News On Japan

Gangsters seeking to leave organized crime groups --- but who are in dire financial straits --- could soon get free accommodation and help with transportation costs in Fukuoka Prefecture under a unique program aimed at promoting integration back into society and in turn weakening the underworld syndicates. (Japan Times)

A Japanese court has ordered Tokyo Electric Power Company to pay about 142,000 dollars in damages to the family of an elderly man who killed himself amid an evacuation order during the 2011 Fukushima nuclear crisis. (NHK)

The Japanese government has decided to hold next year's Group of 20 Summit meeting in the western prefecture of Osaka. It will be the first time Japan has hosted the summit. (NHK)

In a ruling handed down Tuesday on a high-profile surrogacy case involving a 28-year-old Japanese man, a Thai juvenile and family court accepted his claim for custody of 13 children whom he had through surrogacy in the Southeast Asian country. (Jiji)

The Japanese government says Emperor Akihito's abdication ceremony will be held next year on April 30th, the day he steps down, as a state event. (NHK)

Seven South Korean women attempted to smuggle gold into Japan late last month by concealing it in their rectums, officials from Aichi Prefecture’s Chubu Airport said Tuesday. (Japan Times)

While President Donald Trump’s decision to pull the U.S. from the Trans-Pacific Partnership initially put the deal on life support in January 2017, details released Wednesday revealed that the remaining 11 countries have managed to agree on terms close to the agreement’s original form. (Japan Times)

An increasing number of couples from overseas are having wedding ceremonies in Kyoto, western Japan, attracted by the ancient capital's reputation as symbolizing traditional Japanese culture. (Jiji)

An uproar in Japan over the homeland of the "Moomin" storybook characters was elevated to a diplomatic matter on Wednesday, with the Japanese and Finnish foreign ministers assuring each other the issue has been well and truly resolved. (Kyodo)

Japan tops the world as the country with the lowest rate of newborn mortality in 2016, followed by Iceland and Singapore, while Pakistan is the riskiest place to be born according to a new UNICEF report launched on Tuesday. (Japan Today)

Investigative sources revealed on Tuesday that a 25-year-old man who was shot and wounded by an officer in Miyakojima Ward over the weekend while wielding a knife was actually in possession of two knives, reports NHK (tokyoreporter.com)

A 62-year-old woman has been arrested on suspicion of animal abuse after keeping 23 cats in unsanitary conditions at her apartment in Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture. (Japan Today)

The estimated number of foreign visitors for January rose 9 percent from a year earlier to 2,501,500, a record for the month, the Japan Tourism Agency said Wednesday. (Japan Times)

Workers at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant have finished installing a new roof covering for the No.3 reactor building. (NHK)

Japan has some amazing prison food, which should be no surprise. Inmates are served healthy, nutritious meals of grilled fish, salads, rice and soup - which are actually healthier than most school lunches around the world! Would you like to try what prisoners eat? There's a prison in Hokkaido that serves authentic meals to the public and that is where I went -- Abashiri. (ONLY in JAPAN)

Japanese speed skaters have won gold in the women's team pursuit event at the PyeongChang Olympics. (NHK)

The Nippon Professional Baseball Organization will start full discussions on a proposed professional baseball lottery, informed sources said Thursday. (Jiji)

For people living in crowded cities in Japan, nothing tugs at the heartstrings more than a picturesque image of a tiny train station in the middle of the countryside. (soranews24.com)

Osaka Prefectural Police have raided four so-called 'girl's bar' establishments in Osaka for licensing violations that are believed to have employed minors, reports TV Asahi. (tokyoreporter.com)

Japanese automaker Honda has announced that its HondaJet won the most delivered jet title in its category last year. (NHK)

Latest Images