News On Japan

Eighty-year-old Yuichiro Miura has become the oldest person to scale Mount Everest, his management office said Thursday. (Japan Times)

The Nikkei stock index tumbled more than 7 percent Thursday in Tokyo to end a roller-coaster trading session below 14,500 as selling triggered by weak Chinese data outpaced sharp gains made earlier and snapped a four-session winning streak. (Kyodo)

Many big hedge fund investors have in recent years had a very hard time keeping up with the U.S. stock market and other financial benchmarks against which they are judged. The big market drop in Japan will probably make things even harder for some of them. (Forbes)

About 600 university students have been declared no longer eligible for student loans because of their poor academic performance last year, the Japan Student Services Organization said Thursday. (Japan Times)

The government is now reaching out to an underutilized demographic - highly skilled mothers. (myfoxal.com)

Osaka District Court accepted a claim on Thursday that losses on betting on horse racing should be deductible from payouts to calculate taxable income. (Jiji Press)

Thursday's plunge in Tokyo stock prices represents a short-term pullback from recent gains, not a sign of doubt in Japan's economic policies, a senior government official said. (Reuters)

The government of Japan has bestowed one of that nation's highest honors on a Japanese-American, a former U.S. Soldier and World War II veteran, for his work furthering relationships between the Japanese and Americans. (army.mil)

A council directly under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has recommended English become a regular subject at primary schools, as part of efforts to rejuvenate the national education system. (Yomiuri)

Global markets face a witches' brew of new risks as Japan's monetary adventure wobbles, China slows further and the US Fed prepares to shut the spigot of dollar liquidity. (telegraph.co.uk)

The Bank of Japan on Friday offered to buy some 900 billion yen in Japanese government bonds from commercial financial institutions on Tuesday, launching JGB-buying market operations for the second consecutive day. (Jiji Press)

Japan's largest bread maker will raise the prices of some of its products from July. (NHK)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police on Wednesday raided an Internet casino in Shibuya Ward for offering illegal gambling. (Tokyo Reporter)

After a bumpy ride, stocks in Japan closed with a small gain on Friday, recovering from a deep plunge the day before. (CNN)

At a press event in Tokyo today, Twitter founder Jack Dorsey announced the long-awaited Japanese debut of Square, the smartphone credit card processing service with the iconic white dongle. (theverge.com)

Two South Korean women who were forced to serve as wartime sex slaves canceled a scheduled meeting Friday with Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto, saying it is "worthless." (Kyodo)

Haruhiko Kuroda may need to talk his way out of a paradox he helped create. Installed as Bank of Japan chief in March, Kuroda aims to unlock borrowing and spending by lifting inflation expectations and wages after 15 years of deflation. (Bloomberg)

Keeping the meltdown-stricken Fukushima nuclear plant in northeastern Japan in stable condition requires a cast of thousands. Increasingly the plant's operator is struggling to find enough workers, a trend that many expect to worsen and hamper progress in the decades-long effort to safely decommission it. (AP)

The operator of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is expected to start full operations this year of a system to remove accumulated radioactive wastewater. (NHK)

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary has indicated that Japan will closely monitor North Korea, following its senior official's expression of willingness to hold a dialogue with relevant nations on easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula. (NHK)

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