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Few new students as school year starts

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About 700 elementary and junior high schools in Fukushima Prefecture held ceremonies Friday to kick off the new school year, but some have significantly fewer new students compared with last April. About 34,450 students had entered elementary or junior high schools in the prefecture as of Friday, down 1,450 from the previous year, the prefecture's education board said. Many relocated with their families to other areas of Japan to avoid radioactive fallout from the Fukushima nuclear crisis. (Japan Times)

Swimming: Kitajima triumphs in 200-meter breaststroke at nationals

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Once again, the Olympic hero proved he's Japan's undisputed king of the pool. And it looks like he's got a good rival and supporting cast now. Kosuke Kitajima edged Ryo Tateishi, winning the men's 200-meter breaststroke final with a solid time of 2 minutes, 8.00 seconds in the Japan National Championships on Friday night. (Japan Times)

Deaf student qualifies to teach English in Nagoya

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A deaf student at Nagoya Gakuin University who obtained a license to teach English to students with impaired hearing graduated on March 15. Misato Fujiwara, 23, will start teaching at Aichi Prefectural Nagoya School for the Aurally Disabled in Chikusa Ward, Nagoya, on Wednesday. (Japan Times)

Washington OKs auto, insurance talks during TPP negotiations

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Tokyo and Washington have agreed to continue free-trade talks on automobiles and insurance while Japan explores its prospects for entering the Trans-Pacific Partnership pact, a senior government official said. "We will take time to continue exchanges for a while," Katsuyuki Ishida, senior vice minister in charge of economic and fiscal policy at the Cabinet Office, said in Washington. (Japan Times)

US, Japan reject invitation from Pyongyang

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Pyongyang has invited the European Space Agency and space agencies from eight countries including the US, Japan, China, Russia and India to observe its planned satellite launch some time next week, a Japanese news report said. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration of the US and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency rejected the offer, Kyoto News said. The Japanese government is encouraging Russia and China to follow suit, it said. (China Daily)

Japan sets new safety standards for nuclear plants

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Japan announced new guidelines Friday for how its nuclear power plants try to prevent disasters like last year's meltdowns, as the government aims to ease public concern about restarting idled reactors. Facing a national power crunch, the government is anxious to restart two reactors in Fukui, western Japan, before the last operating reactor of the 54 in the country goes offline in May. (USA Today)

J-Alert hard to use for 30% of local governments

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The transmission of quick reports using the J-Alert nationwide warning system would not happen automatically in more than 30 percent of municipalities nationwide should North Korea go through with its planned missile launch, officials said. In Okinawa Prefecture alone, over which the missile is expected to fly, 14 out of 41 municipalities would be unable to automatically obtain the quick reports. (Yomiuri)

Fraud targets Android phones / Major increase in viruses that steal information, send false bills

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There has been a large increase in the number of cases in which Android smartphone users are asked to pay large bills after installing a virus-infected application that steals their personal information such as phone numbers. The number of confirmed new viruses targeting smartphones with Google Inc.'s Android operating system increased 150-fold from a year ago. Propelling the surge in the number of new viruses are malicious businesses, which use the personal information of smartphone users for billing fraud or resell the information to others. (Yomiuri)

Softbank tops rivals in new phone contracts for second year in row

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Softbank Mobile Corp. was the nation's top gainer in mobile phone contracts for the second year in a row in fiscal 2011, the companies' reports showed Friday. In the year to last month, Softbank achieved a record net increase of 3,540,300 contracts compared with its previous high of 3,532,100 in fiscal 2010 by taking advantage of Apple Inc.'s iPhone 4S smartphone and iPad tablet computer and other popular products. (Japan Times)

4 family members found dead in Tokyo apartment

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Four members of a family have been found dead in their apartment in Edogawa, Tokyo, in what police believe may have been a murder-suicide. Police said that 28-year-old Sayuri Nomoto, her 9-year-old son, 7-year-old daughter, and Nomoto's older brother were found dead on their futons at around 8 p.m. on Friday, TBS reported. (Japan Today)

