News On Japan

Alfredo Despaigne hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning, helping Cuba defeat two-time defending champion Japan 6-3 Wednesday to finish first in Group A of the World Baseball Classic. (ESPN)

It may look like a toy, but Japanese phone firm Willcom has unveiled the world's smallest mobile phone. (Daily Mail)

Japanese food ranked top as the most favorite foreign cuisine in six out of seven countries and regions surveyed, the Japan External Trade Organization said Tuesday. (Jiji Press)

In Japan he's known as the "landlord of neon nightspots." In Kahala, he's known as a landowner with controversial ideas. Now billionaire Genshiro Kawamoto has been arrested in Japan accused of tax fraud. (khon2.com)

Toyota Motor Corp.'s Aqua hybrid hatchback remained the nation's top-selling car for the fifth straight month in February, selling 24,526 units, up 11.7 percent from a year earlier, industry bodies said Wednesday. (Japan Times)

Two giant pandas will be removed from public view Thursday because they appear to have entered the mating season, Tokyo's Ueno Zoo said Wednesday. (Japan Times)

An LGBT blogger and her partner became the first gay couple to get married at Tokyo Disney last Friday, undeterred by a lack of legal recognition for same-sex partnerships in Japan. (pinknews.co.uk)

Police said Wednesday that parts of a human body have been found at an apartment in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture. (Japan Today)

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Thursday the government is considering holding a ceremony on April 28 to commemorate the day Japan recovered its sovereignty under the San Francisco Peace Treaty in 1952. (Kyodo)

The Bank of Japan upgraded its assessment of the economy Thursday amid an improvement in overseas economies and kept its monetary policy unchanged as it apparently continues to assess the impact of the introduction of a 2 percent inflation target. (Kyodo)

Japan's Nikkei average rose to a 4-1/2-year high for a second day in a row on Thursday, boosted by the prospect of Japan soon embarking on a more aggressive monetary policy, although the index failed to close above the key 12,000-mark. (Economic Times)

Japan has nominated Takehiko Nakao, its deputy finance minister for international affairs, to become president of the Asian Development Bank. (miamiherald.com)

Google has announced the first international expansion of its Public Alerts system - which helps disseminate details of emergencies through its Web services - after the service launched in Japan. (thenextweb.com)

Japan's main international airport on Thursday hiked capacity to allow tens of thousands more flights annually as it faces rising competition and criticism over high landing fees. (Global Post)

Some indications of North Korea preparing for a war were observable in the capital Pyongyang on Wednesday, a day after the North threatened to scrap the cease-fire that ended the 1950-1953 Korean War. (Kyodo)

The Japan Meteorological Agency introduced a new tsunami warning system Thursday, under which it will initially focus on giving appropriate evacuation warnings rather than accurate forecasts of the height of incoming waves. (Kyodo)

Japanese Crown Prince Naruhito delivered a keynote speech on disaster reduction at a U.N. conference Wednesday, the first Japanese Imperial Family member to make an address at the U.N. Headquarters. (Jiji Press)

Japan's National Policy Agency said Thursday that it will strengthen its fight against new gangs accused of repeatedly committing criminal activities such as assault and remittance fraud. (Jiji Press)

Like tens of thousands of people who lost everything in the tsunami that pulverized Japan's northeastern coast two years ago, 83-year-old Hide Sato is living in one-room temporary housing, and longing for a home of her own. (miamiherald.com)

Japan has one of the lowest scores in the Asia-Pacific region in terms of socioeconomic opportunities for women, according to MasterCard's latest Index of Women's Advancement released Wednesday. (Japan Times)

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