| May 08 | Man arrested over Osaka hit-and-runs says he was high on legal 'herb' |
 A man arrested in connection with six hit-and-runs here, which left two women injured, has told police he does not remember striking people with his car as he was under the influence of a legal herb. (Mainichi  ) |
| May 08 | Japanese royalty to visit England |
 Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko will travel to Britain this month for Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee, the Japanese government said Tuesday. (UPI ) |
| May 08 | 2 buried alive on golf course, 1 dead |
 Two employees at a golf course in Ikeda, Osaka, were buried alive Monday while excavating. (NewsOnJapan.com ) |
| May 08 | Low autopsy rate seen abetting murderers |
| Kanae Kijima, recently sentenced to hang for killing three boyfriends, may have been arrested before the second and third murders if police had conducted an autopsy on the first victim, Takao Terada, who was found dead in his Tokyo home in 2009. (Japan Times) |
| May 07 | Cameras catch driver hitting 2 women |
 Security cameras caught a driver hitting two women at a shopping center in Osaka on Monday, before speeding away without stopping. (NewsOnJapan.com ) |
| May 07 | 8-year-old girl run over, killed by bus; driver arrested |
 Police said Monday they have arrested a bus driver in Tokyo over the death of an eight-year-old girl who was fatally struck by his bus in Edogawa Ward. (Japan Today ) |
| May 07 | Sex shop worker 'falls' from Tokyo building |
 A sex shop employee was found dead early Monday morning in front of a multi-story building in Shinagawa ward, according to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. (NewsOnJapan.com ) |
| May 07 | Yakuza gangs and cops continue battle for Fukuoka |
| At around 7 a.m. on April 19, a gunman on a motorbike fires and strikes the left hip and thigh of a man in a business suit walking to work through a residential neighborhood in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture. An office lady looks on in horror, and then quickly dials for help as the injured man leans up against a wall, his face exhibiting obvious pain. The victim is 61-year-old Yasuo Hiroishi, a former detective with the Fukuoka prefectural police. His injuries are expected to require one month for recovery. Friday (May 11-18) reports that the incident is just the latest in the ongoing battle between police and organized crime. (Tokyo Reporter) |
| May 07 | Lady Gaga cup raises $75,000 for Japan quake relief |
 Singer Lady Gaga raised 6 million yen ($75,000) as part of a U.S.-sponsored effort to support Japan's recovery from last year's earthquake and tsunami by auctioning off a tea cup with her autograph and a lipstick kiss. (BusinessWeek ) |
| May 06 | Snowstorm in Japan's Alps kills eight climbers |
 Eight elderly mountaineers who went missing in Japan's Northern Alps following a snowstorm were confirmed dead on Saturday after some of them were evacuated by helicopter, police said.
(AFP ) |
| May 06 | Woman found dead in multiple hit-and-run |
 A 70 year old woman's body was found Sunday on a street in Sagamihara city, Kanagawa prefecture, showing the remains of multiple tire tracks on it, police said. (NewsOnJapan.com ) |
| May 06 | Weeklies take a look at faiths, (misplaced) hopes and charities |
| Which religious groups were most successful in raising funds for earthquake victims in the devastated parts of Tohoku? In its Golden Week double issue, Flash (May 8-15) ran an article about the heretofore unreported nexus between last year's disaster and religion. (Japan Times) |
| May 06 | Gal's catching kid brother with pants down initiates invitation to incest |
| "My younger brother, who's three years younger than me, has become a close companion, and these days we talk with each other about everything. That's why I know he's a bit flaky. Sometimes I would hear him making strange noises from his bed that sounded like ragged breathing, and afterwards found porn mags under the bed. (Tokyo Reporter) |
| May 06 | Japan now spends more on bread than rice |
| For thousands of years, it has been a staple ingredient in Japan's daily diet and a symbol of the nation's connection to nature. But now rice has been eclipsed by the rise of bread with consumers spending more on the western import last year for the first time. (ottawacitizen.com) |
| May 05 | Rain sparks evacuations in Japan's tsunami zone |
| ) |
| May 04 | Man caught red-handed molesting schoolgirl |
 A 69 year old man has been arrested for molesting a high school girl while watching a parade at Hakata Dontaku on Wednesday, according to police. (ANNNews ) |
| May 04 | Fishing boat from Kesennuma found in Kagoshima island |
 A fishing boat that was swept away by the deadly tsunami in March last year from Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, has been found on a rocky stretch of Kikai Island in Kagoshima Prefecture, some 1,600 kilometers away from the disaster-hit city, the coast guard service said Friday. (Mainichi ) |
| May 04 | To nuzzle Nippon's biggest busts, go to Gifu and Kyoto |
| Weekly Playboy (May 14) is a magazine that certainly knows how to delight its male readers. This time it has tracked down some serious statistical number-crunching to determine which of Japan's 47 prefectures can boast the mademoiselles with the most magnificent mammaries. A nationwide survey conducted in 1992 by the government determined that average bust size among 17-year-old girls was 82.3 centimeters, although women in northeast Japan averaged over 83. (Tokyo Reporter) |
| May 04 | SMAP equals top 10 singles record for male artists |
 Pop group SMAP has made history with its latest single "Sakasama no Sora," the group's 25th No. 1 single. (Japan Today ) |
| May 04 | Ratio of unmarried men at 50 grows to over 20% |
| The ratio of lifetime unmarried Japanese--the percentage of people who remain unmarried at the age of 50--rose to a record high of 20.1 percent among men and 10.6 percent among women as of 2010, it has been learned. (Yomiuri) |
| May 03 | Famed Buddhist nun in antinuclear hunger strike |
| ) |
| May 03 | Tokyo hooker club busted for operating from apartments, government employee arrested |
| Tokyo Metropolitan Police announced on Wednesday the arrest of a 61-year-old government employee for allowing the operation of prostitution services from residences in Toshima Ward, reports the Sankei Shimbun (May 2). Isami Kishinami, a staff member at the government organization Waste Management Federation of Tokyo's 23 Wards, was taken into custody by officers from the peace preservation division for violating the Law Regulating Adult Entertainment Businesses regarding operating a business in a prohibited area. (Tokyo Reporter) |
| May 03 | Pet parakeet returned to Japanese owner after telling police his address |
 A pet parakeet was returned to its Japanese owner Wednesday after the brainy bird told police its home address near Tokyo.
