News On Japan

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested three male Romanian nationals suspected in a series of thefts in the Ginza area of Chuo Ward, reports TV Asahi. (tokyoreporter.com)

Thirteen Japanese bitcoin exchange operators said Tuesday they will suspend deposits and withdrawals of the virtual currency from midnight July 31 (3 p.m. GMT) in order to prevent possible turmoil stemming from an expected separation of the trading system. (Japan Times)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police on Tuesday raided the headquarters of the Yamaguchi-gumi organized crime group as a part of an investigation into the extortion of entertainment establishments in the capital, reports TV Asahi. (tokyoreporter.com)

A public elementary school teacher in eastern Japan told a fourth grader to jump out of a third-floor classroom window last week, prompting the boy to stay away from school, a local education committee said Tuesday. (Kyodo)

The number of female researchers at private companies and other institutions in Japan reached the highest level ever last year, government data showed, although it remained low by international standards. (Japan Times)

A pub owner in Sapporo has been arrested for allegedly inflicting burns on a male patron, using a hairspray as a flamethrower, police said. (Japan Today)

Japanese manufacturers' and service providers' business confidence held steady at high levels in July, a Reuters poll found on Wednesday, underlining the central bank's upbeat view on the economy. (Reuters)

Japan will set aside roughly 4 trillion yen ($35.6 billion) in the next fiscal year's state budget for measures that focus on education as part of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's strategy to spur growth, government sources told Reuters on Tuesday. (Reuters)

IT firm Yahoo Japan has announced a new web-based platform that enables people to play games just by connecting to the internet. (NHK)

Even unrealistically robust economic and productivity growth would not be enough to bring Japan's primary balance into the black by fiscal 2020, government estimates released Tuesday show. (Nikkei)

Japanese Defense Minister Tomomi Inada has denied media reports that she agreed to hide the fact that the records relating to the Ground Self-Defense Force's peacekeeping activities in South Sudan were at the GSDF command. The ministry once said they had been destroyed. (NHK)

This year's rainy season seems to be over in the eastern to western Japan regions of Kanto-Koshin, Tokai, Kinki, Chugoku and Shikoku, the Japan Meteorological Agency said Wednesday. (Jiji)

Japanese electronics maker Fujitsu has developed a wristwatch sensor that warns the wearer of the risk of heatstroke. (NHK)

A group set up by psychiatric patients, their families and lawyers has called for strict rules on the use of physical restraints at hospitals in Japan. (NHK)

Officials at the Japan Fair Trade Commission are investigating major department stores in Osaka. They suspect the firms colluded on increasing delivery fees. (NHK)

Major Japanese electronics maker NEC is introducing an innovative verification system that is based on an ordinary glitter pen. (NHK)

The number of tourists coming to Japan hit a record high in the first half of 2017. The Japan National Tourism Organization says more than 13.75 million people visited Japan in the 6 months. (NHK)

Hiroshima District Court rejected Wednesday a petition calling for the reversal of a Japanese government decision to exclude a Korean school from its tuition-free high school education program. (Jiji)

The Yokohama District Court on Wednesday sentenced a former elementary school teacher to three years in prison on sexual abuse and child pornography charges. (Japan Today)

Students at a junior high school in Tochigi Prefecture’s Takenazawa town have felt ill after eating cheese at the school cafeteria, local board of education representatives said. (Japan Today)

Latest Images