Why Caroline Kennedy is likely to get a warm welcome in Japan
Despite a lack of experience in foreign policy, or any other kind of politics, Caroline Kennedy looks set to receive a warm reception in Japan if her appointment as the next US ambassador to the...
View ArticleN.Korea threatens to restart nuclear reactor
North Korea says it will refurbish and restart its disabled nuclear reactor at Nyongbyon, apparently to suggest that it plans to extract toxic plutonium from its spent nuclear fuel. (NHK)
View ArticleTokyo Tower lit blue for World Autism Awareness Day
Tokyo Tower was lit up in blue for the U.N. World Autism Awareness Day on Tuesday, along with over 40 other towers and buildings in Japan. (Jiji Press)
View ArticleSupreme Court denies govt responsibility claim for Iressa deaths
Japan's Supreme Court decided Tuesday to dismiss an appeal against a high court ruling that the government was not responsible for deaths of two patients caused by side effects from the Iressa lung...
View ArticleUN general assembly passes first global arms treaty
The United Nations has adopted its first ever treaty aimed at controlling the trade in conventional weapons, voting it through by a large majority despite earlier being blocked by three countries....
View ArticleNikkei climbs 3% on BOJ easing hopes
Japan's Nikkei average jumped 3% on Wednesday, its biggest one-day rise in almost two months, on growing expectations that the central bank will announce further easing steps on Thursday. (Business...
View ArticleJapan PM reins in BoJ governor's inflation ambitions
Japanese premier Shinzo Abe has played down a pledge by the new central bank governor to do "whatever it takes" to meet his 2pc inflation target within two years, conceding that changes in the global...
View ArticlePanel OKs raising cattle age limit for domestic mad cow tests
A governmental food safety panel approved on Wednesday a plan to raise the age limit for exempting domestic cattle from testing for mad cow disease until they reach 48 months, up from the current 30...
View ArticleTokyo Metro finishes rolling out WiFi at its train stations
Expanding on deployments that started in February, every station that Tokyo Metro directly manages now lets travelers hop on WiFi, 15 minutes at a time. (engadget.com)
View ArticleJapan automakers lose ground in China, rivals grow share
Japanese car makers' sales in China in the first three months of the year have yet to recover fully from last year's slump, and foreign rivals are capitalising in a market expecting 7 percent growth in...
View ArticleDesmostylians lived 'essentially' in water: researchers
Desmostylians, a group of extinct mammals with unique teeth that looked like bundles of pipes, lived "essentially" in water, a study by Japanese and German researchers has suggested. (Jiji Press)
View ArticleWomen finding ways into traditional Japanese arts, games
Women are increasingly finding opportunities to learn or enjoy traditional Japanese arts and games primarily pursued by men. (Kyodo)
View ArticleJapan's great monetary experiment begins - here's what you need to know
This is it - the moment the Abenomics-watchers have been waiting for. Overnight, the Bank of Japan will conclude its first monetary policy meeting with new BoJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda at the helm....
View ArticleJapan maestro Ozawa says he has time 'given by God'
Acclaimed Japanese conductor Seiji Ozawa said Wednesday he wants to use the time he "has been given by God" after surviving cancer to teach the next generation of musicians. (france24.com)
View ArticleMcDonald's Japan introduces new uniform dance
McDonald's Japan has announced that a new uniform will be introduced in June, which will be the first new uniform to be introduced to franchises in Asia. (crunchyroll.com)
View ArticleSony-Olympus deal gets regulatory approval
A joint-venture deal between Sony and medical equipment maker Olympus has won regulatory approval, the firms said Wednesday, after it was held up by China's competition watchdog. (Channel NewsAsia)
View ArticleOff-duty guard arrested for knife attack at train station
A station guard at Tokyo's Kinshicho Station has been arrested for allegedly slashing a man with a knife on the station platform in February. (Japan Today)
View ArticleAlarm rings at Fukushima No. 1 N-plant
An alarm went off at the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant on Wednesday to warn that a dust monitor near the main gate of the plant had detected radiation materials above a certain level in...
View Article101 East Battling the Yakuza
The Yakuza in Japan has links that extend as far back as 400 years to Edo era. But their days of protecting the weak against the strong are long gone. (AlJazeeraEnglish)
View ArticleJapan team discovers new mineral containing rare earths
A Japanese team, including a researcher from Yamaguchi University, said Wednesday it has discovered a new mineral containing rare earths at a mountain in Ise in Mie Prefecture, central Japan. (Jiji Press)
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