News On Japan

A government advisory panel on education reform proposed to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday steps to ease the workload on Japan's teachers and boost community and parent involvement with schools as concern about overwork grows. (Japan Times)

Aichi Prefecture said Thursday it will build a theme park based on an anime by director Hayao Miyazaki with the aim of opening it in the early 2020s. (Japan Times)

As part of efforts to promote women's active participation in society, the government is considering allowing them to put their maiden names alongside their married names in passports from around fiscal 2019, according to government sources. (the-japan-news.com)

Edward Snowden, who exposed the existence of highly invasive U.S. surveillance programs in 2013, warned this week that Japan might be moving closer to achieving sweeping surveillance of ordinary citizens with a bill that gives the police highly invasive surveillance powers in the name of counterterrorism. (Japan Times)

A man was arrested Thursday in Tokyo after he tried to rob a police officer of his pistol at a koban police box in Katsushika Ward. (Japan Times)

Saitama Prefectural Police on Wednesday arrested a middle school teacher for allegedly taking illicit films of female students for more than one year, reports Fuji News Network. (tokyoreporter.com)

Japan's Environment Minister Koichi Yamamoto has criticized US President Donald Trump, saying his decision to pull out of the Paris Agreement defies the intelligence of mankind. (NHK)

The US military is dispatching the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier to the Western Pacific Ocean as a response to North Korea's repeated missile launches and the increased maritime activities by China. (NHK)

Ibaraki Prefectural Police are seeking the help of the public in locating a man who robbed a convenience store in Tsukubamirai City on Thursday without speaking, reports TV Asahi. (tokyoreporter.com)

The inflow of international funds into information technology and semiconductors powered the Nikkei Stock Average's recovery Friday to above 20,000. But the automotive and financial sectors are faltering, highlighting the gap between Japanese equities and their foreign peers. (Nikkei)

The Bank of Japan said Friday its total assets, such as its holdings of Japanese government bonds, stocks and other securities, has topped 500 trillion yen for the first time ever. (Jiji)

China said on Friday a Japanese citizen was being investigated for harming national security, following a similar case last month in which China said six Japanese were being questioned on suspicion of illegal activity. (Japan Today)

Japanese business leaders on Friday questioned President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate agreement. (Japan Today)

Investigative sources say a group arrested on suspicion of smuggling apparent gold into Japan on a small boat had met another ship from China on open waters. (NHK)

Japanese police have arrested 5 women for allegedly trying to smuggle gold from South Korea through an airport in central Japan. (NHK)

Sota Fujii, the youngest professional shogi player, extended the winning streak since his pro debut to a 20th official game on Friday. (Jiji)

The total fertility rate in Japan in 2016 fell 0.01 point from the previous year to 1.44, while the number of babies born last year slipped below one million for the first time, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said in an annual demographic survey on Friday. (the-japan-news.com)

The number of foreign tourists who traveled on cruise ships to Japan hit a record high in 2016, thanks mainly to more budget tours from China. (NHK)

More high school students in the Tokyo metropolitan area usually have rice for breakfast than those who eat bread, according to a survey by Norinchukin Bank. (Jiji)

Japan's swelling ranks of working women have grape growers 10,000 miles away cheering. (Japan Times)

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