The Japanese market has been in a strange place for some time now. While Abenomics has certainly shown some promise, albeit without managing to live up to the hype that it suggested, the truth of the matter seems to be that the market is unsure as to whether Japan is about to enter a period of time where uncertainty causes an end to the bull market that has been in place since Abenomics hit full flow sustained in part by increased government investment. (newsonjapan.com)

New Foreign Minister Taro Kono made his debut on the world stage with his fluent English, showing his presence during a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations-related meetings in Manila lasting through Monday. (Japan Times)

The city of Kyoto aims to introduce a lodging tax in 2018 at the earliest to cope with issues stemming from a surge in the number of tourists, based on a recommendation Monday from an advisory panel. (Japan Today)

A tropical storm is ripping through Japan`s main island of Honshu, bringing heavy rain to wide areas. Two people have died and 47 others injured. (NHK)

Hideki Matsuyama warmed up poorly and then turned in the best round of his career at the Bridgestone Invitational, a 9-under 61 that tied the course record and gave him another blowout victory in a World Golf Championship. (Japan Times)

A storm is ripping through the Japanese archipelago, bringing heavy rains to wide areas. 2 people are dead and 17 others are injured. (NHK)

A train stopped before striking a woman who had just been pushed onto the tracks from a station platform by her intoxicated boyfriend in Soka City early Sunday, reports TBS News. (tokyoreporter.com)

The government may review how money allocated for developing Okinawa is spent, after some of this year's money was used to pay for an event by the all-girl idol group AKB48. (Japan Today)

Tens of thousands of people gathered Sunday in Hiroshima to reflect on a tragedy that changed the course of history. They're marking the 72nd anniversary since the US detonated an atomic bomb over the city in 1945. (NHK)

Japan is fretting about running out of hotel rooms as foreign tourist numbers surge and as the capital prepares to host the 2020 Olympics. (Nikkei)

A Kuroshio limited express train led by a car with a panda face debuted Saturday in Osaka to lure tourists to Adventure World, the giant wildlife theme park in Wakayama Prefecture where the popular animals are on show. (Japan Times)

People in western Japan are bracing for another violent storm. Typhoon Noru is bringing powerful winds and heavy rain. Two people have died, and 12 others have been injured. (NHK)

Twelve window panes were found smashed at a junior high school in Yaita, Tochigi Prefecture, on Friday night, police said Saturday. It was the fifth such case of school vandalism in the prefecture since early July, Fuji TV reported. (Japan Today)

Actress Mariko Ishihara is not expected to be indicted for allegedly shoplifting food at a Tokyo supermarket after investigators referred her to prosecutors Friday with a recommendation of leniency, police said. (Japan Today)

The Bank of Japan and the Hong Kong central bank plan to link their settlement systems, informed sources said Thursday. (the-japan-news.com)

While allowing female employees to take maternity leave is becoming increasingly the norm in Japan's private sector, women in politics can still face a storm of criticism even for getting pregnant. (Kyodo)

In a bid to put the brakes on his tumbling popularity, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe engineered a make-or-break reshuffle of his scandal-tainted Cabinet on Thursday, gravitating toward veterans to avoid further trouble. (Japan Times)

Japan's prime minister says he has formed a new cabinet to regain the people's trust and push forward his policies. (NHK)

Japan's labor ministry says the average wage has declined for the first time in 13 months. (NHK)

Sumo's former yokozuna Asashoryu has been named as a Mongolian presidential envoy in charge of boosting relations with Japan. (NHK)

New Justice Minister Yoko Kamikawa said Friday that the ministry is considering submitting a bill to lower Japan's legal age of adulthood from 20 to 18 in the extraordinary Diet session likely be convened this fall. (Japan Today)

A woman on a motorcycle was killed and 10 people were injured in a pair of multiple-vehicle collisions Thursday in an expressway tunnel in Shimada, Shizuoka Prefecture, police said. (Japan Times)

A police officer dumped a plastic bag containing parts of the body of a woman in her 80s at a garbage collection point at a Tokyo police station in July by mistake and some of them remain unrecovered, the police said Friday. (Japan Today)

Toyota Motor and Mazda Motor are closing in on a capital partnership deal to pave the way for possible establishment of a joint-venture U.S. auto plant and joint development of key electric vehicle technologies, The Nikkei learned Thursday. (Nikkei)

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reshuffled the Liberal Democratic Party leadership on Thursday. He is set to appoint his new Cabinet later in the day. (NHK)