Japan News

Imagine you are a Chinese tourist visiting Japan for the first time. Your travels take you to Osaka and the 40-story Umeda Sky Building, with its fine views of the city. After awhile, you look for the exit and are confronted with the following sign in Chinese: "Ni tui chu." ("You get out of here.") (Nikkei)

Japanese authorities raised the volcanic alert level for Mt Hakone on Sunday and warned people not to approach the crater, as seismic activity has been increasing in the popular hot-spring resort area near Tokyo. (Japan Today)

In recent years, we've heard a number of disturbing accounts involving teachers hitting students at Japanese schools, and this week, another disturbing case came to light, when a foreign English-language instructor was seen slapping a two-year-old child during a class at a child daycare facility. (Japan Today)

Japanese seismologists believe that nearly 99 percent of their predictions related to massive earthquakes in the Pacific off central and western Japan are likely to prove wrong, a survey conducted by Kansai University showed Sunday. (Kyodo)

Police in Hidaka town, Hokkaido, have arrested a 29-year-old man on suspicion of attempted murder after he shot his father with an arrow from a crossbow. (Japan Today)

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and U.S. President Donald Trump are expected to sign an agreement on joint lunar exploration and other space-related projects when they meet here May 27, seeking to stay a step ahead of China and other rivals. (Nikkei)

Japanese seafood company Maruha Nichiro will export fully farmed tuna to Europe, taking advantage of a recent economic partnership agreement scrapping most substantial tariffs. (Nikkei)

Officials of Japan's southwestern island town of Yakushima say all the people stranded on a mountain have descended by Sunday evening. (NHK)

Mipig Cafe, in Tokyo's trendy central Meguro neighbourhood, is the newest addition to Japan's ever-growing list of animal-themed cafes that includes cats, owls and hedgehogs. (euronews.com)

The employment rate for job seekers who graduated from universities this spring stood at 97.6 percent, government data showed Friday, in the latest sign of a widespread labor shortage amid a graying population. (Japan Times)

Japan's companies are expected to earn less in combined net profit for the year ending March 2020, as the weakening Chinese economy and the yen's strength take their toll on machinery makers and other exporters. (Nikkei)

The Japanese school year starts in April, and one high school in Tochigi Prefecture wasted no time in scheduling a two-night class trip for its new crop of first-year students. (soranews24.com)

Toyota Motor has brought back its Supra sports car after a 17-year absence. The new two-seater model was released on Friday in Japan, with its engine provided by the company's German partner, BMW. (NHK)

The messaging app giant Line Corp. said Thursday it will launch a ¥30 billion reward campaign next week to increase usage of its Line Pay service as the cashless war heats up among tech firms in Japan. (Japan Times)

A major red light district in Osaka will be closed during the Group of 20 summit in late June, the first such decision in 30 years, the local restaurant association said Thursday. (Japan Today)

The government said Thursday it plans to reduce the number of dementia patients in their 70s by 10 percent over the next decade, setting the first such numerical goal to curb growing welfare spending at a time when the Japanese population is rapidly aging. (Japan Today)

A report released by a global union federation has demanded better conditions for laborers working on the construction of Tokyo Games facilities after several "alarming" alleged labor violations were uncovered. (Japan Today)

Japan's Hayabusa2 probe has aborted its descent to asteroid Ryugu after it reached around 50 meters above the surface. The probe was supposed to drop a marker on the asteroid to prepare for another landing. (NHK)

Tokyo Prosecutors have added allegations related to another inappropriate fund transfer to the indictment of former Nissan Motor chairman Carlos Ghosn. (NHK)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a 50-year-old man over the alleged rape of a female university student whom he drugged beforehand, reports the Sankei Shimbun (tokyoreporter.com)