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Japan winter seen mostly colder to normal

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Japan will see mostly colder to average weather from December to February, raising concerns that utilities, particularly in the west of the country, could find it harder to meet power demand following the Fukushima crisis. Western Japan and the southernmost Okinawa islands have a 40 percent chance of lower-than-average temperatures, the Japan Meteorological Agency said in its three-month forecast on Thursday, though it said there is also a 40 percent chance they will have average weather during the period. (Reuters)

Govt eyes pension cut starting in fiscal 2012

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Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura said Thursday the government would begin discussing a cut to pension benefits from their current levels by 2.5 percent from fiscal 2012. The Government Revitalization Unit tasked with screening administrative spending proposed on Wednesday the cut to the pension benefits, which have been exempted from reflecting declining consumer prices for three years from fiscal 2000. "The government will start a concrete discussion on the issue, including the compilation of the fiscal 2012 budget, toward realizing it [the proposal]. It carries serious significance for the Cabinet," Fujimura told reporters Thursday morning. (Yomiuri)

Noda seeks to appease party foes to TPP talks

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Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda held a meeting Thursday with lawmakers from his Democratic Party of Japan in an effort to ease their opposition to Japan taking part in the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations. It was the first time Noda met with DPJ Diet members since returning from a summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Honolulu earlier this month, where he informed the international community of Japan's desire to join the TPP free-trade pact talks. The meeting was requested by former farm minister Masahiko Yamada and his allies, who fiercely oppose Japan's entry to the TPP negotiations. (Japan Times)

Lower House passes Tohoku disaster tax bill

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The House of Representatives passed a bill Thursday to enable the government to execute an emergency tax hike to secure funds for rebuilding Tohoku from March quake and tsunami. The Lower House, where Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's ruling Democratic Party of Japan holds a majority, voted for the bill before debate in the opposition-controlled House of Councilors. The bill will now be sent to the Upper House, where Noda could see it passed as early as next week with help from major opposition parties, which have been discussing the conditions with the DPJ. (Japan Times)

'Smart' apps becoming lifestyle game-changer

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On a trip to Seoul, you may want to order at a restaurant but don't know any Hangul. But don't worry - just hold your smartphone over the menu and the phone will automatically translate it into Japanese in a split second. Or, if you need a taxi in Tokyo, don't bother to run out to a major street to find one or call an operator. There is an application that can bring you a taxi instantly without you needing to tell anyone where you are. These are only a few of a string of new applications currently available in Japan, where the smartphone market is booming mainly on the back of the strong popularity of Apple Inc.'s iPhone. (Japan Times)

Sumo: Hakuho silences crowd by beating Kotoshogiku

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Mongolian yokozuna Hakuho tipped over ozeki newbie Kotoshogiku to zero in on his 21st Emperor's Cup on Thursday, while Kisenosato snatched victory from the jaws of defeat to get his promotion campaign back on track at the Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament. Hakuho silenced a boisterous home crowd rooting for Fukuoka-born Kotoshogiku, weathering a hard charge before countering to send the ozeki sprawling with a perfectly executed armlock throw. (Japan Times)

2nd earthquake of day shakes northern Japan

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Two strong earthquakes rattled northern Japan on Thursday, but neither caused any apparent damage or a tsunami. A magnitude-6.1 quake struck Thursday evening south of the northern island of Hokkaido, Japan's Meteorological Agency said. It hit about 465 miles (750 kilometers) northeast of Tokyo and 19 miles (30 kilometers) below the sea surface. The agency did not issue a tsunami warning. About 3,900 households in the towns of Erimo and Samani lost electricity shortly after the quake, but power was restored about an hour later, according to the Hokkaido Electric Power Co. (AP)

New postage stamp sheets feature AKB48

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Japan Post Network Co. is taking orders online and at post offices across the nation for stamp sheets featuring AKB48, the popular all-girl pop group, for distribution in February. The sets feature the group's Team A, Team K and Team B versions on a made-to-order basis and cost ¥5,700 each. They include seal-type ¥50 stamps plus postcards and letter sets. After accepting orders online through Jan. 9 and at post offices through Jan. 6, Japan Post will send out the sets starting Feb. 1. (Japan Times)

Japan risks slide towards funding strains

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Japan must explain how it will correct its public finances to avert the risk that investors would shun its bonds and push up borrowing costs, the credit rating agency Fitch has warned. Japan was benefiting from low borrowing rates to funds its public finances because people in Japan were heavy buyers of debt bonds, Fitch said on Thursday, warning that this might not last. Commenting on a report by the International Monetary Fund stating that the state of public finances in Japan left the country "exposed to an abrupt change in market sentiment that would increase government bond yields", Fitch said that Japan had to set out a "credible" strategy. (ninemsn.com.au)

Japan Tobacco accused of marketing to girls at World Cup volleyball

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Anti-smoking campaigners in Japan are accusing one of the world's leading tobacco companies of marketing products to teenage girls at World Cup volleyball events here. Japan Tobacco's logo (JT) is on the national team uniforms, court-side digital billboards, TV ads and "gift" packages handed out to schoolgirls, mothers and children entering Yoyogi National Stadium and arenas across Japan during the World Cup, which runs until Dec. 4. While the United States, European Union and other industrialized countries have long banned tobacco companies from sponsoring sporting events, Japan Tobacco has been a major promoter of volleyball, helping to make the sport popular among schoolgirls. Japan has hosted every World Cup since 1977, and three of the last four world championships. (Washington Times)

A gambling problem for Japan Inc.

