Japan's IMF pledge makes it no. 1 fund contributor
Japan's pledge to lend the International Monetary Fund $60 billion as part of its resource drive makes the Asian country the fund's top contributor, taking the lead from the U.S. The U.S. was one of...
View ArticleAnalysis: Walking fine line, BOJ head warns of risks of easing
Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa has been doing his best to keep in check expectations of major new stimulus by the central bank next week. Three times during a week-long tour of the United...
View ArticleJapan to write off Myanmar debt in thumbs-up for reform
Japan will write off billions of dollars in debt owed by Myanmar and restart development loans, the leaders of the two countries said on Saturday, in a further move to end the Southeast Asian nation's...
View ArticleSkating: Japan edges US to win World Team Trophy
Akiko Suzuki finished second in the free skate and first overall in the women's program on Saturday and host Japan won the International Skating Union's World Team Trophy. Ashley Wagner of the United...
View ArticleJapanese tsunami debris reaches Alaska shores
Federal scientists say that a volleyball and soccer ball that washed ashore on an island may be the first pieces of debris to arrive in Alaska from last year's tsunami in Japan. The Anchorage Daily...
View ArticleThe weeklies need to expand their worldview
Japan cuts the world down to size. Thumb through the popular weekly news magazines to get the idea. The weeklies pride themselves on broader, bolder, feistier coverage than the daily press typically...
View ArticleRussian girl's killing probed
Police have launched a murder investigation after finding the blood-soaked body of a 19-year-old Russian at her home in Yokohama on Friday. Anna Filimonova is believed to have died around 8 a.m....
View ArticleJapan: 33% of married women victims of domestic abuse
A recent Cabinet Office survey shows that 32.9 per cent of married women or women who have been married in the past have experienced domestic abuse, such as physical harm or psychological harassment....
View Article1 dead, 15 injured in chemical plant blast in Yamaguchi
A blast at a chemical plant in western Japan killed one worker and injured at least fifteen others on Sunday, police said. The accident occurred at a factory operated by comprehensive chemical...
View ArticleTennis: Japan win berth in Fed Cup World Group
Ayumi Morita secured a berth in the Fed Cup World Group next season when she defeated Tamaryn Hendler to give Japan an insurmountable 3-0 lead over Belgium on Sunday. It will be the first time since...
View ArticleBig science in small town Japan
Hundreds of particle physicists are descending once more on the sleepy village of Tokai-mura in Eastern Japan. Over the next week we will discuss the present and future of an experiment that many have...
View ArticleRice farmers seek to save their crops from salt
Toshiharu Ota, a rice farmer in Miyagi Prefecture, in northeastern Japan, survived the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster last year. But his fields were devastated by the salt deposits left...
View ArticleTokyo's trade priorities
Achieving full free trade among its members by 2020 remains the stated goal of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) group, but few expect it to materialise due to the non-binding nature of the...
View Article14-year-old arrested for stabbing bus driver
Police on April 23 arrested a 14-year-old boy on suspicion of stabbing a bus driver at JR Nishihachioji Station the previous day. The Metropolitan Police Department's youth crimes department says the...
View ArticleCool Biz to start May 1, Super Cool Biz on June 1
The government will launch its Cool Biz campaign again this year on May 1, the same as last year. Prior to 2011, the campaign began on June 1, but it was brought forward by a month last year in a bid...
View ArticleBear farm owner's house raided
Police on Sunday searched the house of the owner of a bear farm in Kazuno, Akita Prefecture, where two female employees were killed by brown bears on Friday. Besides searching the 68-year-old owner's...
View Article5 injured as boat crashes into 'whale'
Five people were slightly injured Sunday morning after a high-speed boat they were on crashed into what appeared to be a whale off Kagoshima Prefecture, according to a local coast guard office. Two...
View ArticleChain got complaints of rotten beef before poisonings
The barbecue chain tainted by a fatal food poisoning scandal last year was getting complaints about rotten meat before the scandal even broke, investigative sources said. They also found that employees...
View ArticleJapan insider trading fears reawaken
The Tokyo Stock Exchange has said it does not want a 'dirty' capital market. Just as foreign investor interest in the Japanese stock market has picked up, old fears have reawakened over the level of...
View ArticleJapan cops nab arch-bathroom defacer
Japanese police say that they've nabbed a new master vandal who may be responsible for a world record for writing on bathroom walls. Police say they picked up Friday a 35-year old man who allegedly...
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