Pakistan airlifts Japanese tourists out of Gilgit
The Pakistani government dispatched a military aircraft Sunday to airlift 120 foreign tourists, including 77 Japanese, from a northern region where sectarian violence has left them stranded since early...
View ArticleJapan's oldest serving mayor wins 4th term at 82
Japan's oldest serving mayor, Shigemasa Igawa, 82, secured his fourth term Sunday without a vote in the mayoral election in Kudamatsu, Yamaguchi Prefecture, the city's election board said. Igawa, who...
View ArticleJapan to deregulate sale of lethal blowfish
The toxic puffer fish which contains tetrodotoxin, a potent neurotoxin, has killed more than 20 Japanese diners in the past 10 years. It is currently only served at licensed restaurants, but local...
View ArticlePatient murdered in Aomori hospital
Police said Monday that a male patient was murdered in a hospital in Aomori City on Sunday night. Police said they received a call at about 9 p.m. from Sannai Sawabe hospital, reporting the death of a...
View ArticleChina buys most Japan short-term debt in 1 1/2 years
China bought the most short-term Japanese debt since May 2010 in February, according to data released by Japan's Ministry of Finance today. The world's largest holder of foreign-exchange reserves...
View ArticleNorth Korea readies longer range rocket; Japan, S.Korea wary
North Korea has readied a rocket for a launch from a forested valley in its remote northwest this week that will showcase the reclusive state's ability to fire a missile with the capacity to hit the...
View ArticleNikkei falls after US jobs data, set for 5th day of losses
Japan's Nikkei share average fell 1.1 percent and looked set to put in its fifth day of losses on Monday after a disappointing U.S. jobs report showed the U.S. economic recovery remained sluggish,...
View ArticleJapan to give $15.3m in aid to Myanmar minorities
The government intends to extend support worth about 1 billion yen(S$15.3 million) for ethnic minorities in Myanmar in the form of food aid and contributions to the UN refugee office, sources have...
View ArticleGolf: Japanese golf star Ryo Ishikawa engaged
Young Japanese golf star and heartthrob Ryo Ishikawa has disappointed his legions of female admirers by announcing his engagement to his childhood sweetheart. Nicknamed "The Bashful Prince", he stayed...
View ArticleCan Japan break the Iran impasse?
Former Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama is determined to break the impasse over Iran. But does Japan's government welcome his initiative? Former Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, a key...
View ArticleTokyo Electric burns almost four times as much oil in March
Tokyo Electric Power Co in March used almost four times as much as crude oil and fuel oil combined from a year earlier and the highest monthly volume of liquefied natural gas since August to make up...
View ArticleJapan swings back to current account surplus
Japan swung back to a current account surplus in February after suffering a record deficit in the previous month, official data said Monday. The surplus in the current account, the broadest measure of...
View ArticleOlympics: Joy and pain for comeback king Kitajima
Wincing and gasping for breath, Kosuke Kitajima gave the impression of a man clinging on for dear life at the Japanese national swimming championships. Looks can deceive. As excruciating as the pain...
View ArticleSumo: First Arab wrestler chases glory in Japan
With legs resembling tree trunks and packing the body weight of two average-sized men, sumo wrestling's "Great Sandstorm" would seem a good fit for the wildly popular Japanese sport. But Egypt's...
View ArticleTwitter introduces brand pages in Japan, a first for Asia
Twitter first launched brand pages in the US in December last year and four months later the advertising feature has come to Japan, the first market in Asia. DoCoMo, the country's largest mobile...
View ArticleRape victim marks 10 years on lonely crusade for justice
It surely isn't very often that elite Japanese bureaucrats hear the words to the national anthem quoted at them - by a foreigner. Earlier this year, Australian national Catherine Fisher says she pulled...
View ArticleBook is behind bullying of mixed-race children
Dear Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Hirofumi Hirano, My three beautiful children were all born in Japan and went to Japanese public schools. Their mother is a native...
View ArticleJapan's infidelities: Cheaters traced through electronic travel cards
Japanese travel cards like Pasmo are being used by investigators to track unfaithful partners. Until recently the card logged three months of travel and purchase information for customers to check....
View ArticleOi reactors secure from blackout-induced meltdowns, Edano says
The safety debate at the Oi nuclear plant in Fukui Prefecture appeared to shift toward reactivation late Monday as trade minister Yukio Edano said it has already fulfilled enough of last week's hastily...
View ArticleTeachers with two left feet struggling with dance classes
A new education rule that kicked in this year has created a fresh challenge for gym teachers across the nation: how to teach hip-hop. Thanks to teaching guidelines revised in 2008, dancing joined...
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