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Tokyo public prosecutors on Tuesday arrested Mr. Mototaka Ikawa, former chairman of Daio Paper Corp., on suspicion of causing financial damage to four subsidiaries by taking out massive loans from them for personal use on gambling. The arrest came two months after he suddenly stepped down. He is suspected of having instructed executives of the subsidiaries to remit a total of ¥3.2 billion, in seven installments between July and September, to various bank accounts, including his own and those of companies related to casinos overseas, without indicating how he would use the money. The loans were extended without approval by the companies' boards and without collateral. Not only Mr. Ikawa but also the board members should be criticized for such irresponsible behavior. (Japan Times)

Rugby: Japan all set for biggest ever Sevens Rugby Series

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On the eve of the 2011 Gold Coast Sevens - Fever Pitch, the first round of the 2011/12 HSBC Sevens World Series, the anticipation is building for what will be yet another fascinating season of Sevens. With three back-to-back tournaments to start, including two new venues and stadiums, the season is sure to get off to a flyer. For one team in particular, who are competing in five of the nine rounds this season, they are already looking forward to welcoming the Series to their home, in the newest addition to this year's Series - Japan. (boxscorenews.com)

Japan's debt a rising concern, IMF report warns

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The International Monetary Fund has warned in a new report that market concerns over fiscal sustainability could trigger a "sudden spike" in Japanese government bond yields that could quickly render the nation's debt unsustainable and shake the global economy. The fund's Japan Sustainability Report, released on its website yesterday, serves as a fresh reminder to Tokyo policymakers that the international community is worried about fallouts from Japan's potential fiscal problems. Japan's public debt amounts to about twice its annual economic output -- a ratio worse than that of any other industrialised economy. (The Australian)

Tepco's simplified form just 34 pages, 1,005 sections

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Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Thursday it has created a simplified application form for people seeking compensation related to the Fukushima nuclear accident, after victims criticized the original 60-page forms as too long and complicated. So far, Tepco has sent compensation forms to around 60,000 households, but has only received about 20,000 applications. The utility has to date agreed to pay ¥2 billion worth of compensation to settle some 1,000 cases. (Japan Times)

Japan in talks to resume Myanmar aid

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Japan and Myanmar will hold a meeting in Naypyidaw next week to discuss resuming Tokyo's official development aid, a foreign ministry official said Thursday. The move is the latest in a series of international overtures that appear to be designed to welcome the isolated nation in from the diplomatic cold. Tokyo has continued to provide humanitarian and emergency aid to the country, but halted regular economic assistance in 2003 following the arrest and subsequent detention of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Suu Kyi was freed in November last year after seven years of house arrest, and her party has said it would return to Myanmar's official political arena after years of marginalisation under military rule. (Channel NewsAsia)

Olympics: Japanese PM Noda to support Tokyo 2020 Olympic bid

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Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda will serve as a top adviser to a panel supporting Tokyo's bid to host the 2020 Summer Olympics. Japanese Olympic Committee President Tsunekazu Takeda said Thursday that Noda was asked to assume the post and for the government to give its full support to the bid. Noda accepted the request and was quoted by Takeda as saying, "Let us do our best to make this bid a success," Kyodo new agency reported. Tokyo, which campaigned for the 2016 Olympics but lost out to Rio de Janeiro, is up against Doha, Qatar; Istanbul, Turkey; Madrid; and Rome. The candidate cities will submit their plans for the games to the International Olympic Committee by February next year and the IOC will select the host city in Sept. 2013. (ESPN)

Nuke accident-linked cancer may be impossible to detect

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Even if the world's worst nuclear accident in 25 years results in many people developing cancer, we may never find out. Looking back on the early days of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, that may sound implausible. But the ordinary rate of cancer is so high, and our understanding of the effects of radiation exposure so limited, that any increase in cases following the triple meltdowns at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant may go undetected. Several experts inside and outside Japan said that cancers caused by the massive amounts of radiation the plant emitted may be too few to show up in large population studies, such as the long-term survey of the 2 million residents in Fukushima Prefecture just getting under way. (Japan Times)

U.S. fighter exercises to move outside Okinawa

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The Japanese and U.S. governments are in the final stage of negotiations to conduct fighter jet exercises scheduled for December in Guam, instead of Okinawa Prefecture as originally planned, it was learned Thursday. The fighter jets, which will be involved in takeoff and landing exercises, are based at the U.S. Marine Corps' Iwakuni Air Station in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture. A meeting of the Japan-U.S. joint committee on the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan will be held soon to decide details of the plan. (Yomiuri)

Science in Japan: Where rats and robots play

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Think of a university and what comes to mind may be the cloistered calm of Oxford, the architectural chaos of MIT or even, perhaps, the 1950s brutalism of Moscow. A Daliesque building on a subtropical island, with a view of the ocean and signs on campus warning of venomous snakes, is more unusual. But that is appropriate, for the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST), inaugurated as a graduate university on November 19th, is intended to be unusual. It was built from scratch on a forested hilltop overlooking the East China Sea, and its approach to science starts from scratch too. It has no departments. Instead, its biologists, chemists, physicists, mathematicians and computer geeks intermingle, sharing laboratory equipment, teachers and money. After two centuries of science becoming more and more specialised, the idea is to bring back the generalist. (The Economist)

Basketball: Japan pro league gets first female coach

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Japan's track record for shattering the glass ceiling for working women is a short one. But on Thursday, another crack was made when a female was named head coach for the first time in Japan's professional basketball league. The Saitama Broncos said the team promoted Natalie Nakase to head coach from assistant on Thursday, making the California native the first woman to head a team in the professional basketball league here. The 31-year-old replaces Dean Murray, who was abruptly suspended earlier this week then fired for violating his contract. A team spokeswoman declined to comment on the specifics of the breach. (Wall Street Journal)
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