News On Japan

The number of foreign visitors to Japan has dropped for the first time in more than 5 years as natural disasters prompted many tourists to cancel trips in September. (NHK)

Police in Hiroshima, western Japan, are investigating graffiti found at 3 places in the Peace Memorial Park. The park is home to the landmark Atomic Bomb Dome, which was damaged in the 1945 bombing. (NHK)

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed Wednesday to step up their countries' cooperation in promoting stability in the Indo-Pacific region where China has been increasing its influence. (Kyodo)

Kanagawa Prefectural Police have arrested a popular male Keio University student over the alleged rape of an intoxicated woman in Yokohama last month, reports the Sankei Shimbun (tokyoreporter.com)

Preferred Networks Inc., a Japanese venture specializing in artificial intelligence, unveiled on Tuesday a fully autonomous tidying-up robot for home use. (Kyodo)

A raccoon spotted in a busy entertainment district has drawn huge attention from passing pedestrians in central Tokyo. (NHK)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a teenage boy who seriously injured a male acquaintance by striking him with a metal baseball bat in Kita Ward earlier this year, reports TV Asahi (tokyoreporter.com)

More than 1,100 rubella cases have been reported this year in Japan, raising concern about serious health impacts on unborn babies who could be infected with the disease by their mothers during pregnancy, a national institute said Tuesday. (Japan Today)

The landmark Tokyo Skytree tower, facilities for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games and more government offices are among the nearly 1,000 buildings using earthquake shock absorbers produced by KYB Corp, which admitted cheating quality inspection data for more than a decade, officials said Wednesday. (Japan Today)

For years, electronics giants have been developing smartphones with increasingly larger screens. Bucking the trend for phones to be bigger and flashier is a handset set to debut next month from NTT Docomo Inc. that can fit in your business card case. (Japan Times)

A ski resort at Mount Rokko in western Japan has begun work to make artificial snow for a ski slope, one month before its opening for the season. (NHK)

An international team of researchers has given the name Godzilla to one of what it calls the modern constellations. The monster is among the most popular film characters created in Japan. (NHK)

Investors who collectively placed approximately 100,000 failed share trades may seek compensation after a systems glitch at the Tokyo Stock Exchange last week left some 40 brokerages temporarily unable to place orders, sources said Thursday. (Japan Times)

Japan is known for its ever-growing list of unique KitKat flavors, but now Nestle Japan Ltd. is taking its premium version of the chocolate bar to the next level -- a new specialty shop in downtown Osaka offering customers made-to-order creations that are chilled at the spot by liquid nitrogen. (Kyodo)

Thursday marks a week since Tokyo's new wholesale food market opened at Toyosu. The new market was initially beset by traffic jams, but wholesalers and buyers are gradually learning how to get around. (NHK)

Around 70 Japanese lawmakers from both ruling and opposition parties visited the war-linked Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo during its annual autumn festival Thursday, a day after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sent a ritual offering to the shrine. (Japan Times)

The Supreme Court said Wednesday it will reprimand a 52-year-old judge for his controversial social media post earlier this year, marking a first in Japan. (Japan Times)

Just two weeks into her appointment, the only female minister in Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s new Cabinet found herself in hot water Thursday after a weekly magazine alleged that she was paid to use her bureaucratic influence to get a tax break for a business owner in 2015. (Japan Times)

Yokozuna Hakuho underwent successful endoscopic surgery on his right knee at a hospital in Tokyo on Thursday, sources close to his Miyagino stable said. (Japan Times)

Tokyo's Shibuya Ward is asking people not to disturb others when celebrating Halloween. (NHK)

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