Japan News

The Japanese organizer of the World Cup sailing competition has been criticized for including a dolphin show in the opening ceremony of the event, which doubles as the first test competition for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics Games. (Kyodo)

A Japanese government task force on measures to cope with ash fall in the greater Tokyo area from a possible major eruption of Mount Fuji held its first meeting on Tuesday. (Jiji)

Osaka's tourism has been hit hard as last week's typhoon ripped through western Japan causing a partial closure and reduced flights at Kansai International Airport. (Japan Today)

Sharp Corp's RoBoHon, a small humanoid robot with artificial intelligence features, will accompany tourists in taxis in Kyoto and offer sightseeing guidance in Japanese, Chinese and English from Sept 22, the service providers said Tuesday. (Japan Today)

Japanese chipmaker Renesas Electronics has announced it's going to buy the US company Integrated Device Technology. (NHK)

A survey by Japan's health ministry has found that the percent of people in the country who smoke has fallen to new lows. (NHK)

Japan's Crown Prince Naruhito has expressed hope for the further development of friendly ties with France in a speech he delivered in Paris. (NHK)

Elderly men who go out less than once a week are more likely to suffer poor nutrition than those who leave their house more often, a health ministry survey for 2017 showed Tuesday. (Jiji)

One week after a violent typhoon struck western Japan, Kansai International Airport in Osaka Prefecture is still suffering heavily from the damage as a large part of the airport's facilities remain out of operation. (Jiji)

For some time now, schools in Japan have been feeling the crunch of their aging society, and the plummeting number of potential students that come with it. (Japan Today)

The mayor of the eastern Japan town of Minakami tendered his resignation Monday after sexual harassment allegations against him have made the passage of a no-confidence motion in the local assembly almost inevitable. (Japan Today)

Japanese Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Ken Saito on Monday approved the opening of the Toyosu new wholesale food market in Tokyo's Koto Ward to succeed the iconic but aging Tsukiji market in neighboring Chuo Ward in the capital. (Jiji)

Public prosecutors indicted a 27-year-old man on Monday for the alleged robbery-murders of nine people at his apartment in Zama, Kanagawa Prefecture, southwest of Tokyo. (Jiji)

The operator of Kansai International Airport in western Japan aims to partially reopen one of the 2 terminals this week following a blackout caused by last week's powerful typhoon. (NHK)

Rugby World Cup 2019 has announced that Prince Akishino has accepted the request of the Rugby World Cup 2019 Organising Committee to assume the role of Honorary Patron to the tournament. (Japan Today)

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin have concluded their meeting in Russia's Far East. They agreed to draw up a schedule of joint economic projects on the islands known as the Northern Territories. (NHK)

The death toll from last week's earthquake has risen to 41 after police found the body of a 56-year-old man who'd been trapped under fallen books at his home. (NHK)

Naomi Osaka became the first Japanese to win a Grand Slam tennis singles title Sunday at the U.S. Open, sparking celebrations among her family and compatriots. (Kyodo)

Saitama Prefectural Police have arrested a 35-year-old woman for abandoning the corpse of her infant in a coin-operated locker at a railway station in Sakado City last month, reports TBS News (tokyoreporter.com)

Media personnel have been allowed to visit an underground astrophysics observatory for the first time in 12 years. (NHK)