The Japanese government has decided to cut down on the use of plastic products in cafeterias and shops at about 200 government agencies and affiliated institutions, such as national universities, beginning in fiscal 2019.
The decision is aimed at reducing the amount of plastic waste in the oceans. It was made when the guidelines for signing contracts between the government and the operators of in-house cafeterias and shops were being revised.
The Lower House of Japan's Diet has approved a draft for a second supplementary budget for the current fiscal year.
The draft budget, totaling more than 27 billion dollars, includes funds to reinforce infrastructure such as river embankments and roads to enable them to withstand natural disasters. It also aims to make schools earthquake-resistant.
SPYAIR will hold a series of lives called 'SPYAIR Tohoku Live House Daisakusen 2019' in March.
The lives will be held at Ishimaki BLUE RESISTANCE in Miyagi, and KLUB COUNTER ACTION MIYAKO and KESEN ROCK FREAKS in Iwate, which are all venues that opened through the project 'Tohoku Live House Daisakusen.' On their official website, they promised to hold a live that will "connect people through music."
Four people died in a house fire early Sunday morning in the Tokyo suburb of Hino.
The Tokyo Fire Department received a call at about 2:30 AM saying that a two-story house in a residential area was on fire.
NHK World's Shin Watanabe reports in front of the Tokyo Detention House where Carlos Ghosn is being detained.
"The decision to yet again deny bail to Carlos Ghosn is not surprising. The Japanese system often denies bail to people who claim to be innocent. They are seen as flight risks and also at risk of destroying evidence.
Former Nissan Motor chairman Carlos Ghosn has spent 50 days in detention since he was first arrested in November for suspected financial misconduct.
His lawyer says Ghosn was told at the end of last year that he could request a procedure to deliver his opinion in an open court. The defendant reportedly said he wants to express his thoughts in his own words in front of judges.
Activists have staged a rally in front of the White House in protest against the relocation of a US military base in Japan's Okinawa Prefecture.
Japanese-American Robert Kajiwara was among around 40 people who gathered on Monday, after creating a petition with more than 190,000 signatures in a month. The number exceeds the 100,000 threshold that requires the White House to respond.
UVERworld will hold a live house tour titled 'UVERworld LIVE HOUSE TOUR 2019' from February to March.
The band just wrapped up their live tour 'UVERworld ARENA TOUR 2018' on December 30 and 31 at Marine Messe Fukuoka. For the upcoming tour, they are scheduled to hold a total of seven shows starting with February 14 at Zepp Fukuoka and wrapping up on March 8 at Zepp Sapporo. Among the seven shows, February 14 will be a birthday event for Nobuto, February 22 for Katsuya, and March 8 for Akira.
Three people have died in a house fire on the island of Sado in Niigata Prefecture on the Sea of Japan coast.
The fire swept through 15 homes and shops on Wednesday.
Fire officials in Sado received a call about the blaze before 4 AM on Wednesday. It took firefighters almost seven hours to put it out.
Shiritsu Ebisu Chuugaku will release their 6th album (currently untitled) next fall.
We have already heard that Mazda is planning to introduce its first battery electric vehicle in 2020, with the standalone model to feature Mazda's own technology instead of the one being currently developed in cooperation with Toyota and Denso. 
NHK World's reporter, Mami Mochizuki, is in front of the Tokyo Detention House where Ghosn is being detained.
"We know that Ghosn's lawyers are in this facility right now. They arrived earlier this morning and left, but went back in again after the news of his rearrest.
The Japanese government plans to build a facility in a prime location where tourists can enjoy a magnificent view of the State Guest House in central Tokyo.
The building will be in a park in front of the guest house, which was built in 1909 and designated a national treasure. It is mainly used as accommodation for dignitaries visiting from other countries.
the GazettE will hold a live house tour titled 'the GazettE Live Tour18 THE NINTH / PHASE #02-ENHANCEMENT- 'from November to December.
This announcement was made on July 19 which was the first day of their hall tour 'the GazettE Live Tour18 THE NINTH / PHASE #01-PHENOMENON-.' The upcoming tour will kick off on November 6 at CLUB CITTA' in Kanagawa, and will wrap up on December 11 at Shinkiba STUDIO COAST in Tokyo.