News On Japan

The rainy season appears to have started in wide swaths of eastern, central and western Japan, the weather agency said Wednesday, warning of downpours and natural disasters during the roughly six-week period. (Japan Times)

The Japan Atomic Energy Agency said Wednesday that 22,000 becquerels of radioactive plutonium-239 was detected in the lung of a staff member exposed to radiation at the agency's research facility in Ibaraki Prefecture, northeast of Tokyo. (Jiji)

A Japanese man was charged Tuesday in court with two counts of murder for the brutal slaying of two Japanese nationals last week in the western Philippine province of Palawan, official documents obtained Wednesday showed. (Japan Today)

A Japanese research team on Wednesday submitted an application to an international organization for the geological age from 770,000 to 126,000 years ago to be recognized as "Chibanian," named after Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo. (Jiji)

The number of households on welfare in Japan in March increased by 2,588 from the previous month to hit a record high of 1,641,523, up for the first time in three months, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said Wednesday. (Japan Times)

A special committee of the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of Japan's parliament, on Wednesday passed government-sponsored special legislation for Emperor Akihito's abdication. (Jiji)

Kanagawa Prefectural Police have arrested the representative director of the company that manages a long-running chain of live music venues over the alleged sale of marijuana, reports TBS News (tokyoreporter.com)

The Universal Studios Japan theme park in Osaka plans to add a new area featuring Nintendo characters and worlds, which was unveiled at a groundbreaking ceremony Thursday. (Japan Times)

Japan's current account surplus grew 7.5% on the year in April to 1.95 trillion yen ($17.7 billion), the highest for the month in 10 years, according to data released Thursday by the Ministry of Finance. (Nikkei)

In their 83 years of existence, the Yomiuri Giants have never had a stretch quite this bad. (Japan Times)

A police sergeant was arrested Thursday on suspicion of killing his wife found dead Tuesday in Fukuoka Prefecture. (Japan Times)

Before the arrival of the sweltering summer in Japan, "melt-proof" ice cream has been launched, while the development of soft serve "hot" cream also defies conventional wisdom. (Jiji)

Some 70 countries and regions including Japan signed Wednesday a multilateral treaty to prevent tax avoidance by multinational companies. (Jiji)

Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said the country had escaped from deflation but still had more progress to make before reaching its goal for 2 percent inflation. (Bloomberg)

Japan is emerging as the latest front in the vacation rental/home-sharing battle, with HomeAway and Airbnb taking advantage of an improved regulatory environment. (tnooz.com)

A suspected murderer who went on the run for 45 years has been arrested in Japan. (independent.co.uk)

The House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the Diet, Japan's parliament, approved on Thursday a bill to revise the Penal Code to impose tougher penalties for sex crimes. (Jiji)

The House of Councillors on Friday enacted a bill to fully allow the operations of "minpaku" private lodging services across Japan, where visitors from abroad are increasing. (Jiji)

Japan's parliament enacted on Friday government-sponsored special legislation to allow Emperor Akihito to step down, paving the way for the first succession from a living Emperor in about 200 years in the country. (Jiji)

Japan's female labor force participation rate rose to 66.0 pct in 2016, the highest level since the country began taking the data in 1968, a government annual report said Friday. (Jiji)

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