The male bird, called Piko-chan, escaped early Sunday morning from his home in the city of Sagamihara and remained at large before being coaxed into perching on the shoulder of a guest at a nearby hotel. (myfoxdfw.com ) |
| May 03 | One-third of married Japanese women are victims of domestic abuse |
| A recent Cabinet Office survey in Japan shows that 32.9 percent of married women or women who have been married in the past have experienced domestic abuse, such as physical harm or psychological harassment. (standard.net) |
| May 03 | MPD to set area-wide speed limit of 30 kph |
 Amid a spate of fatal car accidents across the nation involving children walking to school, the Metropolitan Police Department has decided to impose a speed limit of 30 kph on all roads in 37 residential areas of Tokyo beginning this fiscal year. (Yomiuri ) |
| May 03 | Driver 'didn't know names of interchanges' |
| The driver of the bus that crashed on the Kanetsu Expressway, killing seven people, said he was asleep at the time of the crash and that he did not know the names of interchanges and service areas, according to police. (Yomiuri) |
| May 02 | 1 in 4 Japanese has thought of suicide |
 The Cabinet Office said Wednesday in announcing the results of a government survey that 1 out of 4 Japanese adults has contemplated suicide, with young people more prone to such thoughts than others. (Japan Times ) |
| May 02 | 3 million middle-aged 'parasite singles' in Japan: gov't statistics |
| There are about 3 million unmarried people aged between 35 and 44 in Japan who live with their parents, and 11.5 percent of the so-called middle-aged "parasite singles" don't have jobs, according to data released by the Statistical Research and Training Institute at the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. (Mainichi) |
| May 02 | Driver arrested over accident |
 The Gunma prefectural police arrested Tuesday the driver of a tour bus involved in an accident that left seven dead and 39 injured.
Kazan Kono, 43, was arrested on suspicion of causing death and injury through negligent driving.
(Yomiuri ) |
| May 02 | 25 percent of foreigners living in Tokyo left Japan temporarily after March 11 quake |
| Twenty five percent of foreigners living in Tokyo left the country temporarily following the March 11, 2011 disasters, according to a recent Tokyo Metropolitan Government survey. The survey was conducted between October and November 2011 as part of the metropolitan government's efforts to re-examine the way information is delivered to foreigners residing in the capital in case of a disaster. (Mainichi) |
| May 02 | Japan goes tie-free for power saving 'Cool Biz' campaign |
 A month earlier than last year, Japan has launched its annual "Cool Biz" campaign to save electricity during summer.
The initiative allows civil servants to work tie-free and with their sleeves rolled up.
(BBC ) |
| May 02 | Emperor plays tennis for first time since heart surgery |
 Emperor Akihito played tennis Sunday and Monday for the first time since undergoing heart bypass surgery in February, Imperial Household Agency sources said Tuesday.
(Japan Times ) |
| May 01 | Probe into Japanese bathtub fatalities after 14,000 die in one year |
| Japan's health ministry is to launch an investigation into bath-time fatalities after it was estimated that 14,000 people die every year in the tub - three times as many as those who died in car accidents. (todayonline.com) |
| May 01 | Porn star Sola Aoi targeted on Twitter after tiff in China |
| An incensed user of social-networking site Twitter has made a public plea requesting that the account of adult video actress (AV) Aoi Sora be terminated, reports Shukan Jitsuwa (May 10-17). A man in his 40s, claiming to be a writer and critic of topics related to education, raised concerns about the 28-year-old former AV actress - now a mainstream entertainer in China - maintaining a high-profile presence on Twitter. (Tokyo Reporter) |
| May 01 | Man's remains found in burned-out car in Odawara |
 Police said Tuesday that the remains of a man were found in the burned-out wreckage of a minicar in Odawara, Kanagawa Prefecture, late Monday night.
