Japan will probably become the largest solar market in the world after China this year, boosted by an incentive program that offers above-market rates for energy from renewable sources. (Japan Times)

As a small boy, Teruaki Kawai watched wide-eyed as American DC-3s took off and landed at a small airport across an inlet from his home on the Hiroshima coast. (New York Times)

Japan may have enough electricity supply to meet peak demand this summer without the need to restart idled nuclear reactors, a government report said. (Bloomberg)

Japan surpassed the United States as the world largest recorded music market in 2012 for the first time, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry said Monday. (Kyodo)

Free-to-play online game company Kabam says it can help Japanese videogame developers cash in on the huge North American and European markets. And it's putting money on the line to back up its words. (Wall Street Journal)

Japan and Australia have reached a broad agreement on how to deal with farm products as they continue negotiations on a bilateral free-trade agreement, government sources said Sunday. (Japan Times)

U.S. private equity fund Cerberus Capital Management LP said Friday it aims to raise its stake in Seibu Holdings Inc. to nearly 45 percent in an apparent bid to take the initiative in managing the railway and hotel operator. (Japan Times)

The operators of the Sukiya and Matsuya "gyudon" beef-bowl chains will cut prices for a week beginning Friday. (Japan Today)

When Takafumi Horie was released from prison on March 27th, he hit Facebook, expanding his network from some 1,700 contacts to 3,300 a week later. The former boss of Livedoor, an internet firm, was convicted of fraud and jailed in 2011. (The Economist)

Japan is becoming Ferrari's next growth market. Registrations of Fiat SpA (F)'s ultra-luxury brand surged 40 percent to 144 vehicles in Japan last quarter, according to the Japan Automobile Importers Association yesterday. (Bloomberg)

Japan's agriculture ministry refrained from buying food wheat via a regular weekly tender as it felt next week would be a better time, a ministry official said on Thursday. (Reuters)

The collective wealth of Japan's 50 Richest tops $112 billion. Tadashi Yanai occupies the top spot once again at $15.5 billion, a 46% gain from last year. (Forbes)

A joint-venture deal between Sony and medical equipment maker Olympus has won regulatory approval, the firms said Wednesday, after it was held up by China's competition watchdog. (Channel NewsAsia)

McDonald's Japan has announced that a new uniform will be introduced in June, which will be the first new uniform to be introduced to franchises in Asia. (crunchyroll.com)

Japanese car makers' sales in China in the first three months of the year have yet to recover fully from last year's slump, and foreign rivals are capitalising in a market expecting 7 percent growth in 2013. (Reuters)

A governmental food safety panel approved on Wednesday a plan to raise the age limit for exempting domestic cattle from testing for mad cow disease until they reach 48 months, up from the current 30 months. (Kyodo)

The government has tightened procedures for opening bank accounts and taking out loans to step up the fight against money laundering. (Yomiuri)

The government decided Tuesday to liberalize the electricity retail market from 2016, making it possible for consumers to choose power suppliers that can offer lower electricity rates. (Kyodo)

A unit of Japan's Panasonic Corporation is under investigation by US authorities looking into whether the company paid bribes overseas to airline employees or government officials to help land business, the Wall Street Journal reported. (The Age)

Tokyo Electric Power said Monday it must cut $1.1 billion more in annual costs to stay afloat as the operator of the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant faces huge compensation and clean-up costs. (Global Post)