News On Japan

Japan's space agency says it will postpone landing its Hayabusa2 probe on the asteroid Ryugu until at least next January. The landing was planned for late October. (NHK)

In one of the most shocking scandals to hit Tokyo’s 149-year-old war-linked Yasukuni Shrine, the shrine’s top priest has been forced to resign after admitting his reported remarks harshly criticizing Emperor Akihito were genuine. (Japan Times)

The head of NHK said Friday the Japanese public broadcaster aims to lower its subscription fees, possibly from fiscal 2019, after a government panel made it a condition for the company to start simultaneous online streaming of its television programs. (Japan Today)

The family of a pop group member promoting agriculture in western Japan who hanged herself in March sued officials of her talent agency for damages on Friday, claiming their harassment and overwork caused her death. (Japan Today)

A education ministry survey has found that more universities with medical departments in Japan are suspected of rigging entrance examination results, education minister Masahiko Shibayama said Friday. (Jiji)

The Japanese government presented Friday an outline for a planned residence status program for foreign workers, which it aims to introduce in April next year. (Jiji)

Police in Sakai, Osaka, plan to charge a 44-year-old woman, already under arrest for killing her 40-year-old brother by making it look like he committed suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning, with the murder of her father by withholding his insulin. (Japan Today)

The government will announce an ambitious plan aimed at cutting disposable plastic waste by 25 percent over the next decade while promoting environmentally friendly bioplastics made from plants, sources said Saturday. (Japan Times)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a male doctor who has been accused of using a so-called “JK business” for an illicit encounter with a teenage girl earlier this year, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Oct. 11). (tokyoreporter.com)

The fine balance between lush greenery and vibrant city makes Kushiro a nature lover’s paradise. (soranews24.com)

The government will introduce an electronic system for tourist visa applications in April 2020 in an effort to help achieve its goal of 60 million foreign visitors a year by 2030, government sources said Sunday. (Japan Times)

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has decided to increase the consumption tax rate from 8 pct to 10 pct in October next year as planned to secure funds to carry out programs to realize a social security system that will be beneficial for all generations, sources close to him said Sunday. (Jiji)

The Japanese government is looking at how to minimize the impact of the tax hike. (NHK)

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga says Facebook has informed the government that its recent massive data leak could involve Japanese users. (NHK)

The Imperial Household Agency said Monday it will jointly excavate Japan’s largest ancient mounded tomb with a local government for the first time. (Japan Times)

Showa University in Tokyo admitted Monday that its medical school has been rigging entrance examination results in favor of first- and second-time test takers, while putting former students' children high on waiting lists to fill vacancies. (Jiji)

An unmanned store using artificial intelligence instead of cashiers is set to open on a trial basis at a station in Tokyo. (NHK)

Gunma Prefecture says its helicopter that crashed in August is suspected to have been flying in violation of civil aviation laws. (NHK)

Keisuke Fukuchi, the 2018 world champion of the Othello board game and the youngest ever at 11, was congratulated and surprised while on his return flight to Japan after the competition in Prague as the pilot revealed via intercom that he was the previous record holder. (Kyodo)

A Tokyo court has begun questioning 3 former executives of Tokyo Electric Power Company about their involvement in the 2011 nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant. (NHK)

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