2012 saw record-high 2,545 people apply for refugee status in Japan
Japan Times -- Mar 20
A record 2,545 foreigners applied for refugee status in Japan in 2012, the Justice Ministry's Immigration Bureau said Tuesday.
While the figure marked an increase of 678 compared with the previous year, there was a drop in the number of those who were actually granted refugee status, the bureau said.
In 2011, there were 21 foreigners recognized as refugees, but for 2012, the number fell to 18.
A government research panel says there is a 60 to 70 percent probability that a massive earthquake with a magnitude of 8 to 9 will occur off Japan's Pacific coast in the next 30 years. (NHK )
Weather officials say the average density of carbon dioxide in Japan is rising above the international standard at all 3 observation points in the country.
Carbon dioxide is one of the greenhouse gases associated with global warming. (NHK )
A 21-year-old woman was stabbed by her ex-boyfriend Friday at her apartment in Ebina, Kanagawa Prefecture, where she lives with her current boyfriend, police said. (Japan Times )
The Diet passed a bill Friday to set up a system that will assign an identification number to every citizen to improve government management of income, social security and tax information despite public concerns about the potential for data abuse. (Japan Times )
Keeping the meltdown-stricken Fukushima nuclear plant in northeastern Japan in stable condition requires a cast of thousands. Increasingly the plant's operator is struggling to find enough workers, a trend that many expect to worsen and hamper progress in the decades-long effort to safely decommission it. (AP )
At the Nagoya Castle compound in central Japan, restoration work has been completed on the entrance and reception room of the main residential building for the first time in 70 years. (NHK )
The government of Japan has bestowed one of that nation's highest honors on a Japanese-American, a former U.S. Soldier and World War II veteran, for his work furthering relationships between the Japanese and Americans. (army.mil )
Osaka District Court accepted a claim on Thursday that losses on betting on horse racing should be deductible from payouts to calculate taxable income. (Jiji Press )
An 18-year-old youth has been arrested on a charge of attempted murder after he allegedly hit a 16-year-old girl in the head with a baseball bat. (Japan Today )
This Monday, members of the seminal metal band X Japan were in Odaiba rubbing shoulders with the likes of Brad Pitt, Lady Gaga and AKB48′s Yuko Oshima. The catch? They were all made out of wax. (Japan Times )
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has announced that it intends to draw up a set of unified rules for the use of baby strollers on buses and trains. (Japan Today )
A man stabbed his ex-wife on a street in Isehara, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Tuesday morning, and then caused a car crash while he was fleeing from the scene. (Japan Today )
A government research panel says there is a 60 to 70 percent probability that a massive earthquake with a magnitude of 8 to 9 will occur off Japan's Pacific coast in the next 30 years. (NHK 
) 
Weather officials say the average density of carbon dioxide in Japan is rising above the international standard at all 3 observation points in the country.
Carbon dioxide is one of the greenhouse gases associated with global warming. (NHK 
A 21-year-old woman was stabbed by her ex-boyfriend Friday at her apartment in Ebina, Kanagawa Prefecture, where she lives with her current boyfriend, police said. (Japan Times 
The Diet passed a bill Friday to set up a system that will assign an identification number to every citizen to improve government management of income, social security and tax information despite public concerns about the potential for data abuse. (Japan Times 
Keeping the meltdown-stricken Fukushima nuclear plant in northeastern Japan in stable condition requires a cast of thousands. Increasingly the plant's operator is struggling to find enough workers, a trend that many expect to worsen and hamper progress in the decades-long effort to safely decommission it. (AP 
At the Nagoya Castle compound in central Japan, restoration work has been completed on the entrance and reception room of the main residential building for the first time in 70 years. (NHK 
Tokyo Metropolitan Police on Wednesday raided an Internet casino in Shibuya Ward for offering illegal gambling. (Tokyo Reporter 
The government of Japan has bestowed one of that nation's highest honors on a Japanese-American, a former U.S. Soldier and World War II veteran, for his work furthering relationships between the Japanese and Americans. (army.mil 
Osaka District Court accepted a claim on Thursday that losses on betting on horse racing should be deductible from payouts to calculate taxable income. (Jiji Press 
Eighty-year-old Yuichiro Miura has become the oldest person to scale Mount Everest, his management office said Thursday. (Japan Times 
An 18-year-old youth has been arrested on a charge of attempted murder after he allegedly hit a 16-year-old girl in the head with a baseball bat. (Japan Today 
This Monday, members of the seminal metal band X Japan were in Odaiba rubbing shoulders with the likes of Brad Pitt, Lady Gaga and AKB48′s Yuko Oshima. The catch? They were all made out of wax. (Japan Times 
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has announced that it intends to draw up a set of unified rules for the use of baby strollers on buses and trains. (Japan Today 
A man stabbed his ex-wife on a street in Isehara, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Tuesday morning, and then caused a car crash while he was fleeing from the scene. (Japan Today 
Japanese Crown Prince Naruhito will visit Spain for seven days from June 10, the government said Tuesday. (Jiji Press 