a magnitude of 5.7 has hit northeastern Japan. The Japan Meteorological Agency says there is no threat of tsunami. (NHK)

Japan placed second after Thailand in a list of overseas vacation destinations for people from China during the Lunar New Year holiday period this year from Jan. 27 to Feb. 2, according to the China Tourism Academy. (the-japan-news.com)

A man who stabbed and seriously wounded a student singer in Tokyo last year has been sentenced to 14 years and 6 months in prison. (NHK)

A drone used for aerial filming fell at a construction site in Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, southwest of Tokyo, on Feb. 18, slightly injuring a male worker there, infrastructure ministry sources said Tuesday. (Jiji)

Move over, Hollywood -- Japanese moviegoers are shopping local these days. (Bloomberg)

A dead man found floating Tuesday in the Sea of Japan off Fukui Prefecture had badges on his clothes bearing the images of late North Korean leaders Kim Il Sung and his son, Kim Jong Il, the Japan Coast Guard said. (Japan Times)

Comcast NBCUniversal is paying $2.3 billion to buy out its partners to take full ownership of Universal Studios Japan. (Japan Today)

South Korea's Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn has stressed that his country will abide by an agreement with Japan on those referred to as comfort women. (NHK)

Japanese telecom firm Softbank Group plans to become the largest stockholder of a firm to be formed through the merger of a US startup group and a global satellite operator. (NHK)