News On Japan

The Japanese government is considering canceling evacuation drills planned for fiscal 2018 to prepare for possible ballistic missile launches by North Korea, officials said Thursday. (Jiji)

A tower at the historic, quake-damaged Kumamoto Castle in southern Japan -- one of the country's three premier castles and once a major tourist attraction -- has collapsed, an official said Thursday. (Japan Today)

Airbnb Inc said Thursday that it is still removing "thousands" of listings from its website for unlicensed private lodgings in Japan, as required under a new law that took effect last week to cope with a sharp increase in foreign visitors and a consequent shortage of hotel rooms. (Japan Today)

Police have arrested a 44-year-old woman on suspicion of murdering her 40-year-old brother by making it look like he committed suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning. (Japan Today)

A man who slashed three people, including one fatally, with a knife at a housing complex in Yokohama early Thursday, has been found dead after apparently committing suicide, police said. (Japan Today)

Japan's national space agency says its probe, "Hayabusa2", has less than a week to go before reaching the orbit of the asteroid Ryugu. (NHK)

The number of people who got lost in mountains in Japan stood at 3,111 last year, its highest level on record, police data showed Thursday. (Jiji)

Japan's fleet of internet-connected trucks is expected to grow by 150% to more than 500,000 in 2020 as commercial vehicle makers cater to a logistics industry suffering from a driver shortage, corporate plans show. (Nikkei)

Japan Airlines Co. on Friday kicked off flights of a passenger jet featuring Mickey Mouse and other Disney characters to mark the 35th anniversary of the opening of Tokyo Disney Resort. (Japan Times)

The effects of Monday's major earthquake in northern Osaka Prefecture are forecast to push down Japan's real gross domestic product by 183.5 billion yen, SMBC Nikko Securities Inc. has said. (Jiji)

The Japanese government on Friday adopted a set of measures to ensure the safety of children traveling to and from school, following the murder of an elementary school girl in the central Japan city of Niigata last month. (Jiji)

A lawmaker from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party has apologized for jeering at a cancer sufferer during a parliamentary hearing on the dangers of secondhand smoke. (Jiji)

Japan's antitrust watchdog will soon conclude that four-year installment payment plans for smartphones offered by major phone carriers in the country is legally problematic, sources close to the matter said Friday. (Japan Today)

Chiba Prefectural Police have arrested the principal of a special night school in Kamagaya City for allegedly trespassing into a toilet at the institution to take illicit photographs, reports the Sankei Shimbun (tokyoreporter.comt)

Japan's Financial Services Agency on Friday slapped a business improvement order on bitFlyer Inc., the country's largest cryptocurrency exchange operator, citing flaws in its measures against money laundering and its internal control system. (Jiji)

Police in Tokyo said Friday they have arrested a 37-year-old woman on suspicion of abusing her 4-year-old daughter by pressing a hot frying pan against her back and beating her about the head and face. (Japan Today)

Four cannabis plants have been found in the grounds of an office building for House of Councilors lawmakers in Tokyo, it was learned Friday. (Jiji)

A railway operator in western Japan has invited people to ride a new sightseeing train that links Tottori and Shimane prefectures on the Japan Sea coast. (NHK)

Things may be looking up for creditors of Mt. Gox, which was the world’s biggest bitcoin exchange before going in flames after saying thousands of bitcoins had disappeared. (Japan Times)

As Airbnb home-sharers in Japan quit the market in droves, following a new law that considerably increases red tape, their search for a smooth exit has brought a surge in new businesses. (Nikkei)

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