Today’s Japan-related news links:

• Facing decreasing numbers of Japanese tourists, the Australian government is looking at employing a novel approach to winning back one of its most important audiences — hosting a Japanese soap opera. [Link]
• With an assist from the Internet, the ancient religion of Japan, Shinto, is experiencing a mild upturn in fervor among the Japanese. [Link]
• A teenage boy under arrest in Fukushima Prefecture for beheading his mother said he was inspired by horror movies. [Link]
• Four AUM Shinrikyo cult followers from its facility in Adachi-ku, Tokyo, have been infected with tuberculosis, sources close to the cult said. [Link]
• Mongolian ozeki Hakuho shot down countryman Ama on Friday, keeping his unbeaten record and yokozuna promotion bid in tact at the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament. [Link]
• Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has decided not to include a numerical target for reducing smoking rates in Japan in its draft for the government’s new basic guidelines for cancer prevention. [Link]
• A 51-year-old unemployed man has been arrested for using a stolen bicycle to ride 450 kilometers from Oita Prefecture to Kagoshima Prefecture in Kyushu. [Link]
• Ampontan has reported on the mirage of Japanese nationalism and groupthink in the international media. [Link]
• Fellow police officers spoke Friday of the grief they felt upon hearing Sgt. Kazuho Hayashi had been fatally shot by a former member of a gang organization during a standoff Thursday. [Link]
• A Japan Airlines jet made an emergency landing at Naha Airport on Thursday afternoon with only one of its engines running. [Link]
• Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday asked the members of a government panel to study four scenarios to see whether the Self-Defense Forces may exercise the right of collective self-defense under the current Constitution in security-threatening situations. [Link]
• A member of a gang affiliated with the Yamaguchi-gumi crime syndicate was arrested Friday on suspicion of falsely claiming that he had found rubber in kelp in a rice ball produced by an affiliate of Kobe-based food manufacturer Fujicco Co. [Link]
• Toyota’s commitment to hybrid automobiles was on full display Thursday when it unveiled its most expensive gasoline-electric vehicle yet – the $124,000 luxury sedan Lexus LS 600h L. [Link]
• Roll Up Your Sleeves, Japan! yesterday set the Guinness World Record for the most number of blood pressure readings in 24 hours. [Link]
• On May 18, buildup Co., Ltd. unveiled the Tamanoi Vinegar Robot, the world’s first robot designed to make presentations about vinegar. The robot is scheduled to go to work at the Tamanoi Vinegar Corporation’s Osaka office in July. [Link]
• Chinese archaeologists studying ancient rock carvings say they have evidence that modern Chinese script is thousands of years older than previously thought. [Link]
• Swifty has reviewed director Nobuhiro Doi’s “Nada So So.” [Link]
• Celtic’s Japan midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura picked up his third players’ accolade of a remarkable season on Friday. [Link]
• The newest e-mail scam: a foreign girl trapped in Japan who needs your money to buy a train ticket. [Link]