News On Japan

Fresh off a decisive election victory, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged Monday to tackle what he called Japan's two national crises: the military threat from North Korea and an aging and shrinking population. (Japan Today)

Voter turnout for single-seat constituencies in Sunday's election for the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of parliament, is projected at around 53.69 pct, the second-lowest in the post-World War II period, a Jiji Press estimate showed Monday. (Jiji)

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 on Monday posted the longest winning streak in its nearly 70-year history as markets cheered the weekend election victory of Japan's pro-business prime minister. (Japan Today)

Up to now, it has been a real hassle making advance reservations for Japan's bullet trains from overseas. JR East finally set up an online reservation system a while back, but that was only for trains heading north from Tokyo. (rocketnews24.com)

An industry group says the sales of Japanese animation, related services, and products topped 2 trillion yen, or about 17.6 billion dollars, for the first time in 2016. (NHK)

Visiting Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike on Monday announced a plan to make the Japanese capital free of carbon dioxide emissions during the opening and closing days of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. (Jiji)

Power transmission trouble halted three JR Utsunomiya Line trains in Kuki, Saitama Prefecture, on Monday, stranding about 1,900 passengers for about two hours. (Japan Times)

Mount Fuji, Japan's highest peak, has been capped with snow for the first time this season. (NHK)

A wild boar, about one meter in length, entered a commercial facility in Takamatsu City, Kagawa Prefecture and went on a rampage on Monday night. Five people, including store employees and customers, sustained minor injuries after being bitten by the boar, Fuji TV reported. (Japan Today)

The Japanese government picked on Tuesday five recipients of the Order of Culture for fiscal 2017, including photoelectrochemist Akira Fujishima, 75, and molecular biologist Kenichi Matsubara, 83. (Jiji)

Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike signaled on Wednesday her intention to stay on as head of the Party of Hope, even after the party's humiliating defeat in Sunday's House of Representatives election. (Jiji)

The head of Fast Retailing Co. on Tuesday ruled out the possibility of the Uniqlo chain selling its casual wear through the online retail giant Amazon.com. (Japan Times)

Weather officials say a tropical storm, Saola, formed over waters south of Japan on Tuesday afternoon. (NHK)

Sensoji temple in Tokyo's Asakusa district is one of the top tourist sites in the country, drawing thousands of tourists to the area every year. (rocketnews24.com)

A 1922 handwritten note by Albert Einstein during his stay in Tokyo describing his thought on happy living sold for 1.56 million dollars at an auction in Jerusalem on Tuesday. (Jiji)

Japan's government and ruling bloc are considering including a tobacco tax hike in the country's the tax system reform package for fiscal 2018, informed sources said Wednesday. (Jiji)

The government intends to impose a ¥1,000 "departure tax" on tourists and other travelers when they leave Japan to raise funds for tourism promotion, according to a draft plan. (the-japan-news.com)

The approval rating of the Cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was 52 percent, according to a Yomiuri Shimbun survey conducted on Monday and Tuesday in response to Sunday's House of Representatives election results, up 11 percentage points from the previous survey on Oct. 7 and 8. (the-japan-news.com)

Japanese police have finally nabbed a nimble "ninja" thief who dressed in black and scrambled over walls to commit scores of break-ins over an eight-year career -- and were astonished to find he was 74. (Japan Today)

A man and a woman plan to jointly sue the government over claims that a law forcing couples to use the same surname upon marriage caused them psychological suffering, sources have said. (Japan Times)

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