News On Japan

I hope you're hungry because we're about the go on a street food eating binge on Hiroshima's amazing island, Miyajima. (ONLY in JAPAN)

Following a break-in at a bar in Shinagawa Ward, police revealed the case is likely connected to a string of similar crimes that have taken place across the metropolis over the past month, reports TBS News. (tokyoreporter.com)

The Imperial Household Agency is planning to officially announce Princess Mako's engagement to Kei Komuro this summer. (NHK)

Grenade-like objects were found near a train station in Hanno, Saitama Prefecture, north of Tokyo, on Thursday morning, forcing evacuation of some 200 users of the station. (Jiji)

The last remaining unit of Japanese peacekeepers has left South Sudan, ending more than 5 years of Japan's participation in a UN operation in the African country. (NHK)

Foreigners on a two-week hunger strike over conditions at immigration detention centers in Japan have ended their protest in the hope their decision would bring better treatment, but an official said on Thursday there would be no change in policies. (Japan Today)

Airbnb has joined hands with staffing company Pasona to train people in Japan to support the U.S. company's signature business of offering private homes as lodging for travelers -- a practice known as minpaku here. (Nikkei)

Tokyo police arrested a 21-year-old man on Thursday night for taking a woman, 55, hostage at her condominium in the Asakusa district of the Japanese capital's Taito Ward and inflicting injuries on the captive with a knife. (Jiji)

An elderly man was arrested Friday on suspicion of starting a fire on seat aboard a shinkansen that was traveling through Okayama Prefecture, police and the train operator said. (Japan Times)

Pizza giant Domino's will take full control of its rapidly expanding Japanese operations, after its minority partner, private equity firm Bain Capital, announced it would pull the plug on its 25 per cent stake in August. (smh.com.au)

Outdoor theme park Legoland Japan on Thursday started selling one-day family tickets that offer discounts of up to 25 percent in response to complaints about higher fees compared with other parks. (Japan Times)

A pair of melons produced in the northern city of Yubari, Hokkaido, sold for 1.5 million yen in the first auction of this harvest season on Friday. (Japan Today)

Leaders of the Group of Seven major industrial nations on Friday demonstrated their unity in the fight against terrorism, at their summit meeting in Taormina, Sicily, southern Italy, that started the same day for a two-day run. (Jiji)

A former juvenile prison in the city of Nara in western Japan, built in 1908 and designated as an important cultural asset, will be converted into a hotel, the Justice Ministry said Friday. (Jiji)

Japanese elementary schools will be eligible to start English education in the third grade from fiscal 2018, instead of the fifth grade as now, the education ministry said Friday. (Japan Today)

A giant deepwater shark known as a megamouth has been found alive in a fishing net in the Pacific Ocean off Mie Prefecture, western Japan. (NHK)

Public prosecutors on Friday indicted Yasumasa Shibuya, 46, a former head of the parents' association at an elementary school in the city of Matsudo, Chiba Prefecture, eastern Japan, for allegedly murdering a Vietnamese girl attending the school in March. (Jiji)

With the aim of revitalizing its tourism industry in the wake of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, Fukushima Prefecture is teaming up with neighboring Ibaraki and Tochigi prefectures to establish a so-called "Diamond Route" to serve as an inbound tourism route linking major sightseeing spots. (the-japan-news.com)

Toyota Motor Corp. has unveiled in Tokyo a prototype for the first pleasure boat under its luxury car brand Lexus. (the-japan-news.com)

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Saturday tied with Junichiro Koizumi as postwar Japan's third longest-serving leader with 1,980 days in office. (Japan Today)

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