Aso, Park agree on building forward-looking relationship
Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso and South Korean President Park Geun Hye have agreed that Tokyo and Seoul will closely cooperate "in a forward-looking manner," with North Korea's nuclear and missile...
View ArticleGovt to bolster ban on corporal punishment
The Education Rebuilding Council, a government advisory panel chaired by Waseda University President Kaoru Kamata, has recommended enhancing the education for school club activity instructors to end...
View ArticleJapan's Diet enacts FY 2012 extra budget amid divided Diet
Japan's parliament on Tuesday enacted a 13.1 trillion yen ($140.7 billion) supplementary budget for fiscal 2012 to finance a stimulus package aimed at pulling the economy out of deflationary recession,...
View ArticleJapan confirms 5th tick-borne virus death
A man in his 60s in the southwestern Japan prefecture of Nagasaki died in autumn 2005 after developing severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome, or SFTS, due to the infection with a tick-borne...
View ArticleNew Kabuki-za theater, tower completed in Tokyo
A ceremony was held Tuesday to celebrate the completion of the new Kabuki-za theater and an adjacent office building called Kabuki-za Tower in the Higashiginza district of central Tokyo. (Japan Times)
View ArticleAKB48's new single becomes 10th straight million-seller
Japanese idol group AKB48's new single "So long!" became its 10th consecutive first-week million-seller CD, a music market research company said Tuesday. (Jiji Press)
View ArticleRecord accumulated snowfall buries northern Japan
Communities in Hokkaido and five prefectures of the Tohoku region had record levels of accumulated snow as of Feb. 25, although precipitation levels are about the same as an average year. (Asahi)
View ArticlePolice sergeant arrested on underage sex charge
A 54-year-old police sergeant in Kanagawa Prefecture has been arrested for paying a 16-year-old girl for sex. (Japan Today)
View ArticleMan stabbed on station platform after pushing dispute
Police said Wednesday that a man in his 30s was stabbed in the back on the platform at JR Kinshicho Station in Tokyo on Tuesday. (Japan Today)
View ArticleBernanke supports BOJ monetary easing
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Tuesday expressed his support for the Bank of Japan's current monetary easing policy aimed at beating the country's protracted deflation. (Jiji Press)
View ArticleWaste from reprocessed spent nuclear fuel arrives in Japan
A cargo of high-level radioactive waste produced through reprocessing of spent Japanese nuclear fuel in Britain arrived at a port in Aomori Prefecture for storage on Wednesday. (Kyodo)
View ArticleTokyo stocks close down 1.27pc, Nikkei 225 index slipped 144.84 points
Tokyo stocks closed down 1.27 percent Wednesday as the yen rose on concerns about uncertainty in Italy, while Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke said the bank would stick to its loose monetary policy....
View ArticleJapanese among 19 dead as hot air balloon explodes over Luxor
British, French, Hong Kong and Japanese nationals are among 19 tourists reportedly killed in a hot air balloon crash near the Egyptian city of Luxor. (BBC)
View ArticleGuam rampage suspect pleads not guilty due to mental illness
The 21-year-old suspect in the Feb. 12 rampage on the Pacific island of Guam that left three dead and several others injured on Wednesday pleaded not guilty by reason of mental illness. (Kyodo)
View ArticleJapan government upgrades economic assessment in February as factory output...
Japan's government raised its assessment of the economy in February for the second consecutive month, saying factory output has bottomed out and corporate sentiment is improving due to the falling yen...
View ArticleJapan's Okawa recognized as world's oldest woman
A 114-year-old Japanese woman, Misao Okawa, was recognized as the world's longest-living woman on Wednesday. (Jiji Press)
View ArticleOno city proposes ban on wasting welfare benefits on gambling
The city government of Ono in the western Japan prefecture of Hyogo on Wednesday presented to the city assembly a draft ordinance that calls for banning welfare benefit recipients from wasting the...
View ArticleChina likely to appoint expert on North Korea, Japan as foreign minister
China is likely to appoint an expert on Japan and North Korea as its next foreign minister, three independent sources said, in a measure of Beijing's resolve to improve difficult relationships with two...
View ArticleOzawa conducts choir of elementary schoolers
Conductor Seiji Ozawa performed Wednesday in public for the first time since ill health forced him to suspend his musical activities last March, conducting a choir of 340 elementary school pupils in...
View ArticleImported wheat prices to rise 9.7%
The agriculture ministry said Wednesday it will raise the prices of imported wheat it sells to private flour mills by 9.7 percent on average from April 1, reflecting rises in international market...
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