A woman and three children were found stabbed to death in a car in a park in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, on Wednesday morning. (Japan Today)
The last train schedules in and around the Japanese capital will be extended by up to two hours during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
(NHK)
The first female student was admitted to Japan’s national naval submarine academy Wednesday after the end of a ban on women on the country’s submarines. (Japan Times)
The smelt fishing season has begun at last on a frozen lake in Gunma Prefecture, central Japan. It started 10 days later than usual because of higher temperatures. (NHK)
Dangerous stunt by Japanese civil servant gets slammed online. (soranews24.com)
Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a 49-year-old man who is suspected of drugging and raping dozens of women over the past three years, reports NHK (Jan. 22). (tokyoreporter.com) A woman and three children were found stabbed to death in a car in a park in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, on Wednesday morning. (Japan Today) Dangerous stunt by Japanese civil servant gets slammed online. (soranews24.com) 
Okayama Prefectural Police are questioning a man after a woman was fatally stabbed and her husband injured at their residence in Okayama City earky Saturday, reports TV Asahi (Jan. 20). (tokyoreporter.com) 
Visitors at a Buddhist temple in western Japan marked a time-honored tradition by soaking themselves in cold water in a ritual aimed at toughening the body and soul.
(NHK) [more society news…] [society blogs…]
A group of merchants on Rakuten Inc's online shopping mall on Wednesday submitted a petition with some 4,000 signatures to the Japan Fair Trade Commission, asking it to investigate the e-commerce giant's planned "free shipping" policy. (Japan Today) 
Mitsubishi Electric says it was the victim of a major cyberattack last year. It says personal data of over 8,000 people as well as corporate information may have leaked.
(NHK) 
The founder of retail giant Lotte Holdings has died. (NHK) 
Fears are mounting that a new coronavirus identified in China may spread, not only infecting humans but also hurting the world’s second-biggest economy, which already is beset by a trade war with the United States. (Japan Times) 
Netflix, the streaming service that has shaken up Hollywood, has unleashed its brand of big-budget disruption in Japan's TV industry. (Nikkei) [more business news…] [business blogs…]
Japanese Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi has called into question Japan's financing of a coal-fired power plant in Vietnam.
(NHK) 
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday declared 2020 a “crucial year to establish a new era of Japanese diplomacy” in a speech before the Diet, vowing to tackle international issues head-on. (Japan Times) 
Japan kept unchanged its timing for balancing the primary budget on Friday, but expects to see a much smaller excess than previously thought when it hits a budget surplus, underlining the government’s struggle to rein in massive public debt. (Japan Times) 
Japanese Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, a potential future prime minister according to some opinion polls, said he became the father of a baby boy on Friday. (Kyodo) 
Japan's Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi will take childcare leave after the upcoming birth of his first baby.
(NHK) The first female student was admitted to Japan’s national naval submarine academy Wednesday after the end of a ban on women on the country’s submarines. (Japan Times) 
Japan’s oldest university continues to produce the best and the worst that the country has to offer. (soranews24.com) 
The Japanese government has decided it will not to give subsidies this fiscal year ending March to a university where a large number of foreign students have gone missing.
(NHK) 
Online streaming has been very good for the anime industry, opening flows of revenue both domestic and international by delivering the product to ravenous fans in the fastest manner possible. For a while, though, it looked like Studio Ghibli was going to stick to its “physical media-only” policy until the end of time. (soranews24.com) 
An international group of geologists on Friday formally adopted “Chibanian” as the name of a geologic age spanning 770,000 to 126,000 years ago, researchers said, marking the first time a Japanese name has been chosen. (Japan Times) [more education news…] [education blogs…]
The smelt fishing season has begun at last on a frozen lake in Gunma Prefecture, central Japan. It started 10 days later than usual because of higher temperatures. (NHK) 
The agriculture ministry will propose a new law aimed at preventing the smuggling of genetic materials, such as fertilized eggs and semen, related to wagyu cattle to other countries. (Japan Times) 
The Hiroshima High Court on Friday revoked a lower court decision and ordered Shikoku Electric Power Co. to suspend a reactor in western Japan, dealing a blow to the government's bid to bring more reactors back online after the 2011 nuclear crisis. (Kyodo) 
The report Thursday of Japan's first case of the new coronavirus that emerged in China last month has underscored issues with Tokyo's defenses against cross-border outbreaks as the region's busiest travel season of the year begins. (Nikkei) 
Wide areas along the Sea of Japan coast are experiencing a winter with record-low amounts of snow.
(NHK) [more sci-tech news…] [sci-tech blogs…]
Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a member of the Nihon University Rugby Club over the alleged possession of marijuana in Shibuya Ward, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Jan. 20). (tokyoreporter.com) 
Five major Tokyo-based private television networks will take turns airing daily coverage of the Tokyo Olympic Games this summer, sources close to the matter said Saturday. (Kyodo) 
Japanese world number one badminton player Kento Momota has been injured in a vehicle crash near Malaysia's capital Kuala Lumpur.
(NHK) 
Details of the waterfront athletes’ village for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games were revealed Thursday, with organizers emphasizing its accessibility and ease of use for para-athletes. (Japan Times) 
With snowfall at a fraction of its usual levels, this northern Japanese city may be forced to suspend an international women's ski jumping competition this month, Mayor Takahiro Sato told reporters Tuesday. (Nikkei) The last train schedules in and around the Japanese capital will be extended by up to two hours during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
(NHK) 
Quarantine officials at a port near Tokyo have conducted a drill aimed at preventing the new coronavirus linked to a pneumonia outbreak in China from spreading in Japan.
(NHK) 
After leaving Tokyo, the original life-size Gundam is establishing a new base in another major Japanese city. (soranews24.com) 
Japan will start issuing passports featuring art by ukiyoe master Katsushika Hokusai for people applying as early as February.
(NHK) 
An amazingly affordable way to see Japan and live like a local. (soranews24.com) [more travel news…] [travel blogs…]
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Author: Yasuyuki Todo, Waseda University
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“Tell me anything. I won't listen, though.”
In this world, we meet all kinds of people who love to converse about all kinds of things. While important, there are those who are unfortunate that don't have their voices heard as the louder and mor...