News On Japan

The Defense Ministry announced Friday that the Maritime Self-Defense Force's largest warship, the Izumo helicopter carrier, wrapped up three days of joint drills with the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan in the disputed South China Sea. (Japan Times)

Prosecutors are set to search sites this weekend linked to the nationalist school operator at the center of a scandal tied to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his wife, for evidence of fraud related to subsidies for its preschool, investigative sources said Friday. (Japan Times)

An unemployed 20-year-old man has been arrested for injuring a woman with a stun gun as she rode her bicycle home in Kisarazu City, Chiba Prefecture, in April. (Japan Today)

Japan has declined an invitation to attend the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank's annual meeting, informed sources said Friday. (Jiji)

A government survey showed Friday that 55.9 pct of Japanese men took child care leave within two months after their wives gave birth. (Jiji)

The head of the Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi gangster group was served a fresh arrest warrant Friday in connection with a scuffle at the office of a different yakuza group in Kyoto in January. (Japan Times)

The House of Councillors, the upper chamber of the Diet, Japan's parliament, enacted on Friday a bill to revise the Penal Code to toughen penalties for sex crimes. (Jiji)

Seven crew members of a US Aegis destroyer are reportedly missing and 2 are injured following a collision with a Philippine merchant vessel off Izu Peninsula, in central Japan, early on Saturday. (NHK)

Ireland scored seven tries on the way to a convincing 50-22 victory over 2019 World Cup hosts Japan at the Ecopa Stadium in Fukuroi, Shizuoka Prefecture, in the first match of a two-test series on Saturday. (the-japan-news.com)

Japan Post Holdings Co. is likely to drop a plan to acquire Nomura Real Estate Holdings Inc., as its price is expected to be higher than initially estimated, informed sources said Saturday. (the-japan-news.com)

With their nonalcoholic beers gaining popularity and sales of the real stuff declining, Japan's Kirin Brewery and Suntory Beer are switching gears. (Nikkei)

In Yamanashi Prefecture, the top producer of wine made only from grapes grown in Japan, three cities have come together to create a plan for a wine resort. (Japan Times)

The number of consultations over "power harassment," mainly bulling by bosses, in Japan in fiscal 2016 rose 6.5 pct from the previous year to a record 70,917, a labor ministry survey showed Friday. (Jiji)

Hundreds of dolls, from Hello Kitty to Disney favourites, are packed to the ceiling at a funeral home near Tokyo. (thejournal.ie)

Train buffs and railway officials have attended the launch of a luxury sleeper train journey from Osaka Station. (NHK)

Now that Japan's parliament has cleared the way for Emperor Akihito to step down, the government is starting to dig into the details of the process. (Nikkei)

Osaka Prefectural Police have arrested a 31-year-old teacher in an alleged attempted arson case at a kindergarten in Miyakojima Ward last month, reports TBS News (tokyoreporter.com)

The population of once extinct storks living in the wild in Japan has reached 100, an official at a specialist conservation facility said Monday. (Japan Today)

Japan has become world-famous for its incredibly polished customer service, which isn’t something you’ll find only at premium-priced hotels and leisure resorts. Just about any shop or restaurant you go to in Japan, right down to convenience stores and fast food joints, will be staffed by courteous clerks and servers. (rocketnews24.com)

Prosecutors in western Japan have begun raiding the premises of school operator Moritomo Gakuen on suspicion it unlawfully claimed subsidies from the state and the Osaka prefectural government. (NHK)

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