News On Japan

Carlos Ghosn has told Renault he intends to resign as chairman and CEO of the French automaker, Nikkei learned Wednesday, now that his detention in Japan has ruled out a quick return to France. (Nikkei)

On January 15, a 16-year-old first-year student at Tokyo’s Metropolitan Machida Sogo High School got into a heated argument with a teacher in the school hallway. Prior to the argument, the student had been disciplined for wearing an earring to school, in violation of the dress code. (Japan Today)

Graffiti on a seawall in Chiba Prefecture resembling the work of Banksy has sparked speculation on whether it is a piece by the elusive street artist and comes just about a month after another possible work by the artist was found in the nation’s capital. (Japan Times)

A 27-year-old American man has been sentenced to eight years in prison for killing a 27-year-old woman in Osaka last year, dismembering her body and dumping the parts in several locations. (Japan Today)

A nine-year-old girl who is set to become the youngest professional player of the board game go in Japan has played the world's top-ranked female player. (NHK)

President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia on Tuesday dashed Japanese hopes of a settlement any time soon to a territorial dispute that has festered since 1945, declaring after a meeting with the visiting Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan that there was still much “painstaking work” ahead. (nytimes.com)

Police in Shimotsuma, Ibaraki Prefecture, have arrested a 55-year-old unemployed man on suspicion of murder after he fatally stabbed his 86-year-old father. (Japan Today)

Tokyo health officials and police are questioning whether physical complications from being infected with the influenza virus caused a woman to fall from a platform at Nakameguro Station and be fatally struck by a train earlier this week. (Japan Today)

Chiba Prefectural Police have arrested a 32-year-old man who is alleged to have molested a woman during a fortunetelling session last year, reports TV Asahi (tokyoreporter.com)

A man has attacked and wounded a police officer at an outpost in Toyama City on the Sea of Japan coast, central Japan. Police have arrested the man on suspicion of attempted murder. (NHK)

Japan's Naomi Osaka never made it past the fourth round at any of the first 10 Grand Slam tournaments of her career. Now, still just 21, she's suddenly on the verge of a second consecutive major championship. (Japan Today)

Japan's Meteorological Agency says a cold air mass is predicted to bring heavy snow to wide areas of eastern and western Japan over the weekend. (NHK)

Japanese electronics maker Hitachi says it plans to withdraw from wind turbine production in the face of intensifying competition from foreign manufacturers. (NHK)

Japanese manga creator Rumiko Takahashi has become only the second woman to win the top prize at France's biggest graphic novel festival. (Japan Today)

A Japanese district court has sentenced a 40-year-old man to 16 years in prison for killing a university student in a road rage incident last year. (NHK)

Hashima Island in the southwestern Japan city of Nagasaki, better known as "battleship island" for its shape, will reopen to tourists on Feb. 1 after a typhoon-damaged pier and fences in a sightseeing area have been repaired, the local government said Friday. (Kyodo)

Japan's once-buoyant real estate market has seen a sharp pullback in foreign buying, sending property deals falling by a third in the second half of 2018. (Nikkei)

Grand champion Hakuho has withdrawn from the ongoing New Year Grand Sumo Tournament due to injuries, his stablemaster announced Saturday, ending his bid for a record-extending 42nd top division championship. (Kyodo)

The number of influenza patients per medical institution in Japan in the week through last Sunday hit the second-highest level since the survey started in 1999, the health ministry has said. (Japan Times)

A railway operator in northern Japan has launched an annual steam locomotive service in the eastern part of Hokkaido Prefecture. (NHK)

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