INTERNATIONAL Crown Prince Naruhito attended a ceremony Wednesday hosted by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in Brasilia to celebrate the centennial of Japanese emigration to Brazil. [THE JAPAN TIMES]

NATIONAL The number of suicides in Japan hit 33,093 last year, topping 30,000 for the 10th year in a row, a report from the National Police Agency has shown. [MAINICHI]

POLITICS Tokyo and Beijing announced Wednesday they have agreed on a plan to jointly develop gas fields in the East China Sea, shelving a thorny dispute that has plagued relations for four years. [THE JAPAN TIMES]

BUSINESS The Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission on Thursday urged the Financial Services Agency to slap an administrative fine of about 1.6 billion yen on heavy machinery maker IHI Corp. for submitting false financial statements. [ASAHI]

TOHOKU A rift extending for about 15 kilometers has appeared on the surface of the ground in five districts following the magnitude 7.2 earthquake that struck Japan’s Tohoku region on June 14, it has emerged. [MAINICHI]

KANSAI A 13-year-old girl suffered serious injuries when she was stabbed in the back several times by another girl from the same school, law enforcers said. [MAINICHI]

BASEBALL Two private supporters’ groups for the Chunichi Dragons sued professional baseball clubs on Thursday after an anti-gang council comprising of professional baseball clubs and police banned them from cheering for their teams. [MAINICHI]

MOVIES/TV Veteran actor Koji Yakusho is directing and starring in a new film titled “Gama no Abura.” The movie, which has been shooting for the past month, marks Yakusho’s first time in the director’s chair.

INTERNATIONAL A small Beijing crowd of Chinese protesters on Wednesday denounced a compromise with Japan over disputed undersea gas, saying the deal could betray national interests. [REUTERS]

KANSAI A woman in her 80s died in Hyogo Prefectural Nishinomiya Hospital in March after an intern inserted a feeding tube, which was supposed to deliver nutrients directly to the woman’s stomach, into her lung instead, the hospital said Wednesday. [YOMIURI]

KANTO A man suspected of killing seven people during an indiscriminate rampage in Akihabara, Tokyo, on June 8 apparently drove around the vicinity of the murder scene for about 20 minutes before the incident, police said Wednesday. [YOMIURI]

KANSAI The Osaka prefectural government has come under fire from residents who allege it has allowed part of a public park in Sakai to be taken over by a select group of mah-jong enthusiasts. [YOMIURI]

TOHOKU Hundreds of rescuers and residents in areas struck by Saturday’s Iwate-Miyagi Inland Earthquake were ordered to evacuate Wednesday, as one of the dams on the lakes created by a landslide triggered by the quake appeared close to collapse. [YOMIURI]

POLITICS No medium-term goal for cutting greenhouse gas emissions will be set at next month’s Group of Eight summit in Hokkaido, leaving the key issue for future negotiations at the United Nations, Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda indicated Tuesday. [THE JAPAN TIMES]

TOHOKU The government stepped up its search on Wednesday for those who went missing following a powerful earthquake in the Tohoku region as heavy rain was forecast to hit the region. [MAINICHI]

CHUBU A fisheries cooperative in Isshiki, Aichi Prefecture sold tons of imported eels mislabeled as domestic, the agriculture and fisheries ministry said Tuesday. [ASAHI]

POLITICS The government will earmark a special budget for measures to address the shortage of doctors in fiscal 2009 with funds taken from revenues currently used specifically for road construction. [ASAHI]

CELEBRITIES Nachiko Shudo, an announcer with Japanese public broadcaster NHK, got married to a movie company employee in spring this year, officials said on Wednesday. [MAINICHI]

KANTO A Tokyo employment agency and its president face charges for evading approximately 120 million yen in consumption tax, taxation authorities said. [MAINICHI]

INTERNATIONAL Japanese government officials in Jakarta have begun interviewing Indonesians hoping to work as nurses or caregivers under the Japan-Indonesia Economic Partnership Agreement. [ASAHI]