The Bank of Japan has decided to keep its easing policy unchanged. (NHK)

Japan Airlines is stretching its wings in the low cost carrier market. A new subsidiary, Zipair Tokyo, starts operations next year. And the company is promising long distance services at budget prices. (NHK)

Japan’s labor productivity remained the lowest among the Group of Seven countries in 2018, public interest foundation the Japan Productivity Center said Wednesday. (Japan Times)

Japan's National Police Agency is planning to introduce a new driver's license for senior citizens that would only allow them to operate vehicles fitted with automatic brakes and other special safety features. (NHK)

Japanese police have referred a teenager to prosecutors on suspicion of illegally accessing a school server to alter his grades. (NHK)

Police in Gifu City, central Japan, have decided to send papers to prosecutors for three junior high school boys suspected of coercion that may have led to a classmate's death. (NHK)

Asahi Breweries Ltd. says it will stop releasing sales volume data for its beer and quasi-beer products this month, switching in January to the disclosure of the value of sales. (Japan Times)

The Tokyo District Court on Wednesday ordered prominent reporter Noriyuki Yamaguchi to pay 3.3 million yen in damages to journalist Shiori Ito in a civil lawsuit over her allegations he had raped her. (Japan Today)

The Japanese passport was again named as the "world's most powerful" by a British consultancy this year, but the Japanese themselves seem little interested in taking advantage, with only 23% holding passports -- a sign that the nation has become increasingly inward-looking in the era of globalization. (Nikkei)

The government has decided to earmark a record ¥102.66 trillion ($938 billion) in the initial draft budget for fiscal 2020, to fund swelling social security and defense outlays, government sources said Wednesday. (Japan Times)

Japan will tighten regulations to prevent technology giants including Facebook Inc and Google from abusing their market power and having unfair advantage over small businesses, officials said on Tuesday. (Japan Today)

A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck off the Pacific coast of northeastern Japan. It did not trigger a tsunami, but temporarily halted a train line. (NHK)

SoftBank Group Corp Chief Executive Masayoshi Son said on Tuesday Japan should make artificial intelligence (AI) a mandatory subject for college entrance exams, to counter the yawning gap with the United States and China in the nascent field. (Japan Today)

A court Wednesday sentenced a man to life in prison over a random knife attack aboard a shinkansen last year that killed one passenger and injured two others. (Japan Times)

Are you looking for the perfect destination for your next getaway with family or friends? (newsonjapan.com)

Japan's tally of foreign visitors dipped slightly in November, as the continued plunge in travelers from South Korea drove a decline for the second straight month. (Nikkei)

East Japan Railway Co. conducted trial operations on Wednesday on a section of the Joban Line in Fukushima Prefecture that has been closed since the March 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster. (Japan Times)

Real estate and hotel developer Apa Group opened in Osaka on Tuesday a 32-story hotel with 913 guest rooms, making it one of the largest inns in western Japan. (Japan Times)

Yasuhiko Nishimura, a former top police bureaucrat, was promoted to head of the Imperial Household Agency on Tuesday after serving in the No. 2 post. (Japan Times)

Japan’s attempts to create “a society in which women shine” are falling short, according to the World Economic Forum’s annual gender equality ranking. (Japan Times)

Japan will oblige domestic automakers to have all new and remodeled passenger cars equipped with automatic brakes from November 2021 amid a rise in the number of traffic accidents involving elderly drivers, the government said Tuesday. (Japan Today)

An IT startup that was Japan's second-largest IPO of the year rose on its first day of trading in Tokyo. (NHK)

Japan's three main international airports will start using facial recognition to streamline security checks and the boarding process starting in 2020, cutting wait times ahead of the Summer Olympics in Tokyo. (Nikkei)

The capital punishment system may be an obstacle for Australia to conclude a security agreement with Japan during Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s visit in January next year, The Australian reported Tuesday. (Japan Times)

An attempt to reform Japan's standardized university entrance exam system has hit another road block. (NHK)