Work on Yanba Dam to resume: Maeda
The government will soon resume building a controversial dam in Gunma Prefecture, construction minister Takeshi Maeda announced Thursday, reversing a Democratic Party of Japan election promise to scrap...
View ArticleSpace development division planned
The government will set up a division to handle space development policy, including a satellite system for improving the accuracy of Japan's global positioning system, Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu...
View ArticleEmperor turns 78, lauds Tohoku spirit
On the occasion of his 78th birthday Friday, Emperor Akihito reflected on the past year and expressed his concern and continued support for victims of the quake, tsunami and nuclear crisis triggered on...
View ArticleConflict over child allowance
As the central government's work to compile the fiscal 2012 budget goes into full swing, conflicts between the central and local governments are deepening over the use and distribution of funds. One...
View ArticleGender gap shows scant improvement
The World Economic Forum's annual gender equality report may have come as quite a shock to many Japanese. Despite being the third-largest economy in the world, Japan was ranked a disappointing 98th out...
View ArticleChina, Japan leaders to meet amid North Korea angst
Leaders from China and Japan will likely agree to work together to help maintain stability on the Korean peninsula following the death of North Korean ruler Kim Jong-il when they meet next week, but...
View ArticleSoftbank to quit on Myspace in Japan: report
Softbank Corp will quit its domestic social networking site business after just five years, liquidating a joint venture with Rupert Murdoch's News Corp for the Japanese-language version of Myspace, the...
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Deportation could split up lesbian Vermont couple
Frances Herbert and her wife, Takako Ueda, were looking forward to the New Year's Eve family concert at the Baptist Church, the town fireworks on the pond and then a night at home to celebrate the...
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Japan picks 'kizuna' as kanji character of 2011
Japan has chosen the written character "kizuna", meaning "bond", as best representing 2011, in a year when the country's worst calamity since the war saw strangers rushing to help one another. Half a...
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North Koreans in Japan 'confused' by Kim death
Pro-Pyongyang Korean communities in Japan were "confused" but tight-lipped Tuesday, a day after the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il was announced. In a seemingly highly disciplined response,...
View ArticleDNA conflict boosts 'Hakamada case' retrial bid
A DNA analysis conducted by an examiner for the defense of a man convicted in the 1966 murder of a family of four in Shizuoka Prefecture has shown the victims' blood DNA types were not found on five...
View ArticleNew Toshiba reactor model gets U.S. nod
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved Toshiba Corp.'s AP1000 reactor design, paving the way for the first new reactor construction license to be issued in more than 30 years. The...
View ArticleTighter export rules for electrical appliances
The Environment Ministry will promote the recovery of rare metals from small electrical appliances and at the same time reinforce control on their export to prevent them from being inappropriately...
View ArticleForeign residents and religion
This month, two common questions were heard among many foreign residents here: "What are you doing for Christmas?" and "Are you going home or staying here?" The questions are asked and answered in...
View Article14 dam projects to continue, 6 halted
Since the Democratic Party of Japan came to power in 2009, infrastructure ministers have decided to continue 14 and suspend six of the 83 dam projects reviewed by their ministry and related...
View ArticleLogo removal marks Sanyo's passing
Sanyo Electric Co. has removed its logo from the headquarters building in Moriguchi, Osaka Prefecture, ahead of a groupwide reorganization next month by parent Panasonic Corp. As part of the move, all...
View ArticleGovernment evacuation order to come under fire
A government panel investigating the Fukushima nuclear crisis is expected to state in an upcoming report that the evacuation order issued shortly after the accident began was irrational, sources said....
View ArticleNoda apologizes for Futenma rape gaffe
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda apologized Saturday to Okinawa Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima for a highly offensive remark a Defense Ministry official made about a plan to relocate a U.S. air base. "I deeply...
View ArticleCombined government debt poised to hit all-time high Y937 trillion in 2012
The outstanding balance of central and local government debt at the end of fiscal 2012 is expected to rise to an all-time high of ¥937 trillion, the government said Saturday, leaving Japan with the...
View ArticleJapan woman freed in U.S. after returning daughter
A Japanese woman has been released from custody in the United States as a result of a plea bargain after being arrested on suspicion of taking her 9-year-old daughter to Japan in violation of the...
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