NHK -- Jul 13
Japan has lodged a protest against North Korea over an incident this month in which a ship thought to be North Korean pointed what appeared to be a gun at a Japanese Fisheries Agency patrol vessel. The incident took place inside Japan's exclusive economic zone.
Japanese government sources say the incident occurred on Friday. A patrol ship was briefly chased by a boat of unknown nationality. They say the boat pointed something resembling a gun at the Japanese vessel.
The government believes the ship was highly likely from North Korea.
Japan lodged its protest through the Japanese Embassy in Beijing, calling on the North to make sure the incident is not repeated.
The Fisheries Agency sends patrol boats to the exclusive economic zone in the Sea of Japan as part of an effort to deal with illegal fishing by boats from North Korea and other countries.
水産庁の漁業取締船が、日本海の排他的経済水域内で北朝鮮籍とみられる船の乗組員に小銃のようなものを向けられていたことが分かりました。 水産庁によりますと、今月7日、日本海の「大和堆」と呼ばれる漁場の付近で漁業取締船が不審な船を見つけました。
Jul 21
US President Donald Trump says the wife of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe doesn't speak English. (NHK) Jul 21
A Japanese horse has never won the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, the race which is regarded as the most prestigious turf contest anywhere in the world. However, Satono Diamond could be the first to land that prize later this year as the multiple-time Group One winner has been tipped by many as their fancy in October. (newsonjapan.com) Jul 21
Princess Kako, a granddaughter of Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, will study at the University of Leeds in England from September to June next year, it was reported at a cabinet meeting on Friday. (Japan Today) Jul 21
Seven female members of the Miyagi prefectural assembly on Friday asked the governor of the northeastern Japan prefecture to remove a tourism promotion video it is using on the internet, claiming it portrays women as sex objects. (Kyodo) Jul 21
In two separate cases, Tokyo Metropolitan Police have this week arrested two men suspected in dozens of bag-snatching incidents across the metropolis, reports TV Asahi. (tokyoreporter.com) Jul 21
The Tokyo District Court on Thursday handed a homeless man a prison sentence extending for three years and six months for starting a fire that damaged a number of buildings in the historic Golden Gai last year, reports Jiji Press. (tokyoreporter.com) Jul 21
An informed source in the sumo world says Mongolian Yokozuna Grand Champion Hakuho is considering the option of acquiring Japanese citizenship. The move would allow him to become a stablemaster after retirement and train younger wrestlers. (NHK) Jul 21
Japan has changed some pictogram signs used on street corners and created new ones, mainly to help foreign visitors get around more easily, the industry ministry said Thursday. (Jiji) Jul 21
A male worker for a construction company engaged in a project to construct Japan's new National Stadium, the main venue for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, committed suicide in March, a lawyer representing his bereaved relatives revealed Thursday. (Jiji) Jul 20
The number of criminal offenses reported to police in Japan in January-June fell 7.7 pct from a year earlier to 450,887, on track to hit an annual postwar low, a National Police Agency report showed Thursday. (Jiji)