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Updated: 57 min 10 sec ago
Tokyo High Court upholds ruling calling city of Saitama’s refusal to publish pacifist haiku ‘unfair’
The Tokyo High Court on Friday upheld a district court ruling that called “unfair” the city of Saitama’s refusal to publish a haiku which referred ...
Hello Kitty bullet train to debut in Japan on June 30
West Japan Railway Co. said Friday it will begin operating a Hello Kitty-themed shinkansen on June 30.The interior and seats of the 500-series shinkansen, to ...
Fukushima tops national sake competition for record-setting sixth year
Fukushima Prefecture is home to the largest number of award-winning sake brands for the sixth year in a row, marking a record in an annual ...
Nobuhisa Sagawa, key figure in Moritomo scandal, won’t face indictment: sources
Prosecutors in Osaka have decided not to indict Nobuhisa Sagawa, the former head of the National Tax Agency, and other government officials suspected of falsifying ...
46 rescued from forced prostitution or labor in Japan in 2017
Forty-six victims of human trafficking were rescued from forced prostitution or forced labor in Japan in 2017, down slightly from the 50 assisted during the ...
Suicidal suspect held after fatal stabbing at Nagoya manga cafe
A 22-year-old man allegedly stabbed a stranger to death at a manga cafe in central Nagoya late Thursday after becoming frustrated that he was unable ...
Gov. Yuriko Koike launches panel to oppose diversion of Tokyo tax revenue to other municipalities
Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike plans to launch a new expert panel, probably early next month, to counter central government plans to allocate more of the ...
Over 383,000 documents classified under Japan’s state secrets law by end of 2017
The government had 517 designated state secrets at the end of 2017, with the number of administrative documents containing them totaling 383,733, a government report ...
Dispatch of SDF members to U.N. Mission in South Sudan extended until May 2019
The government said Friday it has extended the dispatch of four Self-Defense Forces members to the headquarters of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in South ...
Aspiring brewer taps Fukushima town’s hops in bid to boost sagging farming industry
“I can’t wait to drink delicious beer made from homegrown hops,” Makoto Honma, the president of Hop Japan Inc., told farmers with a smile in ...
Abandoned rail lines in Japan are attracting new fans seeking nostalgia, scenery and fun
Admiring the decaying beauty of abandoned railroads is just one of myriad hobbies Japan’s railway enthusiasts indulge in.But fueled by a broadening appreciation for the ...
Only 1% of Japan’s largest coral reef is healthy, study finds
Japan’s largest coral reef has not recovered from bleaching due to rising sea temperatures, with only 1 percent of the reef in a healthy condition, ...
Departing ICJ Judge Hisashi Owada stresses importance of UNSC working with court to maintain peace
Japan’s departing and long-serving International Court of Justice Judge Hisashi Owada said Thursday it is critical for the U.N. Security Council to work in concert ...
Japan on U.S. list of nations noncompliant with Hague treaty on cross-border parental child abductions
The U.S. State Department on Wednesday listed Japan as one of the countries showing a pattern of noncompliance with the so-called Hague treaty, which sets ...
U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis eyes visit to Japan in late June to discuss North Korea
U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is likely to visit Japan in late June for talks on North Korea with his Japanese counterpart Itsunori Onodera, sources ...
Number of foreign visitors to Japan from January to April tops 10 million
The estimated number of foreign visitors to Japan from January to April topped 10 million and reached the threshold at the fastest pace on record, ...
Ruling LDP approves bill to ban trade of umbilical cord blood in Japan
A Liberal Democratic Party policy research division on health affairs approved Thursday a draft bill to ban transactions of umbilical cord blood in the nation, ...
Japan likely to announce name for next Imperial era around April 1, 2019: Suga
The government is likely to announce the name of the next Imperial era around April 1, 2019, a month before Crown Prince Naruhito becomes the ...
Japan survey suggests 96% of sexually harassed media workers are targeted more than once
A total of 102 people working in the media industry said they have experienced sexual harassment, and 96 percent of them responded that they were ...
Man arrested for allegedly selling counterfeit Tokyo Olympic coins
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department has arrested a man on suspicion of selling counterfeit 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic commemorative coins.Yasuhiro Kotani, 43, was arrested ...