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Prime Minister Shinzo Abe issued an apology on Friday to family members of former leprosy patients who suffered discrimination under the state’s segregation policy. The statement came after the government decided not to appeal a recent ruling ordering compensation payments.
Japan enforced a stricter law on Friday ahead of this year’s Rugby World Cup in order to clamp down on ticket scalping. Those caught reselling tickets for a profit will face up to one year in prison or a fine of up to 1 million yen, or both penalties.
A council at the Financial Services Agency estimated that an elderly couple will need at least 20 million yen assuming they live until 95 years old. It urged workers to start investing earlier to better prepare for their retirement.
A recent government survey showed that over 600,000 Japanese people aged 40 to 64 are believed to live as recluses, who stay at home in complete isolation from society without working for more than six months. Men accounted for nearly three-quarters of them.
Buddhist monks throughout Japan have posted videos on Twitter showing off various athletic feats to prove their religious robes do not impair safe driving. The movement began after a monk in his 40s was fined by a police officer in central Japan for driving in the traditional attire.
Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways pledged to take measures on Friday to prevent heavy drinking by flight crew in response to recent incidents involving alcohol-affected pilots from the two major airlines.
Saudi Arabia announced on Friday evening that the missing Saudi journalist had died in a fistfight inside the country’s consulate in Istanbul earlier this month. Turkish officials claimed an audio recording proves that he was brutally murdered by a state-sponsored hit squad.
U.S. Senator John McCain, a former prisoner of war in Vietnam and twice-defeated presidential candidate from the Republican Party, died on Saturday at the age of 81. He had been battling an aggressive brain tumor since its discovery in July, 2017.
Tokyo Medical University has been accused of having deducted entrance exam scores of female applicants for years in a bid to keep the ratio of women at about 30 percent. The practice was apparently introduced over concerns female doctors would often resign to get married and start a family.
People in Japan treated themselves to grilled eels on the midsummer Day of the Ox, which fell on Friday this year, following an old saying that consuming the dish on that day helps in coping with the heat. Retailers also promoted mackerel and other foods as substitutes amid soaring prices for the endangered fish.
