News On Japan

Around half of junior high school students have called the English skills they acquired in elementary schools “useless,” according to recent findings by education services provider Benesse Holdings Inc. (Japan Times)

Heavy rain hit a wide area on the Pacific side of the Japanese archipelago Wednesday, disrupting traffic and prompting local authorities to issue evacuation advisories for around 250,000 people in central regions due to possible flooding. (Japan Times)

A total of 249 music school operators in Japan have launched a group lawsuit against music copyright management body JASRAC's plan to collect royalties on music played in lesson time. (Jiji)

The number of foreign tourists visiting Japan is continuing to increase. It hit a new record for the month of May. (NHK)

Japan's Crown Prince Naruhito returned home on Wednesday morning from a week-long official visit to Denmark, arriving at Tokyo International Airport at Haneda on a Japanese government jet. (Jiji)

Amazon Japan aims to build a team of 10,000 independent couriers in the Tokyo region by 2020 to continue offering same-day delivery service without relying on major parcel delivery companies. (Nikkei)

Japanese authorities have created a new map of a remote island whose area has expanded through volcanic activity. (NHK)

Sayako Kuroda, the daughter of Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, assumed the post of supreme priestess at Ise Jingu this week, the ancient Shinto shrine in central Japan said. (Japan Today)

On 19 June it was announced that three teens were arrested for the robbery and assault of a 20-year-old man. The victim was on his moped when a cigarette was put out on his face and his bike and helmet were stolen from him. (rocketnews24.com)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a male executive at Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) for allegedly pouring an illegal sex enhancement drug on the face of the woman earlier this month, reports TV Asahi (tokyoreporter.com)

Japanese virtual mall operator Rakuten said on Thursday it will open an online room-sharing marketplace now that the country is poised to lift a ban on room-sharing for travelers. (Nikkei)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested two men in the alleged sexual assault of a female employee of a maid cafe in Akihabara earlier this year, reports Nikkan Sports (tokyoreporter.com)

China's bond market will double in size from the current $9 trillion over the next five years, overtaking Japan's to become the world's second largest behind the United States', UBS Asset Management said in a report. (cnbc.com)

The Japanese government on Thursday upgraded its assessment of the economy in its monthly report for the first time since December. (marketwatch.com)

Chinese bicycle-sharing startup Mobike has set up a subsidiary in Fukuoka city in southern Japan and plans to begin service later this year, it said on Thursday. (Reuters)

Close to 95 percent of tourists from Asia who have visited western Japan would like to travel to areas off the beaten track, a survey showed Thursday. (Japan Times)

The Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry on Wednesday released a manual for the country's new curriculum guidelines, asking junior high school teachers for the first time to have students understand procedures for constitutional revisions. (the-japan-news.com)

A weekly magazine says a lawmaker of Japan's main governing party repeatedly abused her secretary verbally and physically. (NHK)

A Japanese chemical firm shipped unauthorized Chinese-made acetaminophen, a painkiller used as an ingredient for cold medicines, to drug makers by mixing it with its own acetaminophen, health ministry officials said Thursday. (Jiji)

Police in Koshigaya, Saitama Prefecture, have arrested a 17-year-old youth for impersonating a police office by using a fake badge and ID in order to obtain the phone number and address of a woman. (Japan Today)

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