One month has passed since record rain brought by a strong typhoon caused extensive damage in much of Japan.
(NHK)
Two days after he fled in Osaka Prefecture, prosecutors on Monday caught a man indicted on drug charges who escaped while being transferred to police custody after his bail was revoked. (Japan Times)
On Thursday evening, Emperor Naruhito will dress in pure white robes and be ushered into a dark wooden hall for his last major enthronement rite: spending the night with a "goddess." (Japan Today)
Japan's new Emperor and Empress enthralled people in Tokyo and around the nation with a lavish procession through the streets of the capital.
(NHK)
The suspect in a deadly arson attack in July on a Kyoto Animation Co studio has been questioned by police for the first time as he recovers from severe burns, investigative sources said Saturday. (Japan Today)
Six people, including four nursery school children, were injured Monday after a vehicle plowed into them at a pedestrian crossing in Hachioji, in western Tokyo, police said. (Japan Times) One month has passed since record rain brought by a strong typhoon caused extensive damage in much of Japan.
(NHK) Two days after he fled in Osaka Prefecture, prosecutors on Monday caught a man indicted on drug charges who escaped while being transferred to police custody after his bail was revoked. (Japan Times) The suspect in a deadly arson attack in July on a Kyoto Animation Co studio has been questioned by police for the first time as he recovers from severe burns, investigative sources said Saturday. (Japan Today) 
A 55-year-old man was found dead in his home in western Tokyo on Friday with more than 30 stab wounds while the property appeared to have been ransacked, police said. (Japan Today) [more society news…] [society blogs…]
The season's first haul of snow crabs, a winter delicacy, has fetched record prices at a port in western Japan.
(NHK) 
SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son said Wednesday he made a "poor" decision investing in U.S. office sharing company WeWork at a $47 billion valuation, which led to the worst financial performance in the company's history. (Nikkei) 
The number of visitors to the 46th Tokyo Motor Show totaled 1.3 million, topping 1 million for the first time in 12 years, the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, the main organizer of the event, said Tuesday. (Japan Times) 
Tokyo stocks staged a sharp rebound on Tuesday, allowing the benchmark Nikkei average to finish above 23,000 for the first time in nearly 13 months. (Japan Times) 
The government is set to tighten rules on disclosure by Japan’s wealthier residents about their overseas assets in a bid to prevent tax avoidance, sources close to the matter said Sunday. (Japan Times) [more business news…] [business blogs…]
An annual cherry blossom viewing party organized by the Japanese prime minister has come under scrutiny.
(NHK) 
The Japanese Prime Minister has apologized for the postponement of the planned introduction of private-sector English tests for university admission. (NHK) 
A US military fighter jet accidentally dropped an inert bomb on private land outside training grounds in Aomori Prefecture, northern Japan, on Wednesday evening.
(NHK) 
Former education minister Hakubun Shimomura has flatly denied a media report that he is in a "cozy relationship" with a company that administers English tests.
(NHK) 
NHK has learned that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has reiterated Japan's position on the wartime labor issue in a brief dialogue he had with his South Korean counterpart at an ASEAN summit in Thailand.
(NHK) The Japanese Prime Minister has apologized for the postponement of the planned introduction of private-sector English tests for university admission. (NHK) 
An Ainu indigenous rights association in Hokkaido has filed a lawsuit against the University of Tokyo, seeking the return of remains of their ancestors stored at the university. (Japan Times) 
The government decided Friday to put off the planned introduction of private-sector English proficiency tests as part of Japan's standardized university entrance exams due to start next April, the education minister said, following his gaffe over the matter. (Japan Today) 
The government will write family names first when using the Roman alphabet for Japanese names on official documents from Jan. 1, the education minister said Friday. (Japan Times) 
A record 2,829,416 foreign people were registered as residents at the end of June as more and more technical interns and workers enter Japan amid a severe labor shortage, government data showed Friday. (Japan Times) [more education news…] [education blogs…]
Mt Sakurajima volcano shot smoke and ash miles into the sky on Friday in its biggest eruption in more than three years, Kyodo News reported. (Japan Today) 
As Japan’s construction firms are squeezed by the tightest labor market since the 1970s and a rapidly aging population, they are pouring investment into technology — and providing unexpected support to an economy reeling from the bitter U.S.-China trade war. (Japan Times) 
Toyota Motor Corp. and weather information provider Weathernews Inc. have started tests to improve the accuracy of rain forecasts by using real-time data from networked cars’ windshield wipers. (Japan Times) 
Japan's Meteorological Agency has issued an eruption notice for Satsuma-Iojima Island in the southwestern prefecture of Kagoshima.
(NHK) 
Quantum computing will reach the practical stage by 2035, and human outposts will be established on the moon and Mars by 2040, an institute under Japan's science ministry predicts. (Nikkei) [more sci-tech news…] [sci-tech blogs…]
Sumo has been around in various forms for over 2,000 years. (Japan Times) 
South Africa galloped by England to win the Rugby World Cup in Japan. The Springboks claimed the Cup for the first time since 2007.
(NHK) 
Next year's Olympic marathon and race walk events are being moved from Tokyo to the northern city of Sapporo.
(NHK) 
A Kumamoto city nightclub filed a criminal complaint Wednesday against players on the Uruguay Rugby World Cup team, alleging they damaged property at the establishment, the nightclub’s lawyer said. (Japan Times) 
Nozomi Okuhara has become the second Japanese to be ranked No. 1 in women’s singles, according to the Badminton World Federation’s latest list released on Tuesday. (Japan Times) 
Operations at Kansai International Airport were suspended for about one hour on Saturday after a drone was seen flying over the airport. It was the second such incident in three days after a drone sighting caused arrival and departures to be delayed twice on Thursday. (Japan Today) 
The people who run Tokyo Disney Resort are taking no chances with security in the lead-up to the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
(NHK) 
All 10 Shinkansen bullet trains that were damaged last month by Typhoon Hagibis in Nagano, central Japan, will be scrapped. (NHK) 
Water supplies at the domestic terminals of Haneda Airport in Tokyo were cut on Wednesday morning due to construction work, according to the operator of the terminal buildings. (Japan Times) 
As companies across Japan raised prices to adjust to the 2 percentage-point hike in consumption tax on Oct.1, railroad operator Keikyu went against the grain by reducing fares on its cash cow Haneda Airport-to-central Tokyo route by about 30%. (Nikkei) [more travel news…] [travel blogs…]
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The two characters for good and evil (or bad), 良（よ）い and 悪（わる） respectfully, are really useful characters.
Give us the bad news firstThe 悪 kanji, for example, can also be added as an adjective to the front of many words to...