News On Japan

Japan's top wireless carrier, NTT Docomo, will lower its service charge by 20% to 40% while giving subscribers more freedom on phones, including letting them bring unlocked and secondhand devices to its network. (Nikkei)

People in western Japan are protesting against a crime syndicate for giving away Halloween treats. (NHK)

Tokyo's famous Shibuya district was flooded by costume-clad Halloween revelers on Wednesday, forcing police to dispatch several hundred officers in preparation for a possible repeat of the past weekend's antisocial behavior. (Kyodo)

Japanese consumer goods companies are increasing investment in factories at home, with an eye to exporting to China and other Asian markets where "Made in Japan" products have cachet. (Nikkei)

Kyoto's Minamiza Theater, famed for Kabuki, reopened Thursday after around two years and nine months during which it was reinforced against earthquakes. (Kyodo)

Servers for Square Enix Co.’s popular online game “Final Fantasy XIV” has been hit by a series of cyberattacks since early October, preventing some users from accessing the service, its publisher said Thursday. (Japan Times)

KDDI and Rakuten said Thursday they will share each other's assets while competing to offer services in their respective fields, as the telecom operator debuts e-commerce services and the online retailer enters the mobile space. (Nikkei)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a 34-year-old officer for allegedly engaging in illicit acts with school girls he me through a so-called “JK business,” reports Kyodo News (tokyoreporter.com)

Three members of the same family were found dead in their house Thursday in a suspected murder-suicide in Hirakata, Osaka Prefecture, police said. (Japan Times)

Japan has launched a new GPS service accurate to within several centimeters thanks to its Michibiki satellites. (NHK)

A total of 13 men were arrested as the Halloween street event in Tokyo's Shibuya district reached its climax Wednesday night, while young people were seen collecting garbage left over from the revelry on Thursday morning. (Japan Today)

Japan Airlines says one of its pilots was detained by London police last month. He was found to be under the influence of alcohol just before he was about to pilot a flight to Tokyo. (NHK)

Two Japanese Air Self-Defense Force fighter jets came into contact during a training exercise, but the pilots were unharmed. (NHK)

A journalist who was freed after being held hostage for more than 3 years in Syria is revealing new details about his experience. Jumpei Yasuda says he was kidnapped almost immediately after sneaking across the border from Turkey. His guides turned on him. (NHK)

Haruo Obata, who has been called a "super volunteer" after finding a missing 2-year-old boy in Yamaguchi Prefecture in August, has been honored by his home prefecture of Oita. (NHK)

The island, known as Esambe Hanakita Kojima was only officially surveyed and registered by the Japan Coast Guard in 1987, who couldn't even say exactly how big it was. Until recently, it rose 1.4-meter (4½ feet) above sea level, and was visible from the very northern tip of Hokkaido. But now, it has disappeared. "It is not impossible that tiny islands get weathered by the elements," a coast guard official said. The disappearance of the island "may affect Japan's territorial waters a tiny bit," she added, but only "if you conduct precision surveys." Japan pours resources into protecting its outer islands, particularly the remote Okinotori Island in the Pacific, which secures a significant portion of the nation's exclusive economic zone. (Japan Times)

Japanese government sources have told NHK the United States will allow Japan to temporarily continue importing crude oil from Iran, after the reinstatement of US sanctions. (NHK)

Local residents and tourists have flocked to a traditional autumn festival featuring colorful floats parading through Karatsu City, southwestern Japan. (NHK)

Japan's government-affiliated financial institution says the 4 major natural disasters that hit the country this year are expected to have a negative impact on the country's economy of more than 10 billion dollars. (NHK)

Toyota Motor reported record sales for the 6-month period to September thanks to demand in Asia, including China. (NHK)

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