News On Japan

Squatting in my kitchen facing a rainbow of color-coded plastic bags, I was at wit's end. Where should the apple core go? And the broken glass? How about the plastic bottle and empty can? And this cigarette butt? Which day do I put each type of trash out for collection? What time of day? Where? (AFP)

Maybe it was a mighty swing of a bat, or maybe someone with an awesome throwing arm, but a baseball has been found inside the frame for the antenna that tops Tokyo Tower. (Japan Times)

Japan's Sharp Corp said on Thursday it aims to cut about 5,000 jobs in the business year ending next March. (Reuters)

Just when Detroit seemed to be luring them away, Americans are embracing Japanese cars again. (AFP)

In 1978, my mother, Suzanne Hall Vogel, presented a paper on Japan's "professional housewives" (sengyou shufu) at the Tokyo Symposium on Women. (Japan Times)

As Japan has ceded dominance in industry after industry that once lifted this nation to economic greatness, there has been plenty of blame to go around. A nuclear disaster that raised energy costs. A lack of entrepreneurship. China's relatively cheap work force. (CNBC)

Tokyo stocks closed 0.13% higher Thursday on hopes that the European Central Bank will announce stimulus measures to help ease the eurozone debt crisis. (Japan Today)

Former Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) leader Ichiro Ozawa laid down a political gauntlet on behalf of his new political party by announcing plans to abolish nuclear power in Japan within 10 years. (Japan Today)

Japan has won an appeal after Satoshi Shimizu's controversial bantamweight defeat by Magomed Abdulhamidov, of Azerbaijan. Shimizu has been declared the winner and goes forward to the quarter-finals. (BBC)

Japan Airlines Co. said Thursday that its net profit more than doubled in the fiscal first quarter as international passenger traffic recovered from last year's March 11 disasters, canceling out rising costs and keeping the carrier on track for an expected initial public offering next month. (Wall Street Journal)

The 61-year-old driver of a tour bus that crashed on the Tohoku Expressway early Thursday morning, suffered a cerebral infarction two months ago, it has been learned. (Japan Today)

Sony on Thursday reported a widening quarterly loss and trimmed its profit forecast for the year, again underscoring the challenges faced by Japan's troubled electronics giants. (Japan Times)

A total of 3,545 public elementary and junior high school buildings nationwide might collapse if an earthquake measuring an upper-6 on Japan's seismic intensity scale to 7 strikes, the government said Thursday. (Japan Times)

Shanghai police said a suspect was arrested Monday in connection with the death of a Japanese female resident of the city. (Japan Times)

The Tokyo High Prosecutor's Office said Thursday it will not try to stop the retrial of Govinda Prasad Mainali with a special appeal to the Supreme Court. (Japan Times)

Seafood caught off the coast of Fukushima Prefecture was traded at Tokyo's Tsukiji fish market Thursday for the first time since last year's nuclear disaster. (Japan Times)

Almost two years ago, in September 2010, the Japanese currency reached an all-time high of just 83 yen to the dollar. The Bank of Japan, shocked into action, brought out the big guns: a massive intervention in the fx market, which immediately sent the currency down more than 3%. (Reuters)

The lower house of Japan's parliament on Thursday approved legislation that effectively raises the country's mandatory retirement age to 65 from 60 as the government and employers try to deal with swelling pension costs due to an aging society. (Wall Street Journal)

Known as Mikaera to her fans in Japan, Micaela Braithwaite is a Canadian living in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, and a YouTube sensation with more than 11 million views to date. (vancouversun.com)

Five people were killed when a minivan crashed into a truck in Ojiyashi, Niigata Prefecture, on Friday. (Japan Today)

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