The mayor of Montreal expects Air Canada's decision to introduce direct year-round service to Japan will increase foreign real estate purchases but he's not worried it will lead to price spikes seen in Toronto and Vancouver. (ctvnews.ca)

More than 40,000 tax-free shops are ready to welcome overseas tourists to Japan -- even those who step into more rural regions. (Nikkei)

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday signed a decision to designate four northwestern Pacific islands at the center of a longstanding territorial issue with Japan as a special economic zone. (the-japan-news.com)

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry intends to subsidize part of the costs that restaurants, cafes and other eating establishments incur to set up rooms or spaces exclusively for smoking, starting next fiscal year. (the-japan-news.com)

Toshiba and Western Digital are hashing out the terms for a sale of Toshiba Memory, eyeing a price tag of around 2 trillion yen ($18.2 billion) that would shore up the Japanese conglomerate's finances enough to maintain its stock market listing. (Nikkei)

The city of Yokohama ordered a grilled meat restaurant in the area to temporarily stop operation Wednesday after two people who had dined there turned out to be infected with the O-157 strain of the E. coli bacteria. (Japan Times)

Health officials in Saitama Prefecture said Tuesday that four more people have reported symptoms of E.coli 0-157 bacteria following a food poisoning outbreak due to potato salad sold at the Derishasu deli counters at supermarkets. (Japan Today)

The Akita Prefectural Police on Wednesday discovered another body following a fire that engulfed a two-story wooden apartment building in the city of Yokote early Tuesday, bringing the death toll to five. (Japan Times)

Kenichiro Fumita won gold in the men's Greco-Roman 59-kg division Tuesday for Japan's first medal of the world wrestling championships in Paris, becoming the country's first male wrestler in 34 years to be crowned world champion. (Japan Times)

Director Hidetaka Inazuka, known for his documentary on the double atomic-bomb survivor, has completed a new film on three Japanese children fighting a very rare and little-known disease that has left them mostly immobile since birth. (Japan Times)

Japan's health ministry is looking to add a new weapon in the fight against cancer. The ministry plans to request about 18 million dollars in its draft budget for next fiscal year in order to promote genomic medicine for cancer patients. (NHK)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a 21-year-old man for allegedly recruiting male customers, including a city councilor, for a teenage prostitute last year, reports TV Asahi. (tokyoreporter.com)

The weather agency has slashed the volcanic alert level for central Japan's Mount Ontake to the lowest notch for the first time in about three years following a September 2014 eruption that left 58 people dead and five missing. (Japan Times)

Sorakaze Inc and Japan Weather Association have released WeatherJapan, a simple weather forecast application that supports multiple languages for tourists to Japan. (Japan Today)

Japan's Defense Ministry plans to request a record budget for the next fiscal year as North Korea continues its nuclear and missile programs. (NHK)

A 5-year-old girl is in critical condition and two others are severely ill after eating a supermarket potato salad product infected with O-157 E. coli, Saitama Prefecture said Monday. (Japan Times)

Japanese folk singer Chiharu Matsuyama sang his hit song on a plane that remained grounded over an hour past its departure time at a Hokkaido airport Sunday, in a bid to ease passengers' irritation, according to All Nippon Airways Co. (Japan Times)

The National Cancer Center will establish a system for cooperating on the development of cancer drugs with four medical institutions in South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned. The scheme aims to expedite the approval of new drugs. (the-japan-news.com)

A 17-year-old youth has been arrested for smashing the glass door of a police koban in Maebashi, Gunma Prefecture. (Japan Today)

A 74-year-old man was rescued in the Northern Japan alps on Sunday, a week after going missing, police said. (Japan Today)

Smelly handshake event prompts frank discussion and suggested solutions for common problem at idol appearances. (rocketnews24.com)

The Miyagi Prefectural Government said Monday it will remove an online tourism promotional video that has been criticized as sexually suggestive. (Japan Times)

A temporary police box opened Monday in the Japanese whaling town that was the focus of the Academy Award-winning documentary "The Cove," to monitor activities by antiwhalers ahead of the start in September of the dolphin hunting season. (Kyodo)

Consumption by inbound tourists in Japan has started picking up as retailers and the tourism industry encourage spending on unique experiences and personal items, rather than souvenirs. (Japan Times)

People are crowding into airports and train stations in Japan as they return from "bon" summer holiday travels. (NHK)