(Japan Today ) |
| May 01 | Two slayings taint Golden Week in Nagoya and Chiba |
 A man and a woman were found slain Monday, in Nagoya and in Chiba Prefecture.
The man was found lying on a street in Nagoya's Meito Ward with about a dozen stab wounds. He was declared dead at a hospital early Monday, police said. (Japan Times ) |
| May 01 | Lady Gaga teacup hits $50,000 and rising in Japan |
 Fans bidding in a charity online auction to buy a teacup used once by pop diva Lady Gaga had offered more than four million yen ($50,000) by Tuesday, with five days left before the hammer falls. (AFP) |
| May 01 | 90-year-old woman dies after being attacked by dog in Yamanashi |
 A 90-year-old woman died after being attacked by a Tosa dog in Fuefuki, Yamanashi Prefecture, on Monday.
According to police, the woman, Masaru Kobayashi, was talking with a friend on the sidewalk at about 2:30 p.m. when the 2-year-old dog, which was being walked by its owner, slipped out of its collar, NTV reported.
(Japan Today ) |
| May 01 | Bus operator raided over fatal highway crash |
 Police raided Monday the operator of a chartered bus that crashed on the Kanetsu Expressway in Gunma Prefecture the previous day, killing seven passengers and injuring 39.
Investigators from the Gunma prefectural highway police entered the offices of the bus operator, Rikuentai, in Inzai, Chiba Prefecture, and related places to search for evidence regarding the firm's possible negligence leading to the fatal accident. (Yomiuri ) |
| May 01 | Man sentenced to 21 months in prison for smuggling turtles from Japan to US in snack boxes |
| A man accused of smuggling dozens of live turtles and tortoises from Japan into the U.S. by hiding them in snack food boxes was sentenced Monday to nearly two years in prison. (Washington Post) |
| Apr 30 | Woman injured after bolt falls from rollercoaster in Yamanashi |
 Police said Monday that a woman was injured at Fujikyu Highland in Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi Prefecture, on Sunday after a bolt fell from a rollercoaster.
(Japan Today ) |
| Apr 30 | 2-month-old baby boy drowns in Nagano river |
 Police said Monday they are investigating the circumstances in which a 2-month-old baby boy drowned on Saturday after he fell into a river in Nagano Prefecture.
(Japan Today ) |
| Apr 30 | 4,110 people to get spring decorations |
| Writer Taichi Sakaiya, 76, and actress Shima Iwashita, 71, are among the 4,110 recipients of this year's spring decorations for their contributions to society, the government said Sunday. Sakaiya and three others have been chosen to receive this spring's highest award, the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun. (Yomiuri) |
| Apr 30 | Yakuza arrested for claiming sex-shop payment was for dining |
| The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department Organized Crime Control Division General Affair Division arrested three members of the Inagawa-kai, Japan's third largest organized crime group, on April 27th for computer fraud. (japansubculture.com) |
| Apr 30 | Why some Japanese young people have no interest in sex |
 It's no secret that Japan is currently experiencing a bit of trouble in the bedroom. Earlier this year, a survey indicating that a 1/3rd of young people in Japan have no interest in sex or relationships made world headlines. Even scarier, the number of people said to be dropping out of one of nature's most basic drives (can you imagine having no interest in food, for example?) seem to be increasing annually.
(crunchyroll.com) |
| Apr 29 | Foreigners to start getting notices for new registry system |
| Foreign residents will start receiving government notices in May asking them to confirm their identities before the residence registration system for foreigners is merged with the national one in July, the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry said. (Japan Times) |
| Apr 28 | The exquisitely carnal pleasures of a Golden Week motor trip |
| "There are too damn many of these outrageous people incurring on our oasis!" explodes a 45-year-old tank truck driver to Shukan Taishu (May 7-14). He's upset because the parking area where he and his fellow drivers pull off the road to doze and relax is being turned into a "sex haven." "Last year's Golden Week was particularly awful," he continues. "A lot more of my mates were sleeping in their trucks to save money, and the parking lots were crammed full of regular passenger car drivers and their girlfriends who were getting it on in their cars." (Tokyo Reporter) |
| Apr 28 | Massive landslide in Hokkaido leaves railway tracks hanging in midair |
 Services on a train line here have been seriously disrupted after a massive landslide along a railway embankment, probably due to snowmelt, left part of the line's tracks hanging in the air.
(Mainichi ) |
| Apr 28 | City official accused of forcing teen girls to send obscene photos |
 Under suspicion of violating the law against juvenile porno, Ochiai Koji, a staff member of Narashi city in Chiba Prefecture who works at an elementary school within the city, was arrested. He is also suspected of forcing a 15 year old girl in who lives in Kanagawa prefecture to take 4 naked and other obscene pictures and send it to his mobile phone which he saved.
(tbsnews ) |
| Apr 28 | Yakuza boss arrested in Philippines |
 The boss of a yakuza gang and his wives were arrested for suspicions of operating a Philippine pub without a license. The 3 accused, Yakuza gang boss Ito Ukatsuhiko and his wives Maria Ito and Koldova Mercedes, were suspected of running a Philippine pub in the Adachi ward of Tokyo without a license.
(FNN ) |