Japan hangs 3, including train-station killer; country's first executions...
Three death row inmates have been executed by hanging in Japan, the country's first executions in more than a year and a half, according to media reports. The men were hanged in three different prisons...
View ArticleOperator of crippled Japan nuclear plant seeks another $12 billion to stay...
The power company behind Japan's nuclear crisis is seeking more public funds to avoid insolvency as the cost of compensation and stabilizing damaged reactors swells. Tokyo Electric Power Co. said...
View ArticleStar-struck Japan PM befriends Facebook's Zuckerberg
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda frequently entertains dignitaries from all over the world, but he was a touch star-struck on Thursday when he hosted a young billionaire with a whiff of...
View ArticleTokyo stocks extend losses on uncertainty over global economy
Tokyo stocks continued falling Thursday, as investors grew cautious over the outlook for the global economy including China and the United States, with export-linked and financial shares weighing on...
View ArticleBaseball: Ichiro Suzuki a hit in Japan as Mariners beat A's
Ichiro Suzuki gave his fans in Japan a performance to cheer about. Suzuki had four hits in his return home, Dustin Ackley homered and singled in the go-ahead run in the 11th inning, and the Seattle...
View ArticleJapan Inc.'s quest for resources
Lifted by the strong yen and piles of cheap cash, Japan's business titans are prowling the world for assets to acquire. One of the most aggressive buyers of late has been Mitsubishi Corp., which has...
View ArticleNo easy fix for Japan's taxing problems
Japan's sales-tax increase is a start. But it won't put much of a dent in the country's ballooning health and welfare costs. The main problem with Japan's fiscal state is a rapidly graying population...
View ArticlePoliticians battle Tepco hike
With Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s rate increase for businesses looming from Sunday, politicians were trying to somehow stop the move or at least make sure the utility won't resort to drastic actions...
View ArticleChina criticizes Japan textbook revisions
A spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry Thursday slammed the latest revisions to Japan's textbooks, which alter the death toll of the Nanking Massacre. The revisions also claim the Diaoyu Islands...
View ArticleOshio jailed in woman's drug death
Disgraced actor Manabu Oshio started his 30-month prison term Thursday for failing to come to his girlfriend's aid after she overdosed on Ecstasy during a drug- and sex-fueled night at his apartment....
View ArticleLiquefaction driving away Chiba residents
Chiba's population is declining for the first time in 66 years as residents in bedroom communities damaged by last March's liquefaction decide to abandon the prefecture, fed up with authorities'...
View ArticleLike Japan itself, Sony struggles to adapt
Sony once was a company famous for firsts. The world's first short-wave transistor radio. The first portable television. The first stereo cassette player. But those firsts are museum pieces now, sealed...
View ArticleRecordings of interrogations to be expanded to include early stages
The National Police Agency said Thursday it will expand the case criteria for recording interrogations in April to help ensure that people are properly investigated and to prevent wrongful charges....
View Article12 universities to launch forum on fall enrollment
Twelve leading universities have agreed to establish a forum of their presidents to discuss switching the start of the academic year to fall to conform with educational institutions overseas, the...
View ArticleY3 trillion stopgap budget is fast-tracked
The Cabinet of Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda on Thursday submitted a ¥3.61 trillion stopgap budget for fiscal 2012 to cover spending for the first six days of April, after the ruling and opposition...
View ArticleNew rights eyed for publishers / Would enable firms to sue over illegal...
A study group comprising major publishing companies, writers and Diet members has agreed to establish "original edition rights" to protect publication rights and copyrights in an age of electronic...
View Article'Space Musical Instruments' was performed on board Kibo
JAXA Education Payload Observation (EPO) "Space Musical Instruments"* was performed on board Kibo, the Japanese Experiment Module. The theme intends to look for a new sound and playing style in...
View ArticleAccidental gunshot in NY police raid injures Japanese woman
A woman visiting from Japan was shot and injured when a police officer's gun accidentally discharged, sending a bullet through the floor and into the living room where she was sleeping, police said....
View ArticleNorth Korea begins fueling rocket, says Japanese report
North Korea has reportedly begun fueling a rocket for a launch next month, defying calls to abort an event the West says is a disguised missile test, as the US suspended planned food aid. "The launch...
View ArticleJapan passes tax increases
The Japanese government on Friday approved a politically charged bill to double the national sales tax, taking action after prolonged wrangling within the ruling party and narrowly avoiding an...
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