News On Japan

A government panel of experts broadly agreed on a package of measures on Thursday to curb the flow of students to universities in the Tokyo metropolitan area. (Japan Times)

Japan Post Holdings will buy Nomura Real Estate Holdings to strengthen its presence in the real estate development market, national broadcaster NHK reported on Friday. (Japan Today)

Corporate Japan is on track to log a second year in a row of record net profit, driven by electronics makers, trading houses and other sectors making up for the weakness of automakers. (Nikkei)

Tours using "restaurant buses" that allow participants to enjoy cuisine and visit farms that produced food used in the meals, as well as sightseeing spots, are catching on in Japan about a year after the service was launched in the city of Niigata in April last year. (Jiji)

Tokyo police have raided the headquarters of a yakuza crime syndicate in the western prefecture of Hyogo in connection with an extortion case. (NHK)

Hokkaido's potato farmers haven't recovered from last summer's typhoons, which means consumers will have to wait until at least fall before the usual range of potato chip products returns to store shelves. (Japan Times)

The youngest-ever professional player of the Japanese board game shogi, 14-year-old Sota Fujii, has stretched his run of official consecutive victories to a fresh record of 17. (NHK)

A man detained for groping a woman on a train was found dead near Tokyo's Ueno Station on Friday after fleeing from a station office where he had been brought for questioning, police said. (Japan Today)

Japan's Meteorological Agency says it appears the annual rainy season has begun in Okinawa and the Amami islands in the southwest. (NHK)

The number of libraries where books have been found to be damaged has grown in Japan. (NHK)

A small town in northeastern Japan has launched for its residents a unique health checkup program using dogs that can sniff out cancer. (Jiji)

Eight university students at a barbecue in Akiruno City were sent to a hospital on Saturday after they collapsed due to what authorities believe was alcohol poisoning, reports TBS News. (tokyoreporter.com)

Japan's Defense Minister Tomomi Inada said the ballistic missile North Korea launched on Sunday may be a new type of missile. (NHK)

A 3-year-old boy's hand was jammed in an escalator at a shopping mall in Sakura City on Saturday for some two hours before being freed by authorities, reports TBS News. (tokyoreporter.com)

More than 100 Japanese babies faced off Sunday in a traditional "crying sumo" ring, an annual ceremony believed to bring infants good health. (Japan Today)

Ibaraki Prefectural Police have launched an investigation following the discovery of a male corpse at an abandoned residence in Hitachi City, reports Fuji News Network. (tokyoreporter.com)

The mayor of a central Japan city who is appealing a high court conviction for bribery secured his third term Sunday after becoming the only person to file candidacy for the May 21 election by the start of the official campaign period. (Japan Today)

An 18-year-old high school student in Tokyo has been arrested on suspicion of killing a female student he was dating at the same school, investigative sources said Sunday. (Japan Times)

The government and ruling parties plan to introduce a system enabling pachinko parlors and other gambling facilities to ban the entry of people with serious addiction, government sources say. (Japan Today)

The cyberattack that spread malicious software called ransomware is becoming a global issue, and Japan's National Police Agency says it has confirmed 2 assaults inside the country. (NHK)

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