Japan Football Association President Kohzo Tashima said, "I made the decision to change the coach because I want to do whatever I can to help the team win at the World Cup. I believe it's best the new coach is someone who has been working with Japanese players."
Nishino is currently the Technical Director of the Japan Football Association and has managed top-tier J-League teams.
Before that, he led the national team at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
The head of the association praised Halilhodzic for helping Japan qualify for its 6th straight World Cup.
But he said the coach has been struggling to get through to the players. The team recently suffered a tie and a loss to teams that hadn't even qualified for the World Cup.
Japan will play Colombia in its opening group stage match in June.
A court sentenced on Wednesday a 29-year-old former reporter for public broadcaster NHK to 21 years in prison for raping three women.
(Japan Times) 
Japanese animated film company Studio Ghibli has unveiled the basic design of its theme park set to open in Aichi Prefecture, central Japan, in 2022.
(NHK) 
The Japanese government lodged a protest against South Korea on Wednesday over the use of a flag showing disputed Sea of Japan islands on a dessert planned for the inter-Korean summit on Friday. (Jiji) 
Police have sent papers on Tatsuya Yamaguchi, a member of Japanese pop group Tokio, to public prosecutors on charges of an indecent assault against a high school girl, it was learned Wednesday. (Jiji) 
Police have sent prosecutors papers on a 14-year-old boy for allegedly threatening a public elementary school in Tokyo’s upscale Ginza district that introduced uniforms designed by high-end Italian brand Armani. (Japan Times) 
Police in Nagoya have arrested a 60-year-old man on suspicion of attempted murder after he hit a 10-year-old boy on the head with a hammer. The boy lives in an apartment on the second floor above the suspect. (Japan Today) 
Japan's Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko hosted their annual spring garden party at the Akasaka Imperial Gardens in Tokyo on Wednesday. (NHK) 
Japanese education minister Yoshimasa Hayashi apologized Wednesday for "causing confusion" over a magazine article that said he used an official vehicle during daytime on a weekday to go to a yoga class. (Jiji) 
Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is launching a counteroffensive against Amazon.com and other rivals in the online fashion market, using its vast network of real-world stores to differentiate itself. (Nikkei) 
Gunma Prefectural Police are hunting for a man who assaulted a male Peruvian national in the town of Oizumi on Tuesday, reports TV Asahi (tokyoreporter.com)