Japan braces for more snow as death toll hits 83
Northern Japan was bracing for more heavy snow Friday as severe winter weather continues to cause misery across a large part of the country, claiming at least 83 lives so far. Forecasters were...
View ArticleJapan's Kirin posts 35% annual profit drop
Kirin Holdings Co. said Friday that its net profit for the business year ended Dec. 31 fell 35%, weighed by weak domestic demand, a write-down of its fixed assets and a securities valuation loss. The...
View ArticleJapan GDP likely to show contraction in Oct.-Dec.
Japan's economy likely shrank in the final three months of last year, contracting for the fourth quarter in the past five as the effects of the strong yen, weak overseas demand and flooding in Thailand...
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Independent human spaceflight sought by Japan
The Japanese space agency is pushing for a domestic human spaceflight capability, proposing modifications to the country's International Space Station cargo delivery system to carry astronauts into...
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The missing million in Japan
They were once called "the missing million". The 'hikikomori' phenomenon emerged in the early 1990's in Japan when there were reports of young people that began staying at home for months or even years...
View ArticleDPJ unveils 'hidden' tax estimate of 17.1% to sustain pension system in 2075
2075 scenario: The consumption tax is 17.1 percent just to keep the pension system afloat. This is according to apparently leaked provisional calculations made by the Democratic Party of Japan-led...
View ArticleDivers recover one body in Kajima tunnel cave-in
Police divers on Friday found the body of one of five workers missing since an undersea tunnel being built in Okayama Prefecture collapsed and flooded earlier in the week. The police later identified...
View ArticleTepco to shut down last reactor in March
Tokyo Electric Power Co. will become totally reliant on thermal power on March 26 when it halts the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa power plant's remaining active reactor in Niigata Prefecture. The move will take...
View ArticleMalaysia, Singapore back TPP bid
Malaysia and Singapore expressed support for Japan's plan to join the U.S.-led trans-Pacific free-trade agreement. Japanese foreign affairs and trade officials met with their Malaysian counterparts...
View ArticleDinosaur Bridge brings Japan traffic up to speed
Tokyo's Dinosaur Bridge opens this weekend after 10 years of construction as the world's largest metropolis tackles traffic jams that slow vehicles to half of Japan's average highway speed. The...
View ArticleJapanese quake gave scientists an unprecedented look at a big tsunami
By many measures, the magnitude 9.0 earthquake that shook Japan a year ago was a record-breaker. It was the largest quake in the country's written history, the trigger for the worst nuclear accident in...
View ArticleAmazon.com to launch Kindle in Japan
World's biggest online retailer Amazon.com Inc. will begin sales of its Kindle e-book readers in Japan, as early as April, for less than 20,000 yen ($260), The Nikkei said. The Kindle Touch, launched...
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Pursuit of perfection: The Japanese swordsmith
Korehira Watanabe is one of the last 30 remaining swordsmiths in Japan having spent 40 years honing his craft. His life ambition has been to re-create a type of sword called Koto, that dates back to...
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The idol's mom, the underage boy and the media
The recent arrest of the mother of a Japanese pop idol for sex with a minor raises questions on how the media here handles such high-profile cases. Usually, if someone who is related to a tarento (TV...
View ArticleDaio Paper to punish 23 for scandal
Daio Paper Corp. said it will discipline 23 board members and officials at seven group companies for their roles in making massive illicit loans to former Chairman Mototaka Ikawa, who has been indicted...
View ArticleThousands march against nuclear power in Japan
Thousands of Japanese people marched against nuclear power Saturday, amid growing worries about the restarting of reactors idled after the March 11 meltdown disaster in northeastern Japan. Holding "No...
View ArticleJapanese emperor to undergo heart bypass surgery
Japanese Emperor Akihito will undergo heart bypass surgery this week after a detailed examination found a heart problem had worsened, the Imperial Household Agency was quoted as saying on Sunday. Kyodo...
View ArticleRebuilding Japan
Within months after after the hoffific quake, Japan's government approved three supplementary spending budgets totalling some 18 trillion yen ($20 trillion) for the reconstruction of disaster affected...
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Why women-only transit options have caught on
This year marks the 100th anniversary of Japan's first women-only trains. The idea, back in 1912, was to spare young women the indignity of being ogled by admiring men. Over the course of the century...
View ArticleFukushima No. 2 reactor temperature rises to 82 C
Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Sunday the temperature at the bottom of the No. 2 reactor at its crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant rose further to 82 C, but the reactor has not gone critical....
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