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Few growth options in 2012
The sky-high yen and global economic downturn will likely continue to exert downward pressure on the economy in 2012, but domestic demand linked to postdisaster reconstruction work is expected to...
View ArticleFirm pools three giants' prowess in small panels
The rapidly growing smartphone and tablet computer market is changing the face of the Tokyo commute: Many now can be seen flicking their fingers across touch-screen panels while riding public...
View ArticleYear of the dragon - it'll be a hot one
The year of the dragon, (tatsu, ryu or ryo in Japanese) is upon us - and now just hours before the New Year, I can see the dragon peeking out of his lair, counting down the seconds until he is allowed...
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Sumo looks to rebound after scandal-tainted campaign
A: "Let's hit hard at the face-off and please just go with the flow after that." B: "Gotcha! I'll put up a bit of a struggle but go with the flow." Wink, wink. This stranger than fiction text message...
View ArticleGovernment approves DPJ tax hike plan
The government formally adopted a plan Friday to hike the consumption tax in 2014 as Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda vowed to push for shrinking the size of the Diet and the cost of running the bloated...
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Used bookstores turn to Internet sales for a lift in turbulent times
When talking about books, there are not as many polarizing issues as the contrast between chain bookstores and independent booksellers. Many people blame the former group for the gradual disappearance...
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Futenma push, F-35s deepen Japan-U.S. ties
Japan's recent efforts to move ahead with a controversial plan to relocate a key U.S. Marine base and its choice of the U.S.-led F-35 stealth fighter as its new mainstay fighter highlight its...
View ArticleSeabed with 13th century Mongol shipwreck may become historic site
The Agency for Cultural Affairs plans to have the seabed off Nagasaki Prefecture where the wreck of a ship believed to have been used by 13th century Mongol invaders has been found declared a national...
View ArticleFirms hiring women in 'man-cession'
Three times a week, Seiya Ogawa bikes to an unemployment center in Kadoma, home to Panasonic Corp., looking for work to help pay for his son's final year at college. "At this point, I'm willing to take...
View ArticleLay judges to serve in marathon 100-day trial
A trial for a woman charged with murdering three men and faking their suicides is scheduled for 100 days, the longest period since the lay judge system was introduced, raising concerns about the burden...
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SF Japantown losing 105-year-old landmark Sakai market
Fishmonger Kitaichi Sakai founded Uoki K. Sakai Co. market in a city that was just rebuilding after the devastating 1906 earthquake. For more than 105 years, the grocery survived - from the Sakai...
View ArticleAKB48's Hana-Kimi theme wins Japan Record Award 2011
"Flying Get," the Hana Zakari no Kimi-tachi e ~Ikemen Paradise 2011 theme song performed by the all-female idol group AKB48, won the top honor in the 53rd Japan Record Awards on Thursday. This is the...
View ArticleNoda's trade-off maintains fiscal discipline / Decision to delay consumption...
Conflict within the Democratic Party of Japan over raising the consumption tax rate has ended, for now, with Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's offer of a compromise that would delay the tax hikes by six...
View ArticleJapan consumer spending seen picking up
As we approach the end of the year and the most important holiday season in the Japanese calendar, it appears consumer spending is starting to see a rebound. The streets of Tokyo are bustling with...
View ArticleSetagaya family murders remain unsolved after 11 years
Police officers on Friday paid their respects outside a home in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward, where a family of four was murdered 11 years ago. Each year, at this time, police hand out flyers appealing for...
View ArticleA breath of fire for nature this new Year of the Dragon
May I wish all our readers, in Japan and abroad, a very happy New Year. After 2011, I think we need one. The year 2012 is the Year of the Dragon in the Chinese and Japanese 12-year cycle. I've always...
View ArticleNumber of new adults sinks to all-time low of 1.2 million
The number of people aged 20 years old this New Year's Day is estimated at 1.2 million, falling to less than half its peak of around 2.4 million in 1970 for the first time, according to government...
View ArticleJapan faces many challenges in 2012
Today marks the first New Year's Day since the Great East Japan Earthquake struck on March 11, 2011. The unprecedented natural disaster left deep scars on the national psyche and on society. Cleaning...
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Master to the yakuza needles locals
Japanese tattooist Horihiro came to Melbourne for a holiday but has spent much of his time decorating the arms and backs of a lucky few. As one of only about five masters in the world who specialise in...
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Rare Asian bird takes 'wrong turn,' lands in Tennessee
A rare Asian hooded crane, normally seen only in Southeast Asia, China and Japan, apparently "took a wrong turn" and has joined sandhill cranes wintering at the Hiwassee Refuge in southeast Tennessee,...
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