Japan News

It may not be as famous as Japanese anime legend Studio Ghibli, but Kyoto Animation has many core fans and is known as a team of skilled animators that provides top-quality work for others and can produce its own hits, such as "Lucky Star," ''K-On!" and the "Haruhi Suzumiya" series. (Japan Today)

Parts of western Japan have been pummeled by heavy rain due to Tropical Storm Danas. (NHK)

Police say 33 people were killed and 35 others were wounded by fire after a suspected arson attack at an animation studio in Japan's western city of Kyoto. (NHK)

Tokyo DisneySea will launch a new flight simulator attraction Tuesday that promises to make visitors feel as if they are soaring over famous landmarks such as the Great Wall of China and the Egyptian pyramids. (Japan Times)

Police in Tokyo disclosed Wednesday they are looking for a man who poked another man in the eye with what is believed to be an umbrella tip after an argument outside JR Meguro Station earlier this month. (Japan Today)

A Japanese policeman stabbed another officer by mistake during training when he used a real knife instead of a replica. (NHK)

Ornately decorated floats paraded through Japan's ancient capital Kyoto on Wednesday at the climax of the annual Gion Festival. (NHK)

Japan is struggling to cope with hundreds of thousands of middle-aged social recluses across the country, with municipalities reporting they are critically short of social workers and other personnel needed to help them return to society. (Japan Times)

Johnny and Associates Inc., one of the most powerful talent agencies in Japan, is suspected of having pressured commercial broadcasting television stations to stop inviting three former members of popular boy band SMAP on their shows after they left the office in 2017, sources familiar with the matter said Wednesday. (Kyodo)

U.S. investment firm Blackstone Group will spend over 100 billion yen ($926 million) to buy distribution centers in Japan, seeing room for growth in the country's relatively small e-commerce market, Nikkei has learned. (Nikkei)

Toyota Motor Corp. and Japan's space exploration agency said Tuesday they have signed a three-year agreement to jointly research and develop a rover to be sent to the Moon in 2029. (Kyodo)

Over two weeks of cloudy and rainy days in Tokyo and nearby areas has resulted in higher vegetable prices and sluggish sales of summer clothing. (Japan Times)

Former Emperor Akihito briefly suffered from cerebral anemia last week, forcing him to postpone his regular health checkup, the Imperial Household Agency said Tuesday. (Japan Today)

School-related matters led to more suicides last year among youth aged between 10 and 19 than any other issue, the government said Tuesday in its annual paper on the topic. (Japan Times)

The sounds of chanting men carrying huge, decorated floats signaled the climax of the Hakata Gion Yamakasa festival. Each float weighs more than one ton. (NHK)

A couple in Tokyo was arrested Monday on suspicion of pouring scalding water four years ago over an 11-year-old boy who was living with them at the time, police said. (Japan Today)

Japan's 100-yen shops are stepping up store openings as they continue to gain ground among thrifty consumers, with supermarkets and drugstores seeking them out as tenants to draw customers, shifting the dynamic in the nation's retail landscape. (Nikkei)

Five years ago, residents of Tomioka, Gunma Prefecture, believed that the registration of a local historical landmark as a World Heritage site would reinvigorate the typical Japanese regional city facing a constant decline in population. (Japan Times)

A Kumamoto man who was wanted for injuring several police officers by car during a drug raid on his home earlier this week was arrested Sunday after turning himself in. (Japan Times)

Shintaro Mochizuki became the first Japanese player to win a Grand Slam junior boys' title by beating Carlos Gimeno Valero of Spain 6-3, 6-2 in the Wimbledon final. (Japan Today)