Christchurch remembers quake dead
More than 10,000 New Zealanders and 90 people from Japan, some teary eyed, stood in silence at a Christchurch park Wednesday while police officers and firefighters read out the names of all 185 people...
View ArticleDollar rises to 7-month high against Japanese yen
The dollar rose to a seven-month high against the Japanese yen, a week after the Bank of Japan announced a surprise increase of its economic stimulus program. The dollar rose to 80.24 Japanese yen late...
View ArticleShark found in park was for 'photo shoot'
A dead shark that was found in Yoyogi Park in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo, on Sunday was left there by a man who had photographed the creature and went home with the intention of retrieving it later,...
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Japan's Sky Tree tower gets its own promotional perfume
As Japan's tallest tower nears completion, the Tokyo Sky Tree is being promoted with a new perfume. Cosmetics company Shiseido will release Tokyo Sky Tree Parfum as a limited run of 634 bottles,...
View ArticleGovt in talks with U.S. to import natural gas
The government has asked the U.S. government to grant permission for the export of liquefied natural gas (LNG) produced in the United States to Japan, according to sources. The government is trying to...
View ArticleSumo: Japan's sumo belly flops to $50 million debt
Japan's ancient sport of sumo rang up debts of almost $50 million in 2011 after a match-fixing scandal which triggered a television black-out and a government warning. "We find ourselves in an...
View ArticleHSBC to withdraw from Japan consumer banking, closing branches
HSBC Holdings Plc, Europe's largest bank, will withdraw from consumer banking in Japan, closing down six branches four years after starting the business. HSBC will stop selling new investment products,...
View ArticleMaking the case for Japanese small caps
"I'm convinced we're witnessing the lowest-risk, highest-reward trade in 61 years." That's what I told WSD Insider subscribers regarding Japan back in December 2011. Unsurprisingly, many balked at my...
View ArticleOkinawa snow events halted after Japan radiation fears
Officials in Japan's Okinawa prefecture have been forced to cancel two children's snow events amid residents' fears the snow was radioactive. About 600kg of snow had been flown into Naha city from...
View ArticleSchool yearbooks take on special significance
With school graduation season rapidly approaching, printing companies in areas struck by the Great East Japan Earthquake have been boosting production of school yearbooks under shortened deadlines....
View ArticleSeabed near nuke plant to be paved
Tokyo Electric Power Co. has announced a plan to cover the seabed adjacent to the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant with a coating material composed of clay and cement as a new measure to prevent...
View ArticleGrandparents stifle grief to raise orphaned boy
In the three prefectures hardest hit by the Great East Japan Earthquake last March 11, 1,580 children lost either one or both of their parents, according to a health ministry survey of Iwate, Fukushima...
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As Japan recovers, a generational rift opens
At age 39, Yoshiaki Suda, the new mayor of this town that was destroyed by last March's tsunami, oversees a community where the votes and influence lie among its large population of graying residents....
View ArticleSea Shepherd attacks Japan whalers again
Anti-whaling campaigners Sea Shepherd attacked a Japanese whaling ship in the Antarctic Ocean by firing paint bombs at it and trying to jam its propeller with ropes, Japan's whaling body says....
View ArticleJapan says planning to give IMF up to $50 bn
Japan said Thursday it may provide up to $50 billion to the International Monetary Fund to help fight Europe's debt crisis, but the exact figure is yet to be decided. "Japan is studying the specific...
View ArticleHope fades for lone pine tree survivor of Japan's tsunami
Very little was left standing in the Japanese city of Rikuzentakata after a huge tsunami tore through nearly a year ago. Even the centuries-old pine forest by the sea that had long been a symbol of the...
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Amazon.com Japan pulls all whale meat products
The Internet retail giant Amazon.com has responded to a public outcry against whale meat sales on its Japanese website by removing more than 145 food products from the site overnight. The products...
View ArticleNo. of crimes by foreigners in Japan drops 12.7% in 2011
The number of crimes by foreigners uncovered by police across Japan in 2011 dropped 12.7 percent from a year earlier to 17,286, a preliminary National Police Agency survey showed Thursday. The number...
View ArticleJapan royal heir suggests easier load for emperor
Japan's crown prince believes efforts should be made to reduce the burden on his ailing father, Emperor Akihito, as the 78-year-old monarch recovers from heart bypass surgery. Crown Prince Naruhito...
View ArticleJapan to develop 'Tsunami-proof lifeboat'
Local authorities in western Japan will start a new project to develop a lifeboat which is able to float on rising "tsunami" waves as one of the evacuation measures, local press reported. The project...
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