News On Japan

A host of tourists and work trainees in Japan sought refugee status in Japan last year, fueling a jump in applications. (Nikkei)

Local residents and tourists are visiting Kumamoto Castle in southwestern Japan to view cherry blossoms in a picturesque setting. (NHK)

An 88-year-old woman working as a visiting researcher at a university in Kyoto was conferred a doctorate on Saturday, making her the oldest person to earn such a degree, according to the institution. (Japan Today)

In Sumo, Yokozuna Grand Champion Kakuryu has won his 4th Emperor's Cup with one day left in the spring tournament. (NHK)

Japan's High Energy Accelerator Research Organization, or KEK, has put into full operation the SuperKEKB accelerator in search of new physics to solve riddles left by a key theory on elementary particles. (Jiji)

Two tires of a plane operated by low-cost carrier Peach Aviation Ltd went flat after landing at a southwestern Japanese airport Saturday morning, stranding the aircraft and causing the runway to be closed for over two hours. (Japan Today)

Springtime cherry blossoms are drawing crowds of sightseers to the Imperial Palace in central Tokyo. (NHK)

A series of explosive eruptions has been observed at a volcano in southwestern Japan, after a lull of 10 days. The Meteorological Agency is warning people to stay away from Mount Shinmoe, and is maintaining an alert level of 3, on a scale of 1 to 5. (NHK)

Police in Saitama city said Sunday they have arrested a 25-year-old police officer on suspicion of abusing his three-month-old daughter. (Japan Today)

Mild panic broke out at approximately 1:20 p.m. on 23 March at the Arakawa Amusement Park in Arakawa Ward, Tokyo. (soranews24.com)

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe invited former US President Barack Obama to a sushi restaurant in Tokyo on Sunday. (NHK)

A group of seven men and women fell while climbing snowy Mount Amida in the central Japan prefecture of Nagano on Sunday morning. (Jiji)

On 20 March, Kumamoto Police announced the punishment of a sergeant in his fifties for incidents of "power harassment" against several lower ranking officers. As a result his pay will be docked 10 percent for three months. (soranews24.com)

A test run of new unified examinations for university entrance in Japan, set to be introduced in fiscal 2020, has shown low proportions of students answering correctly in some writing sections in Japanese and mathematics, the organization that operates the exams said Monday. (Jiji)

Japanese golfer Hideki Matsuyama is looking to win his opening major championship in 2018 and he will have his first opportunity to do that at the US Masters next month at Augusta in Georgia. (newsonjapan.com)

A key figure in a document-tampering scandal involving the Finance Ministry is set to give sworn testimony at the Diet on Tuesday. (NHK)

Shikoku Electric Power Co. will not seek to extend the operation of an aging nuclear reactor in western Japan, judging that the required safety investments will not pay off due to declining electricity demand in the region, sources close to the matter said Monday. (Kyodo)

The Tokyo High Court on Monday overturned a lower court ruling and said the owner of a cellphone with a mobile TV function is obliged to pay the NHK subscription fee. (Japan Times)

Seven private-sector providers of English tests have been chosen to assess the language proficiencies of university entrance exam takers in Japan, starting in 2021. (NHK)

The government will give a financial break to members of low income households when they take English tests to be introduced under a new university entrance system in fiscal 2020, education minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said Tuesday. (Japan Times)

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