Snow paralyzes northern Japan; 3 die in avalanche
An avalanche has killed three bathers at a hot spring in northern Japan, where heavy snow also has paralyzed traffic and forced schools to close. The deadly avalanche hit Thursday in Akita. Officials...
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Sumo: Shamed Japan Sumo Association chairman back in post
The discredited ex-chairman of the Japan Sumo Association, who stepped down in 2008 amid a drug-abuse scandal, is back in his job. Former yokozuna -- grand champion -- Kitanoumi was elected by the...
View ArticleSony more than doubles net loss forecast
Japanese entertainment giant Sony more than doubled its full-year net loss forecast to $2.9 billion, a day after announcing that its president and CEO Howard Stringer would step aside. The firm on...
View ArticleTokyo stocks close up 0.76%
Tokyo stocks have closed up 0.76 per cent as hopes for the global economy offset heavy sell-offs in individual companies including Sharp, which sank to its lowest level in more than three decades. The...
View ArticleStocking up on useless facts to pass an exam
I have been studying academic juku (for-profit supplementary schooling) for many years and have visited over 50 individually operated juku throughout Japan. I have been thrilled by the dedication of...
View ArticleMinistry seeks again to set smoking rate target
A health ministry panel has approved a draft plan seeking to decrease the smoking rate to 12.2 percent by fiscal 2022, facilitating the ministry's long-hampered wish to officially set a target figure,...
View Article500 vehicles stranded by snow in Aomori Pref.
More than 500 vehicles were stranded on a section of National Highway Route 279 in Yokohama, Aomori Prefecture, on Wednesday night after a large truck and a bus skidded and became stuck on the road due...
View ArticlePsych test for teen stabbing suspect
A 17-year-old boy arrested on suspicion of stabbing two girls in Saitama and Chiba prefectures will undergo a psychiatric examination after telling police he wanted to kill a person because killing...
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Ice sculptures, snow slides at Hokkaido fest
The City of Sapporo will be hosting the 63rd annual Snow Festival this month. The event is considered a "must see" for tourists and about 2 million people visited the festival last year. The main draw...
View ArticleGenba meets AKB48 China envoys
Foreign Minister Koichiro Genba met with members of all-girl idol group AKB48 on Thursday and thanked them for taking part in a campaign to attract Chinese tourists and dispel harmful rumors about the...
View ArticleTop court nixes Monju suicide suit
The Supreme Court has rejected a damages suit filed by the family of an official who committed suicide in 1996 after being involved in a partial coverup of a coolant leak at the Monju prototype...
View ArticleBaseball: Axed Giants general manager Kiyotake, Yomiuri face off in court
Both sides stood fast at their first court session Thursday as former Yomiuri Giants general manager Hidetoshi Kiyotake maintained his firing was illegal while the Yomiuri group countered that his...
View ArticleE-book apps found 'stealing' private user info
What kind of electronic books do smartphone users prefer? When and how much of each book are they reading? Some smartphone e-book applications have collected this sensitive information for developers...
View ArticleRetired police chief, 74, arrested after paying two 16-year-old girls for sex
A 74-year-old retired police chief has been arrested on suspicion of paying two 16-year-old girls for sex in Sapporo, a Hokkaido police spokesman said Thursday. Keiji Kato, who retired 15 years ago...
View ArticleCourt rules on using stars' images
The Supreme Court on Thursday handed down the nation's first ruling on publicity rights, saying celebrities' names and photos are protected under publicity rights, but rejecting a compensation demand...
View ArticleJapan's celebration of Spring: Penis and vagina festivals
Dating back more than 1,500 years, Japan's rites of spring are deeply rooted in its agricultural past. As in all the world's ancient cultures, such observances were believed to promote a successful...
View ArticleBird life badly hit by nuclear fallout in Japan
Researchers working in the irradiated zone around the disabled Fukushima nuclear plant say bird populations there have begun to dwindle, in what may be a chilling harbinger of the impact of radioactive...
View ArticleRecord lows recorded at 38 locations
The nation experienced severe cold weather Friday with temperatures dropping to record lows at 38 locations in the morning, the Meteorological Agency said. From Tohoku to Kyushu, temperatures hit their...
View ArticleJapanese entrepreneurs aim for Silicon Valley
For an emerging generation of Japanese innovators, the dream isn't a job for life at a big company. They have new ambitions, and they're determined to go places. Especially Silicon Valley. Small but...
View ArticleJapan's parliament approves fourth extra budget to fund disaster relief projects
Japan's parliament has approved a 2.5 trillion yen ($32.9 billion) extra budget bill, the fourth one to fund reconstruction projects after last year's disasters and support the nation's economy. The...
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