News On Japan

Councilors of the Japan Sumo Association have demoted stablemaster Takanohana from the post of director over his handling of an assault scandal. (NHK)

South Korean President Moon Jae-in apologized to former "comfort women" Thursday, saying the 2015 agreement with Japan negotiated by his predecessor's government in an effort to bring closure to the wartime issue failed to consider the wishes of the women themselves. (Nikkei)

An 405 kg (892 pound) bluefin tuna has sold for ¥36.5 million ($320,000) in what may really be Tsukiji market's final year-opening auction at its current site in downtown Tokyo, media reports said Friday. (Japan Times)

A joint research team of Kyoto University and Osaka University said Friday it has succeeded in repairing finger function in monkeys with spinal cord injuries using an antibody against a protein that blocks neural regeneration. (Jiji)

The Japan Meteorological Agency said Friday that there was a miscalculation behind its emergency warning on the day of a strong earthquake off the coast of Ibaraki Prefecture, which was followed by no major quake. (Jiji)

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expressed his strong determination on Friday to significantly improve Japan's relations with China this year, which marks the 40th anniversary of the signing of the bilateral peace and friendship treaty. (Jiji)

Japan reported in 2017 over 5,000 syphilis patients for the first time since comparable data became available in 1999, with the number rising particularly among women in their 20s, data by a national research center showed Friday. (Japan Today)

Japanese women who work for social change out of the public eye often go unrecognized, but a new award aims to change that by honoring unsung heroes who effect grassroots reform in their communities. (Kyodo)

Tatsuro Toyoda, the former Toyota Motor Corp president who led the company's climb to become one of the world's top automakers, has died. He was 88. (Japan Today)

The Japanese government plans to conduct in fiscal 2018 its first nationwide survey on middle-agers who are shutting themselves in their homes. (Jiji)

The U.S. Marine Corps said Sunday one of its helicopters made an emergency landing on an islet in Okinawa the previous day after an instrument reading indicated the main rotor was “moving at too high a speed.” (Japan Times)

A guitarist for “visual-kei” band Codomo Dragon has gone missing, the group revealed via its Twitter account last week. (tokyoreporter.com)

Tokyo man arrested for forcibly tattooing his initials into the butt of a maid cafe employee (Japan Today)

Each year, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare tallies the number of marriages that took place in Japan between January and October. In 2017, approximately 607,000 couples tied the knot during that period, which was roughly 13,000 less than the same time frame in 2016. (Japan Today)

Taiyo Middle School, located in the Kanagawa Prefecture city of Hiratsuka, is celebrating the 71st anniversary of its founding this year. To mark the occasion, the school is introducing new uniforms for students enrolling in April, when the 2018 school year begins. (rocketnews24.com)

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government plans to start a subsidy program this year to accelerate the installation of charging stations for electric vehicles at condominiums in the capital, informed sources say. (Japan Times)

A U.S. amphibious assault ship capable of carrying advanced F-35 stealth fighter jets was soon to arrive at Sasebo naval base in Nagasaki Prefecture, the U.S. Navy said over the weekend. (Japan Times)

Consumer groups and farmers in Japan fear the repercussions of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, which is quickly moving forward on the heels of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s conference of the other 10 nations (including Australia, Canada, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and Vietnam) now involved in talks. (Japan Times)

If you go out for drinks with your colleagues in Japan, chances are that you end up doing warikan at the end of the night. And the warikan, or the splitting of the bill evenly, is most likely done in cash despite almost everyone having plastic and electronic money in their wallets. Thanks to this die-hard affection for cash, Japan loses over 2 trillion yen ($17.6 billion) every year. (Nikkei)

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) will start developing a new high-efficiency radar system in fiscal 2018 to monitor space debris as small as about 10 centimeters, as part of its efforts to avoid collisions between debris and artificial satellites, according to sources. (the-japan-news.com)

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