News On Japan

Voters in Okinawa have chosen Denny Tamaki as their next governor. The former Lower House lawmaker has won Sunday's election. (NHK)

Myanmar's government launched a one-year visa-free program for Japanese and South Korean tourists Monday, in a bid to attract more visitors. (Jiji)

At the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Monday, the benchmark Nikkei Average closed at its highest level in almost 27 years. (NHK)

For anyone who is finding it difficult to quit smoking in a country which has been known as the smoking paradise, there is still hope. Aside from the smoking ban which has been recently adopted in Japan, there are a few ways to seek help, get nicotine substitutes, and be motivated to completely quit smoking. Let's take a look. (newsonjapan.com)

Tasuku Honjo, professor at Japan's Kyoto University, will be awarded the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine along with U.S. immunologist James Allison for their establishment of entirely new methods to fight cancer utilizing the immune system, Sweden's Karolinska Institute said Monday. (Jiji)

The city government of Osaka said Tuesday that it has sent a document to officially end its 61-year-old sister-city ties with San Francisco over a statue in the U.S. city symbolizing the issue of "comfort women" for Japanese soldiers during World War II. (Jiji)

A woman injured a man after she made a fatal leap from a building Shinjuku Ward in an apparent suicide on Tuesday, police said, reports NHK (tokyoreporter.com)

A head that appeared to have been deliberately severed from its body was found near the coast close to the town of Kujukuri in Chiba Prefecture on Tuesday, only several kilometers away from where a limbless body of a woman was found last month, investigative sources said. (Japan Times)

Japan's prime minister has reshuffled his Cabinet. Shinzo Abe appointed a dozen first-time ministers, while keeping several central roles unchanged. It follows his re-election as Liberal Democratic Party leader last month, where he won a third and final term despite recent scandals. (NHK)

A 30-year-old man, who was at large for nearly seven weeks after escaping from a police station in Osaka Prefecture in mid-August, masqueraded as a cycle tourist, spun a web of lies and stole basic goods including clothes and a bicycle, investigative sources said Wednesday. (Japan Times)

The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday took action to sanction two companies and four individuals linked to the major Japanese yakuza crime syndicate Yamaguchi-gumi. (Jiji)

Part of a theme park based on the Moomin series of children's books is to open near Tokyo next month. (NHK)

Police in Tokyo are looking for two men who injured three people with pepper spray in Ueno on Sept 29. (Japan Today)

Weather officials say Typhoon Kong-rey is large and very strong and will come close to islands in Okinawa Prefecture on Thursday night. (NHK)

A man carrying more than 50 million yen in cash was mugged on a road in Osaka City’s Yodogawa Ward on Wednesday, police said, reports Sankei Sports (tokyoreporter.com)

Japanese telecom firm Softbank is partnering with Toyota for a venture that could help to usher in a new era of mobility. They want to use automated driving to transform the way people move around and the services they enjoy. (NHK)

Sumo wrestler Takanoiwa filed a lawsuit Thursday seeking ¥24 million ($210,000) in damages from Harumafuji, claiming the former yokozuna’s assault last year forced him to miss matches due to injuries and caused him financial loss. (Japan Times)

Kyoto has topped a ranking of major Japanese cities as measured by criteria such as livability and economy, according to a survey by a think tank affiliated with major real estate developer Mori Building Co. (Japan Times)

Japan will not send any Maritime Self-Defense Force vessels to an international fleet review to be held in South Korea on Thursday, due to a South Korean request not to display the MSDF's rising sun flag during the event, Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya said Friday. (Jiji)

Japan is on of the most technologically advanced countries. In fact, it exports technology to different parts of the world. The country had disappeared from economic forums when the stock market crashed in early 1990s, however now even market leaders agree that Japan is far ahead in the race when it comes to tech. (newsonjapan.com)

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