The United States will hold the dubious distinction starting on Sunday of having the developed world's highest corporate tax rate after Japan's drops to 38.01 percent, setting the stage for much political posturing but probably little tax reform.
Japan and the United States have been tied for the top combined, statutory corporate rate, with levies of 39.5 percent and 39.2 percent, respectively. (Reuters)
U.S. displacing Japan as No. 1 for highest corp taxes
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Japan heading for energy death spiral?
Nobuo Tanaka's hair is on fire. The immediate past executive director of the International Energy Agency is on a mission attempting to alert officials in the United States, Japan, Europe, China and elsewhere that post-Fukushima Japan may be approaching an energy death spiral.
Tanaka's argument is mathematical at its core. He argues that if Japan does not find a way to 'turn on' its now shuttered nuclear energy reactors, not only will Japan's already sluggish economic condition be crushed with much larger oil and gas imports from Russia, Southeast Asia and the Middle East -- but because of the costs and risk uncertainty -- Japan's powerful manufacturing base may begin pulling out of the world's third largest economy. (huffingtonpost.com)
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iJapan: Apple ranked as top consumer brand in Japan
For the first time ever, Apple has been ranked the top consumer brand in Japan in Nikkei's annual brand ranking.
Apple shot up from 11th place last year, and 64th place three years ago, hitting 90.5 points for total brand power among consumers. The news shows that Japan is finally beginning to warm up to the American computer company - most likely due to the rise of the iPhone and iPad. Notably, Google fell from first place to second. (venturebeat.com)
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New camera sees Japan's radiation threats
One year after Japan's nuclear disaster, the invisible threat of radiation still lurks around homes and businesses near the Fukushima Dai-ichi power plant. Now, a new camera based on Japanese space technology has allowed humans to see the radioactive contamination around the nuclear plant's emergency evacuation zone.
Such camera technology works by detecting radioactive particles that give off gamma rays - the highest-energy form of light in the universe. (Space.com)
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Chinese cybercrime campaign traced back to one man
A notorious malware campaign that infected hundreds of computers in Japan and India has been linked back to a former graduate student at a Chinese university - a rare instance in which a name and face is able to be attached to the dark underground world of Chinese hackers and state-sponsored cybercriminals. (MSNBC)
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Honda's FCX Clarity can power a home for 6 days
Honda has turned the FCX Clarity into a zero emissions electric generator on wheels. The auto manufacturer outfitted the hydrogen fuel cell vehicle with a mobile power supply system, enabling the car to provide 9 kilowatts of electricity continuously for more than seven hours on a full tank of hydrogen at peak generation. At the lower-generation rates needed to power a typical home in Japan, the FCX Clarity could provide electricity for six days.
(CNET)
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Japan to lift entry ban on some Fukushima cities
Japan said on Friday it would lift entry bans on some cities in Fukushima prefecture that had been designated no-go zones due to their proximity to a nuclear power plant crippled by a powerful earthquake and tsunami last March.
After the natural disasters triggered the worst atomic accident since Chernobyl by causing nuclear fuel meltdowns at the Daiichi power plant in Fukushima, 240 km (160 miles) northeast of Tokyo, the government evacuated a 20 km (12 mile) radius of the complex, in which around 80,000 people lived.
(Reuters)
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Japan's bill for marine move may hit $3.5 billion
Japan and the United States have began making adjustments to increase to $3.5 billion from $2.8 billion the costs Tokyo will shoulder to transfer U.S. Marines from Okinawa to Guam, sources said.
The two governments agreed in 2009 on Japan's contribution of $2.8 billion to cover the cost of constructing buildings for a command center and other facilities, including schools, on the Pacific island.
(Japan Times)
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Narita to open Tokyo's first biz jet terminal
Tokyo's first dedicated business-jet terminal opens Saturday as Japan tries to lure millionaire tourists from China and investment from multinationals adding Asian offices.
The facility at Narita Airport, the nation's biggest international gateway, will have dedicated customs and immigration counters, allowing travelers to avoid the lines. The center will cost ¥250,000 ($3,040) per plane, said Hiroaki Suda, a spokesman for state-owned Narita International Airport Corp. There will be 18 parking spaces.
(Japan Times)
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Cherry blossoms set to lift national mood
The nation was too stunned last year to partake in the national ritual of "hanami" cherry blossom viewing after the March 11 disasters left more than 18,000 dead or missing, but now people are in the mood.
