Mainichi Daily News

Japanese researchers have uncovered the process by which the controversial drug thalidomide, which has been re-approved in Japan for cancer treatment, causes birth defects -- a finding that could lead to the development of safer drugs.

SADO, Niigata -- A pair of Japanese crested ibises here has been observed engaging in courtship behavior, raising hopes for the first-ever successful pairing among ibises released into the wild in Japan, the Ministry of the Environment announced on Thursday.

The child-care allowance bill, in which parents or guardians would be granted a monthly allowance of 13,000 yen per child until they reach junior high school age, was passed by a majority in the House of Representatives Health, Labor and Welfare Committee on Friday.

YOKOHAMA -- "CP+," one of Asia's largest digital camera trade shows, kicked off at Pacifico Yokohama here on Thursday, with exhibitors touting the user-friendly features of their latest offerings.

A senior Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) lawmaker may face tax evasion allegations after part of his home compound was found to have been illegally converted from farmland.

The issue of Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin tuna is to be discussed at a meeting on the United Nations Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) -- also known as the Washington Convention, which prohibits the international trade of endangered wild species and has been signed by 175 countries -- that is set to begin in Qatar on Saturday.

The Japan Coast Guard arrested a New Zealand anti-whaling activist for illegally boarding a Japanese whaling vessel in Antarctic waters, as the vessel returned to Japan on Friday.

KAMAKURA, Kanagawa -- Tsurugaoka Hachimangu shrine here plans to restore a 1,000-year-old giant ginkgo tree, which was knocked down by strong winds earlier this week.

SAYO, Hyogo -- A nurse who has admitted breaking the bones of six patients because she felt "irritated" has been arrested, police said.

Jaywalk vocalist Koichi Nakamura, who was arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of drug possession, has told police he started to use stimulants about a year ago, it's been learned.

A ministerial committee has drawn up a draft bill to combat global warming emphasizing total emissions volume control, avoiding specific company caps and mollifying critics in the industrial sector.

The Japan Coast Guard has obtained an arrest warrant for a member of the Sea Shepherd anti-whaling organization on suspicion of trespassing onto a Japanese whaling ship in Antarctic waters, it has been learned.

In a world first, a team of Japanese researchers has succeeded in transmitting electric signals through insulators using magnetism -- a technology which could spell energy savings of 80 percent in integrated circuit chips.

KOFU -- An orchid grower here will launch Japan's first "flower resurrection" service in April, which will bring customers' dead orchids back into bloom.

Three teenagers have been arrested for stealing a signboard and other equipments from the set of a TV drama featuring popular all-girl J-pop group AKB48, police said on Thursday.

Lawyer Kenji Utsunomiya, 63, has been elected the next president of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations (JFBA).

An entire century after International Women's Day was established, 35 years after it gained official United Nations sponsorship, and 33 years after the U.N.

In an apparent world first, Japanese researchers have succeeded in producing intestine from induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, which can develop into various types of cells in the body.

loon's cryin a split secondmy moonlit biography--ed markowski (Auburn Hills, MI, USA)

The sly fox peeks outOf the freshly cut grass andHis eyes turn to slit--Chi Natsume (Santa Fe, NM, USA)