News On Japan

When the now elderly man left Japan on a Soviet ship in 1960 for North Korea, he thought he was headed to the promised land. In reality, he survived 47 years there thanks only to $1 million in support from his half-brother in Japan. (Reuters)

Lockheed Martin's F-35 fighters are the best choice for Japan's future operational needs, the nation's highest-ranking uniformed officer said on Wednesday, in a vote of confidence for the state-of-the-art U.S. warplane. (Reuters)

Line, the chat app that is exploding in popularity in Japan and other Asian countries, has published an online safety guide for teens after a string of incidents in which it was used to maliciously target young women. (networkworld.com)

Concrete rubble litters streets lined with shuttered shops and dark windows. A collapsed roof juts from the ground. A ship sits stranded on a stretch of dirt flattened when the tsunami roared across the coastline. There isn't a person in sight. (AP)

The victory of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in the December 2012 national election brought the hawkish Shinzo Abe into the prime ministership, and a new 'nationalistic' party, the Japan Restoration Party (JRP), led by Shintaro Ishihara and Toru Hashimoto, enjoyed a surge of popularity before the election campaign. (East Asia Forum)

Panasonic Corp. said Thursday it aims to achieve a group operating profit of over 350 billion yen in fiscal 2015 by further accelerating streamlining of its loss-making businesses including the television business. (Kyodo)

Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said Thursday that the central bank's decisions to end its zero interest policy in 2000 and its quantitative easing policy in 2006 were premature and inappropriate. (Jiji Press)

A Japanese company is hoping to win a big slice of Asia's tuk-tuk market, it said Wednesday, betting battery-operated buggies could cut burgeoning city pollution. (inquirer.net)

Lawyers designated to serve as prosecutors demanded Wednesday that three former presidents of West Japan Railway Co., or JR West, be sentenced to three years in prison over a train crash that killed 106 passengers in western Japan in April 2005. (Jiji Press)

A 25-year-old mother whose two young children starved to death surrounded by rubbish after she locked them in her apartment has been sentenced to 30 years in jail in Japan, reports said. (indianexpress.com)

People come from all over the world to get a short glimpse of Japan's blooming cherry blossoms. Google is taking advantage of this worldwide sakura passion to show off their virtual-tour map feature with Street View Sakura Edition, which shows cherry blossom scenes not only in normal pictures but also as 360-degree panoramas. (Japan Pulse)

Japanese carmakers showcased their sports utility vehicles and luxury cars at the annual New York International Auto Show, which opened on Wednesday. (Kyodo)

The number of people police took action against in Japan last year on suspicion of violating a law banning illegal access to computer networks rose from 40 to 154, the highest since the law took effect in 2000, the National Police Agency said Thursday. (Kyodo)

A leader of a team of researchers on earthquakes admitted Thursday that they made an erroneous announcement confirming the presence of an active fault in an area near Tokyo after mistaking what appears to be a concrete column buried in the ground as natural stone. (Kyodo)

Kanagawa Prefectural Police on Monday raided a Yokohama casino for providing illegal gambling. (Tokyo Reporter)

Japan's Nikkei share average fell to a one-week closing low on Thursday as concerns about Italy's funding costs and the rescue deal for Cyprus prompted investors to take profits on exporters. (Reuters)

Japanese police on Thursday arrested a 38-year-old man who claims to be a Thai national for breaking into his former partner's home in Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo, and locking himself inside. (Jiji Press)

A Japanese man who allegedly tried to kill a woman he was stalking by putting poison in her shoes was arrested Thursday, police and reports said. (Jakarta Globe)

By 2040, the populations of all 47 of Japan's prefectures will be less than their 2010 levels, a health ministry-affiliated research institute said Wednesday, with Okinawa marking the least decline, followed by Tokyo. (Japan Times)

Japan's health ministry said Thursday that 86 Indonesians and 42 Filipinos have passed Japan's national examination for certified care workers for fiscal 2012 ending Sunday. (Jiji Press)

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