Siege ends as Japanese police storm bank
Japanese police have stormed a bank and arrested a hostage-taker who was demanding that the country's prime minister resign. The man was holding five people captive, when about a dozen police carrying...
View ArticleTwo more US servicemen arrested in Japan
Two more US servicemen were arrested in Japan on Friday, police said, as anti-American sentiment runs high following the rape of a woman in the southern Japanese island of Okinawa. (AFP)
View ArticleNorth Korea preparing for missile launch: Japanese media
US satellites have picked up signs that North Korea is preparing to launch a long-range missile, a Japanese newspaper reported on Friday. (Channel NewsAsia)
View ArticleJapan 'geeks' seek love at masked match-making
Self-confessed geeks in Japan who might ordinarily be too shy to ask someone on a date are trying a new kind of matchmaking: wearing cartoon character masks. (AFP)
View ArticleM4.9 quake jolts Tokyo, Kanagawa
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 4.9 jolted Tokyo and nearby areas at 5:59 p.m. Saturday, but no tsunami warning has been issued, Japan Meteorological Agency said. (Japan Today)
View ArticleJapan should take lead in regional trade pacts
New initiatives have been launched to create two huge free trade blocs in Asia. Japan will face a test as to whether it can work out a strategy to expedite such moves to boost its economic growth....
View ArticleDPJ-LDP war of words breaks out / Noda kicks off stump tour, blasts Abe
Prime Minister and Democratic Party of Japan President Yoshihiko Noda on Saturday afternoon kicked off his stump tour around the nation ahead of the upcoming general election with a street speech in...
View ArticleBank cameras turned on police / Hostages relayed warnings their captor was...
Koji Nagakubo, 32, who was arrested early Friday on suspicion of confining hostages at a shinkin bank, used the bank's security cameras near the doors to monitor the police's actions outside,...
View ArticleAeon fully reopens riot-damaged Jusco store in China
Seventy days after it was looted by anti-Japanese protesters, a Jusco shopping center affiliated with Japanese retailer Aeon Co. in Qingdao, Shandong Province, resumed full operations on Saturday....
View ArticleTaylor Swift cuts a lonely figure as she departs Japan
She spent most of her Thanksgiving in Japan with her cat Meredith, while she was in Tokyo to perform for her tour. And now Taylor Swift is on the move again as she was spotted leaving the country on...
View ArticleSIT smoothly neutralized hostage drama
In a mere minute, Special Investigation Team members pounced on and arrested a hostage taker at a bank in Toyokawa early Friday after quietly sneaking into the building to end a nearly 13-hour...
View ArticleSumo: Hakuho clinches tournament triumph
Mongolian yokozuna Hakuho got a little help from Kotoshogiku and captured his first Emperor's Cup since March on Saturday, the penultimate day of the Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament. (Japan Times)
View ArticleJapanese pop idol-turned-actress-turned-drug user Sakai announces return to...
Former pop idol-turned-actress Noriko Sakai, who was convicted on drug charges in 2009, on Saturday announced her return to the stage, thanking her fans and those who supported her during the past...
View ArticleAnalysis: Japan-China relations tested by island dispute
Over the past decade or so, global security concerns have focused on developments in the Middle East, and the situation there remains worryingly volatile. Recently, however, the security environment in...
View Article2 die after being hit by train at crossing
A 70-year-old man and a 60-year-old woman died after being hit by a train on Saturday at a railway crossing in Honjo, Saitama Prefecture. (Yomiuri)
View ArticleHorse racing: Filly Gentildonna wins Japan Cup
Gentildonna edged past Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe runner-up Orfevre by a nose to become the first three-year-old filly to win the 2,400-metre (1.5 mile) Japan Cup. (AFP)
View ArticleSumo: Champion Hakuho finishes in style
With his first Emperor's Cup since March already in the bag, Hakuho put the icing on the cake Sunday with a victory over fellow Mongolian yokozuna Harumafuji at the Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament. (Japan...
View ArticleJapan intercepts N. Korea weapons-grade material bound for Myanmar
North Korea tried to ship materials suitable for uranium enrichment or missile development to Myanmar via China this year, in violation of a U.N. Security Council resolution, The Asahi Shimbun has...
View Article2 killed, 1 hurt during Sendai road repair
A construction worker and a traffic guard were killed and another construction worker was severely injured early Sunday when they were struck by a minivehicle driven by a drunk driver at a road repair...
View ArticleBOJ rift surfaces over easing as political debate heats up
A split within the Bank of Japan was laid bare on Monday, with newcomers to its board pressing to strengthen commitment to an ultra-loose policy, as pressure on the central bank for bolder action...
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