Calls for flu tests after airport health scare
New Zealand Prime Minister John Key says officials did not overreact to a health scare on board an Air New Zealand flight from Japan on Monday. Passengers aboard the flight from Tokyo that landed in...
View ArticleJapan approves $8.9bn aid as TEPCO loss worsens
Japan on Monday approved a fresh $8.9 billion in aid for the operator of the Fukushima nuclear plant as the company said it expected to lose a similar amount this year. The decision means TEPCO stays...
View ArticleWall Street banks may thaw Japan hiring on M&A, recruiter says
Foreign banks in Japan may resume hiring this year to advise local clients taking advantage of the stronger yen to acquire companies abroad, while cutting jobs for other investment banking services, a...
View ArticleOlympics: Tokyo 2020 bid officials submit application to IOC ahead of schedule
Tokyo submitted its bid to host the 2020 Olympics on Monday, delivering the file to the International Olympic Committee's headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, two days before a Feb. 15 deadline. "The...
View ArticleUS-Japan may scrap accord on marines in Okinawa
Japan and the United States appear to be heading toward canceling a 2006 accord that would have relocated a strategic American military facility to a less crowded part of the island of Okinawa. This...
View ArticleJapan minister threatens to block Tepco bailout
Japan's trade minister threatened on Monday to block a plan to rescue Tokyo Electric Power Co with a $13 billion injection of public funds unless the government gets more say in running the struggling...
View ArticlePanasonic presses stop on VCR sales in Japan
Panasonic has decided to halt domestic production of its VCR, in what is becoming a regular occurrence for Japanese electronics firms to stop selling outdated products. Like the Walkman before it and...
View ArticleDisturbing trend in gang violence
Underworld organizations are stepping up their attacks on enterprises in the wake of efforts by prefectural governments to enforce bylaws that prevent businesses from distributing profits to gangsters...
View ArticleMobster dead in eatery shooting
An apparently underworld member gunned down another yakuza in a crowded Denny's eatery in Togane, Chiba Prefecture, and then fled, police said. The shooter, thought to be a gangster in his 60s, remains...
View ArticleNew tower in Tokyo outstrips older rival
Construction is expected to be finished at the end of this month in Japan on the world's largest self-supporting tower. It will be the second highest man-made structure in the world, surpassed only by...
View ArticleAs its single ranks swell, Japan wonders 'where's the love?'
There was a time when Japanese women "wanted a man making about $100,000. Now they'll go for a combined income of $50,000-60,000," says Mikiko Matsumoto of O-Net, one of Japan's biggest matchmaking...
View ArticleJapan still up there on most-expensive list
Moving to Asia or Australia? Start saving: Those two continents include half of the 10 most expensive cities in the world, according to new research. While Zurich took the top "honor" from last year's...
View ArticleNikkei dips but near 9,000; insurers fall
Japan's Nikkei share average dipped on Tuesday but still hovered near the 9,000 level, with non-life insurers underperforming after MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings cut guidance on heavy losses on...
View ArticleBOJ signals more aggressive policy, sets inflation goal
The Bank of Japan boosted its asset buying program by $130 billion on Tuesday and in the face of political pressure set an inflation goal of 1 percent, signaling a more aggressive monetary policy to...
View ArticleWill Japan hold a referendum to scrap nuclear power?
A group of Japanese activists submitted a petition to the western city of Osaka on Tuesday seeking a referendum on scrapping atomic power, a step some hope will boost a campaign that appears to be...
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Centuries-old silver mine
Last week, Google Japan took its popular Street View in a new direction: underground. The search giant commissioned a photography crew to explore a centuries-old mine and popular limestone cave in...
View ArticleJapan firms plan wind farm near Fukushima
A group of Japanese firms led by trading house Marubeni Corp. plans to build a large floating experimental wind farm off the coast of Fukushima prefecture, which was hit by a nuclear disaster last...
View ArticleJapanese coast guard orders helicopters
Japan's coast guard has ordered four S-76D helicopters from Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation and its local partner Mitsubishi. The Japanese coast guard has flown legacy models of the S-76 and the new,...
View ArticleSoccer: Japan to host the 2012 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup
Japan is to host this year's Under-20s Women's World Cup 2012 following a joint announcement by FIFA and the Japan Football Association (JFA). Uzbekistan had originally been proposed as the host...
View ArticleAKB48, Sekiguchi goodwill envoys
The AKB48 pop group and actor Tomohiro Sekiguchi have been named goodwill ambassadors for events commemorating the 40th anniversary of bilateral relations between Japan and China. Hiromasa Yonekura,...
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