A broad agreement on a proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal is becoming unlikely at the ongoing ministerial meeting in Singapore, informed sources said Monday. (Jiji Press)

The Foreign Ministry released on its website Monday a new video criticizing South Korea for causing "unnecessary confusion" by pressing other countries to adopt its name "East Sea" in referring to the body of water between Japan and the Korean Peninsula. (Kyodo)

Japan's Nikkei average eased from a three-week high in an erratic session on Monday as a firmer yen and weak Asian markets triggered profit-taking following recent sharp gains. (Reuters)

Japan's Nikkei average eased from a three-week high in an erratic session on Monday as a firmer yen and weak Asian markets triggered profit-taking following recent sharp gains. (Reuters)

AN exclusive Japanese bar is suing a foodie website, arguing that unwanted publicity from a review is damaging the establishment's operational strategy of being hard to find. (news.com.au)

Japan will review the testimony of South Korean women who served in wartime brothels, a senior official said on Friday, but he gave no indication whether Tokyo might water down a 1993 apology on the issue that has long caused friction with its neighbors. (Reuters)

An empty commuter train jumped the track near Tokyo early Sunday, slightly injuring its driver and conductor, railway officials said. (Japan Today)

Japan has drafted new guidelines that would reverse a decades-old ban on weapons exports, a source with knowledge of the matter said on Sunday, a move that could further strain ties with neighbors China and South Korea. (Reuters)

The Tokyo metropolitan government has announced plans for a mega-tourist complex in Tokyo's Toyosu district, the relocation site for the Tsukiji wholesale market currently housed in Chuo Ward, Tokyo. (The Japan News)

Whether ministers participating in the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade negotiations can attain their goal of reaching a "broad agreement" at the four-day talks that opened Saturday in Singapore hinges upon how much progress Japan and the United States achieve on the tariff issue. (The Japan News)

Finance ministers and central bank chiefs of the Group of 20 nations have adopted a target to increase GDP by at least 2 percent over 5 years. (NHK)

About 36,000 runners took part in the 8th Tokyo Marathon on Sunday. (NHK)

A man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after intentionally steering his car onto a footpath and hitting 12 pedestrians in the Japanese city of Nagoya. (SBS)

On Jan. 10, convenience store chain Family Mart started selling a new bentō (boxed lunch) with a heavy-duty name to complement its hefty ¥600 price: Famima Premium Koroge Wagyu-iri Hamburger Bento, which "contains" high-quality Japanese ground beef. For an added touch of extravagance, it also came with a side of foie gras. (Japan Times)

Mexico is on track to become the United States' No. 1 source of imported cars by the end of next year, overtaking Japan and Canada in a manufacturing boom that's turning the auto industry into a bigger source of dollars than money sent home by migrants. (Washington Post)

Japan's public is less enthusiastic about capital punishment than government research shows, a new study has claimed, amid an acceleration in the rate of executions under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. (AFP)

Japanese scientists have conducted an on-the-spot survey of a fault running beneath the Shika nuclear plant in Ishikawa Prefecture, central Japan. (NHK)

Japanese Crown Prince Naruhito has expressed support for his parents' hopes to be cremated after they die in a historic shift from burial. (Jiji Press)

South Korean students and activists have staged a protest rally against Japan in the capital, Seoul, calling on Tokyo to drop its claims over a group of disputed islands. (PressTV)