The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said it will provide up to approximately 159 billion yen in subsidies to Israel-based chipmaker Tower Semiconductor to expand production capacity at facilities in Niigata and Toyama prefectures. (News On Japan)

A system failure at frozen food giant Nichirei has disrupted shipments and logistics, raising the risk of product shortages and temporary closures at some Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants while also affecting major supermarket and retail chains. (News On Japan)

Officials from the Liberal Democratic Party and the Japan Innovation Party have agreed to adopt the Katsuragawa plan for the Obama-Kyoto route of the Hokuriku Shinkansen extension from Tsuruga in Fukui Prefecture to Shin-Osaka. (News On Japan)

Japan's core machinery orders fell 12.4% in May from the previous month to 962 billion yen, marking the first decline in two months, the Cabinet Office said on July 15. (News On Japan)

Japanese companies announced new cybersecurity services, investment products and technology initiatives on July 14, while earnings releases highlighted sharply different conditions across the housing and food-import sectors. (News On Japan)

Tokyo stocks rebounded on July 14 after an early fall of nearly 1,000 points, as investors bought back semiconductor and artificial intelligence-related shares while a recovery in South Korean equities and easing Japanese bond yields helped restore risk appetite. (News On Japan)

Japan’s relationship with intimate goods is far older than the modern online adult shop. Long before discreet packaging, digital payments, and private home delivery, Japanese artists, writers, merchants, and townspeople were already exploring the boundaries between desire, humor, privacy, and everyday life. (News On Japan)

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi moved to contain political pressure on July 14 by confirming that she will attend intensive Budget Committee deliberations later this week, as the final days of the Diet session turned into a test of her parliamentary management, economic policy credibility and conservative legislative agenda. (News On Japan)

Foreign tourists are filling an interactive sumo show venue in Tokyo’s Asakusa district, where former wrestlers introduce the basics, rules and history of the sport in English as Japan’s traditional pastime enjoys growing popularity at home and abroad. (News On Japan)

Convenience store operators in Japan are strengthening safety measures as bear-related damage grows more serious, with Lawson expanding the use of bear repellent spray and considering drone-based remote monitoring. (News On Japan)

A 44-year-old man arrested after four people were injured in a knife attack in Saiki, Oita Prefecture, has told investigators in effect that "anyone would do," suggesting the victims were chosen at random, investigative sources said. (News On Japan)

Tokyo Disney Resort will raise the maximum price of its one-day tickets from October, with adult admission to Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea rising by as much as 1,500 yen to 12,400 yen on selected high-demand days. (News On Japan)

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group became Japan's most valuable company for the first time on the Tokyo stock market on July 13, overtaking Toyota Motor as expectations grow that higher interest rates will lift bank earnings. (News On Japan)

Two typhoons are currently near Japan, with Typhoon No. 9, Bavi, over North China and Typhoon No. 11, Haishen, east of the Philippines, but only Bavi is expected to have any indirect impact on the country. (News On Japan)

Fires involving lithium-ion batteries, including those used in mobile battery packs, are occurring at a record pace in Japan this year, with 179 incidents reported by the end of May, according to the Tokyo Fire Department. (News On Japan)

A debate over whether shorts belong in the workplace is spreading in Japan after Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike encouraged metropolitan government employees to wear cooler clothing, including shorts, as part of efforts to cope with intensifying summer heat. (News On Japan)

A wild boar repeatedly charged at a man on the grounds of a food service company in Toyota, Aichi Prefecture, on July 13, injuring two people before being captured about an hour and a half later. (News On Japan)

A 37-year-old gang member known in Tokyo's Kabukicho district by the nickname "Crazy" has been arrested on suspicion of robbing and injuring a teenage girl near Shinjuku Station after threatening her with what appeared to be an ice pick. (News On Japan)

Japan has become an unexpected base of operations for Russian intelligence agents since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, with spies allegedly using the country to procure and smuggle high-tech equipment and other goods to Russia, The New York Times reported on July 12. (News On Japan)

A woman arrested on suspicion of sewing shut the lips of a woman she lived with in Koga, Ibaraki Prefecture, has denied the allegation, telling investigators she has no recollection of the incident. (News On Japan)