News On Japan

Mazda Motor Corp said Tuesday it would become the world's first automaker to commercialise a much more efficient petrol engine using technology that deep-pocketed rivals have been trying to engineer for decades, a twist in an industry increasingly going electric. (Japan Today)

Japan's Finance Ministry says the country's current account surplus for the first half of 2017 was the highest in 10 years. (NHK)

About 270,000 puffer fish farmed in a bay off Nagasaki Prefecture have died due to the outbreak of red tide, resulting in damage of around 400 million yen, a local fisheries cooperative said Tuesday. (Japan Today)

The Democratic Party's former secretary-general has formally entered the race to lead Japan's main opposition party, laying the groundwork for a battle over whether the Democrats can offer viable alternatives to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's economic policies, known as Abenomics. (Nikkei)

When cat cafes started showing up in Japan, no one was really sure how long they'd last. Sure, the idea of sipping on drinks and munching on light fare while surrounded by felines had a definite appeal, but some wondered if it might be nothing more than a passing fad. (rocketnews24.com)

Japan Display is considering tough downsizing measures to help save its struggling business, including slashing more than 3,000 jobs. (NHK)

The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says hundreds of vehicles contaminated with radioactive substances left the compound unchecked in the immediate aftermath of the 2011 accident. (NHK)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a 25-year-old man suspected in several molestation incidents involving young girls in Adachi Ward, reports TBS News (tokyoreporter.com)

One elementary school teacher from Aichi Prefecture was fired Tuesday for allegedly forcing indecent acts on students and another from the same central Japan area was effectively forced to quit his job for sending child pornography. (Japan Today)

Haruo Nakajima portrayed the King of the Monsters for 18 years. (rocketnews24.com)

Investigative sources have revealed that six male students at Keio University have been prosecuted on Tuesday in the alleged sexual assault of a female student in Kanagawa Prefecture last year, reports Nikkan Sports. (tokyoreporter.com)

The five-year survival rate of cancer patients in Japan stands at 65.2 pct, the National Cancer Center said in a survey report on Wednesday. (Japan Times)

The Japanese market has been in a strange place for some time now. While Abenomics has certainly shown some promise, albeit without managing to live up to the hype that it suggested, the truth of the matter seems to be that the market is unsure as to whether Japan is about to enter a period of time where uncertainty causes an end to the bull market that has been in place since Abenomics hit full flow, sustained in part by increased government investment. (newsonjapan.com)

Temperatures soared along the Pacific coast in eastern and western Japan on Wednesday with the mercury topping 37 C in Tokyo and other cities in the Kanto region as Typhoon Noru's passage was followed by a warm air mass. (Japan Today)

Ibaraki Prefectural Police have re-arrested a 56-year-old female hairdresser for allegedly burying the corpse of an elderly male acquaintance who went missing in Naka City earlier this year, reports the Sankei Shimbun. (tokyoreporter.com)

The owner of one branch of the Mini Stop convenience store chain has had it with non-customers parking in his store's parking lot. (rocketnews24.com)

This week marks the 72nd anniversary of the two US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. On Wednesday, people gathered at a ceremony held at Nagasaki's Peace Park, close to where the bomb hit, to reflect in a moment of silence. (NHK)

A record number of employers accepting trainees from abroad under Japan's Technical Intern Training Program violated labor laws in 2016, the labor ministry said Wednesday. (Jiji)

McDonald's Holdings Co. (Japan) is enjoying a resurgence of earnings as a series of post-scandal rebuilding efforts led by President Sarah Casanova bear fruit. (Nikkei)

Rest your body and wallet as you travel half-way across the country in your sleep. (rocketnews24.com)

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