NATIONAL Prince Tomohito started to get his voice back less than a week after surgery to remove throat cancer, sources close to him said. [MAINICHI]

NATIONAL Japan marked the 13th anniversary Thursday of the deadly 1995 sarin attack on the Tokyo subway system, with subway workers and relatives of victims offering silent prayers and flowers at stations that were targeted. [THE JAPAN TIMES]

NATIONAL The education ministry said Friday 97.1 percent of public elementary schools nationwide, or 21,220 schools, have taught English in fiscal 2007 through March 31, up 1.3 percentage points from the previous fiscal year. [KYODO]

NATIONAL A wood sculpture attributed to Kamakura Period sculptor Unkei sells for $12.8 million, setting a world record for any Japanese or Buddhist artwork. [THE JAPAN TIMES]

NATIONAL Only one out of four Japanese high schoolers can correctly locate Iraq on a world map, while one in two Japanese university students manage the same feat, according to a survey presented Wednesday by the Association of Japanese Geographers. (4)

NATIONAL Japanese households and businesses could end up paying more than $500 billion to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 11 percent over the next decade, the trade and industry ministry said Wednesday. [AP]

NATIONAL About 60 percent of married individuals in Japan received financial support from their parents or their spouse’s parents over the past year, a survey has found. [MAINICHI]

NATIONAL In a bid to drum up tips in the hunt for a fugitive, a video with information on Tatsuya Ichihashi, the suspected murderer of 22-year-old Briton Lindsay Ann Hawker, will be available for free viewing on the Internet from Wednesday noon, police said Monday. [THE JAPAN TIMES]

NATIONAL Things aren’t quite so rosy these days for the yakuza. After more than six decades as a core element of Japanese society, they are facing unprecedented challenges to their authority, both from their enemies at home and, increasingly, from foreign rivals. [THE GUARDIAN]

NATIONAL Sojitz Corp. announced new steps Monday to ensure food safety after its subsidiary came under fire for importing contaminated Chinese-made gyoza dumplings that led to a recent food poisoning scare. [ASAHI]

NATIONAL A Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry panel agreed Monday to introduce in April a new, broader standard for recognizing sufferers of atomic-bomb diseases, panel officials said. (1) [THE JAPAN TIMES]

NATIONAL A probe into salaries illicitly received by workers dedicated to union work has uncovered a total of about 750 million yen in illicit payments, the Japan social insurance workers labor union has announced. [MAINICHI]

NATIONAL The nation’s four Internet provider organizations have agreed to forcibly cut the Internet connection of users found to repeatedly use Winny and other file-sharing programs to illegally copy gaming software and music. [YOMIURI]

NATIONAL Nongovernmental organizations on Sunday warned Japan that insistence on its carbon-capping proposal could derail the “momentum” of current U.N.-led negotiations to create a post-2012 global climate regime. [KYODO]

NATIONAL The Supreme Court on Friday denied bereaved family members a chance to clear the names of victims of the worst case of free-speech suppression in wartime Japan. [ASAHI]

NATIONAL A record 20,992 cases of domestic violence were reported to police nationwide in 2007, up 15.1 percent from the previous year, the National Police Agency said Thursday. [ASAHI]

NATIONAL The U.S. government said in an annual report released Tuesday that criminal court procedures in Japan serve the interests of prosecutors rather than defendants. [THE JAPAN TIMES]

NATIONAL Japan has failed to bring child pornography under control, leaving children around the world at risk, UNICEF said on Tuesday as it launched a campaign to stamp out exploitation of minors. [REUTERS]

NATIONAL Numerous major Japanese sushi franchises and supermarkets are reluctant to serve and sell whale meat, according to a survey report compiled by environmental group Greenpeace. [THE JAPAN TIMES]

NATIONAL Japanese whaling ship owner Kyodo Senpaku Kaisha is set to take legal steps with the Japan Coast Guard over alleged trespassing and forcible obstruction of business by the anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd, company officials said. (3) [MAINICHI]