News On Japan

Air temperatures surged across Japan on Sunday, hitting 35.3 degrees Celsius in Tatebayashi in the eastern prefecture of Gunma. (Jiji)

Osaka Prefectural Police on Friday arrested a male taxi driver suspected in the theft of balloons featuring the mascot of real estate firm Suumo, reports the Sankei Shimbun (tokyoreporter.com)

During a commencement ceremony for students of Kyoto University, president Juichi Yamagiwa delivered a speech that dealt with the song "Blown' in the Wind" by folk artist and Nobel laureate Bob Dylan. (rocketnews24.com)

An annual event to taste the regional fish specialty of katsuo, or bonito, was held in Kochi Prefecture, western Japan, on Sunday. (NHK)

Justin Gatlin clocked 10.28 seconds to win the 100 meters at a Golden Grand Prix event on Sunday. (Japan Today)

Four stork chicks whose mother was shot dead by a hunter in Shimane Prefecture will be raised at a specialist breeding facility, a local education board said Sunday. (Japan Today)

Five men in their 40s to 70s suffered injuries, being assaulted with a baseball bat or a cooking knife in the city of Matsudo, Chiba Prefecture, eastern Japan, on Sunday, local police said. (Jiji)

Japanese mobile carrier SoftBank said, with Saudi partners, it has raised nearly $100 billion in pledges to launch a major global fund for long-term, high-tech investments. (Japan Today)

Osaka Prefectural Police on Saturday arrested a school teacher for allegedly abducting and raping a student he met online at a hotel, reports Jiji Press (tokyoreporter.com)

Police in Nishi-Tokyo have arrested a 20-year-old man on suspicion of molesting a high school girl as she walked home on May 11. (Japan Today)

Yusaku Miyazato made an 18-foot birdie putt on the eighth playoff hole to grab the fourth and final spot in the U.S. Open from the sectional qualifier in Japan. (Japan Today)

The Japanese government is considering a system to grant official status to former female members of the Imperial Family and commission some of the family's official duties to them, in response to its falling membership, informed sources said Monday. (Jiji)

Hideo Onishi, a House of Representatives member of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, apologized Monday for a remark he made about cancer patients. (Jiji)

The Metropolitan Police Department on Monday asked go-kart companies to improve safety as the popularity of their driving tours grows. (Japan Times)

Six Japanese citizens were detained in late March by Chinese authorities on national security issues, three each in Shandong and Hainan provinces, possibly on spying charges, informed sources said Monday. (Jiji)

Japanese Princess Mako, granddaughter of Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, made her first official appearance on Monday since news last week that she is set to get engaged to a former university classmate. (Jiji)

Japan is a very modern, forward-thinking country in many aspects, but its modernity doesn't extend to the nation's gambling laws, which remain considerably tight by 21st century standards. A large percentage of gambling games are still illegal under the nation's Penal Code, including live poker, although online poker is now permitted. (newsonjapan.com)

Police arrested Monday six men over the suspected theft of gold bars worth 750 million yen ($6.7 million) last July by men disguised as police officers on a street in the city of Fukuoka. (Japan Today)

The Japanese government is considering splitting up schools' long summer holidays, the government's top spokesman said Monday, in a move hoped to lessen crowds and shorten queues in peak times at family tourism destinations. (Japan Today)

A heated war of words has broken out between Tokyo and a United Nations expert over a contentious bill that would criminalize conspiracies. That legislation was rammed through the Lower House on Tuesday despite raucous protests. (Japan Times)

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