News On Japan

The escalating trade row between Washington and Beijing could impact Japanese companies that source production in China and export grain from U.S. subsidiaries. But many so far appear to be taking a wait-and-see approach on whether the world’s two largest economies will follow through on their proposed tariffs or find a solution that allows both to save face. (Japan Times)

An Australian woman who was raped by a U.S. military serviceman more than a decade ago renewed on Thursday her request to Japan’s government to amend the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), which critics claim allows both countries to evade responsibility for misconduct linked to U.S. bases. (Japan Times)

A survey by a private-sector group has found that a total of 2,286 "kodomo shokudo," or cafeterias that offer meals to children free of charge or at low prices, have been set up in Japan as part of efforts to address the issue of child poverty. (Jiji)

Officials of the operator of the crippled Fukushima No.1 nuclear power plant apologized Thursday to the family of a 102-year-old man who killed himself in the face of an evacuation order amid the 2011 nuclear crisis. (Japan Times)

The Japan Sumo Association has apologized for an inappropriate request that women leave a sumo ring where they were providing emergency treatment. (NHK)

Japanese online brokerage Monex Group Inc. said Friday it has agreed to purchase all outstanding shares in troubled cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck Inc. for 3.6 billion yen ($33.6 million). (Kyodo)

Fujifilm Imaging Systems Co. announced Friday it will terminate sales of monochrome photographic film, with the last shipment expected to be in October, due to falling demands in the digital age. (Japan Times)

Japan’s longest run of economic expansion since the 1980s asset bubble may be entering a turning point, with data out on Friday suggesting consumption will fail to drive growth if trade frictions undermine exports. (Japan Times)

The Japanese yen is the sweetheart of global speculators. Speculators loath uncertainty but thrive on calculated risk, and the yen offers unparalleled favorable odds for fast-paced global money managers. (Japan Times)

Isao Takahata, who co-founded Studio Ghibli and directed the award-winning animation "Grave of the Fireflies," has died of lung cancer at a Tokyo hospital, people close to him said Friday. He was 82. (Kyodo)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested two persons, including a female Filipino national, for engaging in a fake marriage in Machida City, reports TBS News (tokyoreporter.com)

A public elementary school in central Tokyo's upscale Ginza district welcomed on Friday new students amid lingering controversy over de-facto uniforms from high-end Italian brand Armani. (Jiji)

A female mayor was forced to give a speech outside a sumo ring on Friday after being refused entry because of her sex, just two days after the Japan Sumo Association drew heavy criticism for telling women to leave the ring even though they were trying to rescue a collapsed man. (Kyodo)

A railway line in Iwate Prefecture will reach a crucial turning point next year, returning to service after sustaining heavy damage from the Great East Japan Earthquake. (Japan Times)

The Japan Wrestling Federation says its director has resigned for harassing 4-time Olympic champion Kaori Icho. (NHK)

The English skills of students at public junior and senior high schools across Japan failed to reach proficiency levels targeted by the government, the education ministry said in a fiscal 2017 survey on Friday. (Jiji)

Japan will likely convert July 23, 2020, a Thursday and the eve of the opening ceremony for the Tokyo Olympics, into a public holiday by moving Marine Day, which falls on the third Monday of July, to that day, a step to be taken for the year only, it was learned Friday. (Jiji)

The Grand National, held annually at Aintree racecourse near Liverpool every April, is the world's most famous handicap steeplechase for thoroughbred horses, but did you there are a couple of surprising connections between the extended four-and-a-quarter miles race and Japan? (newsonjapan.com)

The Tokyo-based Yano Research Institute recently released the results of its analysis of the pachinko industry, and some of the numbers don’t look so good . (soranews24.com)

Police arrested a 38-year-old male relative Saturday after three people were found dead in a house in the southwestern prefecture of Kagoshima. (Japan Today)

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