News On Japan

Japanese and American tastes have always been different. But what we are witnessing now is a particularly fascinating divergence. American consumers are spending more of their time and money on smartphone and tablet games, while console game spending is increasingly focusing on massive, graphically stunning blockbuster titles on Xbox360 and PS3. (BGR News)

Investors are not ready to bet against Japan. But maybe that's the country's biggest problem. Until there is a sign that the outside world is prepared to park its savings somewhere else, Tokyo will continue to sail further into debt. (guardian.co.uk)

Japan's December rally has handed Asia's struggling stock traders an early Christmas present as the rare flurry of activity in Tokyo helps make an otherwise bleak year end on a brighter note. (Reuters)

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon said Wednesday he hopes the new leaders in Japan, China and South Korea can work together to make the region secure and peaceful during an "important" and "exciting" transition period. (Japan Times)

The Yankees and Ichiro Suzuki finalized a $13 million, two-year contract Wednesday that keeps the 10-time All-Star in the Bronx. (Japan Times)

Even James Bond and Spider-Man can't rescue Sony Corp. In "Skyfall," actor Daniel Craig's 007 uses Sony's Xperia T smartphone, while Andrew Garfield's title character in "The Amazing Spider-Man" wields an Xperia X10 Mini Pro. (Japan Times)

Police said Thursday they are investigating the murder of a man and woman whose bodies were found at a dried fish store in Ito, Shizuoka Prefecture. (Japan Today)

The National Police Agency has decided to enforce a total ban on smoking in 1,226 detention cells at prefectural headquarters and police stations nationwide, starting April. (Yomiuri)

A team of Japanese scientists said Thursday that faults underneath a nuclear plant in northern Japan are most likely active, a discovery that could further delay the restart of idled reactors. (mtstandard.com)

The toxic chemical made infamous by campaigning single mother Erin Brockovich has been found at up to 15,800 times safety limits in groundwater at a Japanese iron plant, the factory's operator said Thursday. (The Australian)

In a breakthrough, scientists have for the first time created cancer-killing cells which can be directly injected into patients. (India Times)

The number of deaths from traffic accidents in 2012 totaled 4,411, down 4.4 percent from the preceding year and the 12th straight annual decrease, National Police Agency data revealed Friday. (Yomiuri)

The Japan Securities Dealers Association is checking the identities of new individual stock market investors against a national register of known gangsters to restrict money-making by yakuza groups. (Asahi)

The body of a man found in the Nagara River in Gifu Prefecture is believed to be that of a man wanted for murder, police said Friday. (Japan Today)

The yen and dollar face a tough 2013 as the Japanese and US central banks print money furiously to stimulate their economies, making the euro and sterling unlikely relative winners despite Europe's gloomy prospects. (arabnews.com)

Three people, including a 4-year-old boy, were killed after a minivan crashed into a truck in a tunnel in Gifu Prefecture on Friday. (Japan Today)

Japan scrambled fighter jets today to head off a Chinese state-owned plane that flew near islands at the centre of a dispute between Tokyo and Beijing, a Japanese Defence Ministry spokesman said. (Business Line)

It's almost impossible to get to a gun in Japan, and selling one or owning one is a serious crime. Fire the gun? Possibly life imprisonment. Gun-control laws are taken so seriously that police will pursue a violator all the way to the grave - and maybe beyond. (Japan Times)

Japan's former world champion Daisuke Takahashi plans to hang up his skates after the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. (Reuters)

Bull markets in Japan tend not to last long. Over the past two decades, in an environment of low growth and persistent deflation, the best strategy for globally minded investors has been to get in early and then get out again, once the index has risen about 20 per cent. (CNN)

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