Third-year students at state-run and other public middle schools fall short of the levels in all four English-language skills. Third-year students at state-run and other public middle schools fall short of the levels in all four English-language skills cited by the education ministry as targets, based on the yardsticks used in the practical English proficiency […]
More foreign travelers are passing through Narita Airport near Tokyo, a major gateway to Japan. Their numbers reached about 1.25 million for the first time last year. The airport’s operator says that’s up 23 percent from the previous year and a record high for the second consecutive year. The operator attributes the growth to the […]
Japan Airlines has been recognized as the world’s most punctual major international airline, in a rating by U.S. flight data services firm FlightStats. JAL achieved a on-time arrival rate of 89.44 percent in FlightStats’ seventh annual survey, a lead of 0.47 point over second-ranked Iberia of Spain and 0.56 point over third-ranked All Nippon Airways, […]
The coastal city of Hamamatsu in Honshu has been crowned Japan’s number one gyoza dumpling centre for the second year in a row. It beat arch-rival Utsunomiya in the sheer volume of the pork and cabbage dumplings consumed by households throughout 2015. Despite missing out on the top spot, Utsunomiya is still considered an important […]
The Japanese government is increasing its vigilance following North Korea’s announcement of a planned launch of what it is calling a satellite. Pyongyang has notified international organizations that it is planning the launch between February 8th and 25th. Japan is gathering and analyzing intelligence in close coordination with the United States and South Korea. The […]
Japanese government officials are set to review regulations on warning messages on cigarette packets, in an effort to enhance public awareness of the health effects of smoking. Officials at the finance ministry say they will set up a panel to study additional measures. Currently there are 8 kinds of general warnings on diseases linked to […]
Japan’s new economic revitalization minister has pledged to do his best to establish a positive economic cycle. Nobuteru Ishihara succeeded Akira Amari, who resigned last week over a funding scandal. Ishihara spoke to officials at the Cabinet Office on Monday. He’ll be in charge of promoting Abenomics and the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade deal negotiated […]
Ahead of Setsubun on Wednesday, the day to celebrate the beginning of spring, the Consumer Affairs Agency has warned parents to guard against small children accidentally swallowing soybeans. However, the agency said over the past five years more than 20 cases of complications from children swallowing the beans were reported by medical institutions nationwide. People […]
Officials at Japan’s Health Ministry plan to issue all medical facilities in the country an order to report if they diagnose a patient with the Zika virus, in a bid to contain the spread of the disease. No cases have been reported in the country so far. The mosquito-borne disease has been spreading mainly in […]
Toyota Motor Corp. said it will suspend production at all assembly plants in Japan next week in the wake of a steel factory explosion, interrupting the supply of crucial models including the new Prius hybrid. All domestic assembly lines will halt Feb. 8 through Feb. 13, Toyota said Monday in a statement. The company counts on […]