The first cherry tree, or "sakura," blossomed in Kochi Prefecture last week and the light pink glitter will soon spread across the archipelago, giving the nation a much-needed uplift.
(Japan Times)
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Emperor to continue resting at palace as he recuperates from heart bypass
Emperor Akihito will continue to rest at the Imperial Palace as he recuperates from his heart bypass in February, the Imperial Household Agency said Friday.
The agency has not given a clear indication about when the 78-year-old Emperor will resume his official duties, which for the time being have been delegated to Crown Prince Naruhito.
(Japan Times)
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Restaurants face ban on serving raw beef liver following E. coli discovery
A health ministry panel on Friday proposed banning all raw beef liver served at restaurants, after it was discovered that it contains the O-157 strain of E. coli bacteria.
The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry will swiftly refer the matter to the Food Safety Commission under the Cabinet Office. Once the commission compiles a report, the new ban could be incorporated in the Food Sanitation Law and come into effect as early as June.
(Japan Times)
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F-15s to be sent to guard Aegis ships
The Defense Ministry has decided to send F-15 fighters to guard Aegis destroyers to be deployed in preparation for the scheduled launch of a North Korean missile, government sources have said.
The ministry is expected to deploy the state-of-the-art Aegis ships to the East China Sea and two other locations to monitor the launch.
(Yomiuri)
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Businesses laud tax hike, criticize other fiscal efforts
Major business associations welcomed Friday's Cabinet approval of bills to raise the consumption tax and called for early passage of the bills in the Diet, but also criticized the government's efforts for future fiscal stability as insufficient.
Yasuchika Hasegawa, chairman of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives, commented, "We hope the ruling and opposition parties will respond in a responsible manner [on the issues] in future Diet sessions."
(Yomiuri)
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Man dressed as woman arrested for stabbing policeman
A man dressed as a woman has been arrested after he stabbed a policeman with a fruit knife at a "koban" (police box) in Fuchu City in Tokyo.
Police said Friday that the "woman"-who was a man in his 30s-came to the koban at about 2 p.m. on Wednesday, and asked the officer on duty if a lost wallet had been handed in, NTV reported. While the police officer was checking the lost-and-found items, the suspect suddenly stabbed him with a fruit knife with a blade 10 centimeters long.
(Japan Today)
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2 prosecutors convicted in evidence tampering case
A court in Japan convicted two senior lawyers in a high-profile evidence-tampering case on Friday that rocked public confidence in the highly respected state prosecution service.
The Osaka District Court sentenced Hiromichi Otsubo, 58, and Motoaki Saga, 51, the head and deputy head of an elite regional investigative team, to 18 months in prison, suspended for three years.
(Japan Today)
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Nankai quake scenario menaces Pacific coast
Wide swaths of the Pacific coastline stretching from Honshu to Kyushu may be hit by tsunami over 20 meters high if a newly feared megaquake occurs in the Nankai Trough, a Cabinet Office panel warned Saturday.
The new warning comes after the panel revised its 2003 estimate to reflect new findings from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that devastated the coastline of the Tohoku region last year.
(Japan Times)
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Expressways in earthquake-stricken region in Japan no longer toll-free
The Japanese government on Saturday ended a special measure that had made expressways in the Tohoku region toll-free to promote reconstruction after the Great East Japan Earthquake, likely dealing yet another blow to local industries and residents.
Effective Sunday, only evacuees from areas affected by the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant and some others will be eligible for the toll-free service.
(kentucky.com)
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Google: Japanese court didn't ban all our search suggestions
Google is setting the record straight about a court's demands that Google stop automatically completing its searches in Japan.
Google searches on most browsers and devices automatically suggest search terms that you might be looking for, based on their popularity. Type "mash," for example, and the search engine will suggest you're looking for "Mashable" followed by a suggestion for "mashed potatoes."
(mashable.com)
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Yonaguni: Japan's most westerly isle
A colossal, dark-skinned man rides along the sidewalk on a motorbike: no helmet, two small children aboard - a vision of life in the laconic Tropics. There are times here too on Yonaguni, the westernmost land mass in Okinawa Prefecture, when you see a curvaceous island woman in a vivid, flower-patterned dress, and you think of Paul Gauguin and the Tahitian women he painted. (Japan Times)
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