Japan's Wacoal buys UK lingerie firm Eveden
Japan's leading lingerie firm Wacoal Holdings Corp., has announced acquisition of Eveden, the UK-based specialist in designing and manufacturing high quality, fashion conscious lingerie and swimwear...
View ArticleSwimming: Kitajima eyes home rivals in Olympics bid
Japan's four-time Olympic swimming champion Kosuke Kitajima thinks the challenge from his compatriots is tougher than ever, as he bids to qualify for the London Games and go for a third consecutive...
View ArticleInteractive 'posters' from Japan will react to being kissed
If you've ever been to Tokyo or any other large Japanese city, you'll have noticed the huge variety of billboards plastering the urban landscape, often featuring the month's most popular idol. Now...
View ArticleTokyo stocks advance on weaker yen, muted reaction to Tankan survey
Tokyo stocks gained ground Monday, snapping a three-day losing streak, as a weaker yen against other major currencies added to hope for robust corporate earnings, while investors reacted little to...
View ArticleFirms kick off fiscal 2012 with 800,000 new recruits
An estimated 800,000 new employees marked their first day at work Monday, the first day of fiscal 2012, after prevailing in a difficult job-hunting season exacerbated by the March 2011 earthquake and...
View ArticleBoy, 3, crushed in Osaka parking elevator accident
A 3-year-old boy died after being crushed in an automobile elevator in a parking garage at an apartment complex in Ibaraki, Osaka, on Monday, police said. The boy's mother, 40, whose name is being...
View ArticleIt's Japan vs. Korea with launch of Samsung Display, Japan Display
On Monday, two newly created juggernauts in the display business, Samsung Display and Japan Display, began operations, each staking a claim to the title of world's largest display maker. In one stroke...
View ArticleNew data show Fukushima radiation moved rapidly out into Pacific Ocean
American and Japanese scientists say they have found elevated levels of radioactive cesium throughout a 150,000 square kilometer area of the Pacific Ocean off Japan. Scientists say some radioactive...
View ArticleJapan's untouchable workers
There are actually three types of people discriminated against in Japan's permanent underclass: the Ainu, the Burakumin and Koreans. The Ainu were the indigenous people of the island of Hokkaido who...
View ArticleHonda Recalls SUVs
Honda Motor Co. (HMC) revealed that it would recall 554,000 units of CR-V compact SUVs and Pilot large SUVs due to a problem with their headlight wiring. The CR-Vs belong to the 2002-2004 model year...
View ArticleLittle houses crammed in a big city
The neighborhood of Minami Senju in Tokyo's Arakawa Ward is serviced by three train lines that provide easy, quick access to all parts of the city and beyond. East of these lines is an area called...
View ArticleTaiji museum holds memorial service for dead whale
A whale museum in Taiji, Wakayama Prefecture, held a memorial service Monday for a whale that died there shortly after its birth in fiscal 2011. Katsuki Hayashi, the general manager of the museum, said...
View ArticleSDF to send 450 to Ishigaki to man rocket interceptors
The Defense Ministry will send 450 Self-Defense Force personnel to Ishigaki Island in Okinawa Prefecture to intercept a North Korean rocket if it poses a danger to Japan, ministry sources said Monday....
View ArticleToshiba exits mobile phone business
Toshiba Corp. has pulled out of the mobile phone business by selling its 19.9 percent stake in Fujitsu Toshiba Mobile Communications Ltd. to Fujitsu Ltd., the two companies said Monday. The company,...
View ArticleStruggling electronics makers hit reset button
Some of the nation's biggest electronics firms are seeking fresh starts this spring under new presidents brought in to tackle the difficult task of re-establishing their slumping TV businesses in the...
View ArticleKeene should engage brain before fueling 'flyjin,' foreign crime myths
Congratulations to Donald Keene, who was granted Japanese citizenship last month with great media fanfare. At 89 years young and after a lifetime contributing to world scholarship on Japan, he truly...
View ArticleDPJ lawmaker's resignation reveals divisions
Divisions within the ruling Democratic Party of Japan deepened Monday as a lawmaker resigned in a show of defiance against Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's key bill to double the consumption tax to 10...
View ArticleGloomy 'tankan' surprises market
The pessimism reigning among large manufacturers remained firmly entrenched in the Bank of Japan's quarterly "tankan" survey Monday, underscoring persistent concerns about the yen's appreciation and...
View ArticleInsight: Dynamic CEOs defy Japan Inc's decline
When Yusaku Maezawa quit playing drums in a punk band to devote himself full-time to his business selling Tokyo street fashion on the Internet, his main goal was to have fun. Twelve years later,...
View ArticleJapan PM to hold off decision to restart reactors
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda will meet three cabinet members on Tuesday to discuss restarting two offline reactors amid concern about a summer power crunch but will not make any immediate...
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