Japanese bank palms off customers with biometric ATMs
Japan-based Ogaki Kyoritsu Bank is claiming to be the first in the world set to offer its customers the option of using ATM services without the need for a cash card or passbook, thanks to...
View Article8 dead, 5 seriously injured after minivan rams into pedestrians in Kyoto
A minivan ran through a crowded intersection and struck pedestrians in Kyoto on Thursday, killing eight including the vehicle's driver, and injuring at least five, some critically. Rescue officials and...
View ArticleMan kills himself during police search of apartment; 2 bodies discovered in...
Police said Thursday a 62-year-old man committed suicide on Monday while they were at his apartment conducting a search in connection with a theft. Two bodies were subsequently discovered in the closet...
View ArticleLower house approves postal privatization revision
The House of Representatives on Thursday passed a bill to review the privatization of Japan's postal services spearheaded in 2005 by then Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. The ruling Democratic Party...
View ArticleJapan keepers stand down penguin hunt
Japanese keepers looking for a penguin on the run in Tokyo have stood down their month-long search but say they hope the bird's impending adulthood will give it away. Staff at Tokyo Sea Life Park said...
View ArticleOlympics: Japan goes bananas for 71-year-old horseman
Japanese dressage rider Hiroshi Hoketsu looks and dresses more like a soccer manager in his early 50s than the world's oldest Olympian at 71-years-old. Meet the Benjamin Button of this year's London...
View ArticleRugby: Japan to host Pacific Nations Cup in June
Reigning champion Japan will host the 2012 Pacific Nations Cup, the International Rugby Board announced Thursday. A year after the Japan Rugby Football Union was forced to relinquish all but one game...
View ArticleA (slightly) more muscular Japan
Japan's Self-Defence Forces (SDF) have long lived a cloistered life. The country that in 1945 developed an allergy to warfare ties itself in knots trying to reassure everybody that the SDF is not a...
View ArticleWTO says global exports expected to slow further in 2012 due to series of...
Europe's sovereign debt crisis and the aftershocks of events such as the Japan earthquake and Arab Spring are expected to slow the growth in global exports to just 3.7 percent in 2012, the World Trade...
View ArticleX Japan Take Home 'Best International Band' Award at Golden Gods
X Japan, one of Japan's hottest rock commodities, took home the prize for 'Best International Band' last night (April 11) at the fourth annual Revolver Golden Gods Awards. Hand delivered by members of...
View ArticleFood's biggest scam: The Great Kobe Beef Lie
Think you've tasted the famous Japanese Kobe beef? Think again. Of course, there are a small number of you out there who have tried it - I did, in Tokyo, and it is delicious. If you ever go to Japan I...
View ArticleMissile makes Japan twitch new muscle
Japan has been one of the most active players in the North Korean "satellite" crisis. As a country well within the range of Pyongyang's ballistic missiles, Tokyo has good reason to be concerned, but...
View ArticleJapan's ex-PM to plant cherry blossoms in Taiwan
Former Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori arrived in Taiwan Thursday to attend a cherry blossom planting event, which will be held this weekend in recognition of the strong ties that exist between...
View ArticleJapan Fast Retailing H1 profit rises, lifts outlook
Asia's top apparel retailer, Fast Retailing Co, posted an 11.8 percent rise in its first-half operating profit after seasonal winter weather boosted sales at Japan outlets of its Uniqlo brand, and...
View ArticleThe search for Sony's soul
Based on profits, Sony Corp. is an outstanding company -- in life insurance sales and hit movies such as the "Men in Black" and "Spider-Man" franchises. But in the industry where Sony made its name --...
View ArticleJapan's use of oil may surge by 300,000 barrels a day
Japanese utilities will use 300,000 more barrels of oil a day in 2012 than before last year's nuclear crisis unless it restores some of its atomic reactors, according to the International Energy...
View ArticleFate of child abductions bill in Diet uncertain
The government finally submitted legislation to the Diet last month for joining the Hague Convention on international child abductions but its passage appears far from certain. Western allies have long...
View ArticleNorth Korea's rocket launch reported failed
Japan and South Korea say that North Korea's three-stage rocket launch early Friday failed. Japanese Defense Minister Naoki Tanaka says the rocket appears to have flown about 120 kilometers up into the...
View ArticleJapan's Middle East soft power
Heavily dependent on oil from the Middle East, Japan has been keen to encourage stability. But there are limits to what Japan's soft power push can do in the region. Through a dirty, misty morning...
View ArticleJapan govt vows renewed drive to beat deflation
Japan's government vowed on Friday to do whatever is needed to overcome deflation, signalling a renewed drive for structural reforms and deregulation to boost the economy rather than relying primarily...
View Article