Japan, China finance ministers meet over bilateral cooperation

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Japanese Finance Minister Jun Azumi and his Chinese counterpart Xie Xuren met Saturday in Tokyo to discuss measures to accelerate cooperation between the two biggest economies in Asia in such areas as international trade and finance. The meeting came as officials in the two counties work on details of an earlier agreement that will see Tokyo start buying Chinese government bonds and both countries promote the use of their currencies -- instead of the U.S. dollar -- in settling bilateral trade. (Mainichi)

Baseball: Japan's new ace? The search is on

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On the side of the Nippon Ham Fighters' spring training bullpen reserved for fan viewing, onlookers clutching cellphones, video cameras and even children jockeyed to capture a glimpse of the pitcher who had started throwing. The center of attention was not Yu Darvish this time, for he had signed a six-year contract with the Texas Rangers. (New York Times)

23 Japanese institutions to join education expo

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Twenty-three Japanese universities and language schools will take part in the international education conference and exhibition to get under way April 17-20 at the Riyadh International Exhibition Center under the auspices of the Saudi Ministry of Higher Education. (arabnews.com)

Japan gets back its cherry blossom fever

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Millions across Japan this week are flocking to the best spots for viewing cherry blossoms, in a tradition that last year was overshadowed by the natural disasters that struck the nation. The national weather service announced on Friday that blooming had officially started in Tokyo on March 31, using the city's central Yasukuni Shrine as a barometer - an explosion of colours that will last only about a week. (omanobserver.om)

Mizuho joins rush to tap Myanmar's emerging market

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Mizuho Corporate Bank opened a representative office in Yangon on Friday, joining the legion of domestic companies seeking to tap into Myanmar as it moves toward democracy. Mizuho's move underlines the recent rush to enter a market previously isolated by economic sanctions imposed by the international community. (Japan Times)

Noda hoping Diet debate on sales tax hike will begin this month

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Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda on Saturday expressed hope that Diet deliberations on his proposed sales tax hike will begin this month, despite speculation the debate could be delayed until the end of Golden Week in May. "No one has decided that deliberations will begin after the (Golden Week) holiday period," Noda told reporters during a visit to Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, where he attended a forum on his planned social security and tax reforms. (Japan Times)

Crown Princess prone to fatigue

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Crown Princess Masako's health could easily worsen due to fatigue, the head of the Crown Prince's household said, quoting a statement released by her medical team. The Crown Princess, 48, is "in a situation where her health condition can easily worsen due to accumulated fatigue," said the statement disclosed Friday by grand master Kyoji Komachi. The Crown Princess began suffering from a stress-induced illness shortly after entering the Imperial family. (Japan Times)

Japan, China may bolster IMF funds to stem eurozone crisis

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Tokyo and Beijing are considering ways to boost the IMF's resources to prevent Europe's sovereign debt crisis from dragging down the global economy, Finance Minister Jun Azumi said Saturday after talks with his Chinese counterpart in Tokyo. While denying that Asia's two biggest economies had reached an agreement on whether to extend additional money to the International Monetary Fund, Azumi said they will continue to discuss the matter through "various channels." (Japan Times)

Lack of strong ties spurs business of dying alone

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Traditional Japanese culture celebrated its hermits - poets and enlightened ones who, awakened to the futility of worldly attachments, cast them off and retired to mountain huts to commune with the infinite. Modern reclusion is different. Neither enlightenment nor poetry figures in it, and it's a moot point whether individuals are casting off the world or the world them. Either way, it's spreading. (Japan Times)

Japan deploys missile defenses at 3 locations in Tokyo

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Japan has deployed missile batteries in Tokyo and dispatched destroyers as North Korea makes final preparations for a rocket launch that could take place this week despite fierce condemnation from across the globe. Pyongyang says it will launch a satellite for peaceful scientific research between April 12 and 16 to mark the 100th anniversary on April 15 of the birth of founding leader Kim Il-Sung. (Japan Today)
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