Japan

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In Japan, Jailhouse Chic Rules Fashion

Aprons, bags made by convicts are hot sellers this season

(Newser) - Japan's fashion-forward set is flocking to a line made by an unlikely group—prison inmates. Aprons, bags, and pouches emblazoned with the character for "jail" inside a circle are selling out just as quickly as inmates at a juvenile prison in Hokkaido can make them, the AP reports. "...

Rich Countries Getting Soaked for a Change
Rich Countries Getting Soaked for a Change
ANALYSIS
Jul 17, 2008 10:02 AM CDT

Rich Countries Getting Soaked for a Change

Developing markets faring better in current economic downturn

(Newser) - As the US and other developed economies feel the crunch of a housing collapse and credit crisis, emerging economies, especially those fueled by commodities, have yet to feel the pinch, the Washington Post reports. "We are overloaded with money, crazy amounts of money from the energy market," a...

Buddhism Faces Bleak Future in Japan

Temples going begging and Buddhism disappearing from funeral rites

(Newser) - Buddhism, once a significant element of Japanese culture, is beginning to decline in both popularity and influence, reports the New York Times.  Buddhist rituals are even fading from funerals, where the religion once had a near-monopoly, as the Japanese increasingly rely on funeral homes, or skip funerals. If something...

G8 Leaders Chew on Global Food Crisis Over Caviar

Luxe meals by 60 chefs follow starvation talks

(Newser) - The global food crisis tops the agenda at this year's G8 summit—and the talks seem to be hungry work, reports the Independent. The 18 dishes at the eight-course luxury dinner served to the leaders last night included caviar, sea urchin, and Kyoto beef—followed by a "G8 fantasy...

Bush to Canadian PM: 'Yo, Harper!'
Bush to Canadian PM: 'Yo, Harper!'
Jul 7, 2008 12:22 PM CDT

Bush to Canadian PM: 'Yo, Harper!'

Commander-in-chief his ever-so-diplomatic self at G8 summit

(Newser) - Mixing Texas diplomacy with the high diplomacy of the G8 summit in Japan, President Bush showed off his characteristically casual behavior today by introducing Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to another leader with a "Yo, Harper!" Bush landed British PM Tony Blair in hot water at a 2006...

Bush: Olympic Boycott Would Be 'Affront' to Chinese People

Prez says he'll tackle human rights in Beijing

(Newser) - President Bush today defended his decision not to boycott the Beijing Olympics next month, saying skipping “would be an affront to the Chinese people" that would make it difficult "to speak more frankly with the Chinese leadership.” Speaking ahead of tomorrow's G8 meeting in Japan, Bush said...

Energy-Efficient Japan to Host G8 Summit

Tokyo will showcase conservation ethic, technology

(Newser) - Next week the leaders of the developed world will meet at a resort in northern Japan for this year's G8 summit. With oil prices topping the agenda, Japan—by most measures, the most energy-frugal developed nation on earth—is hoping to use the international platform to promote its energy conservation...

Can Fish-Hungry Japan Go Sustainable?
 Can Fish-Hungry
 Japan Go
 Sustainable? 
Glossies
Jun 26, 2008 7:16 AM CDT

Can Fish-Hungry Japan Go Sustainable?

Slowly, world's sushi capital seeing more eco-friendly seafood in supermarkets

(Newser) - Japan loves its fish: The island nation consumes an average of 147 pounds per person a year, compared to America’s 17. So, Samuel Fromartz wonders in Gourmet, how can Japanese fisheries continue to support supermarket fish counters as large as an entire US meat section? The answer, slowly gaining...

World Body Postpones Decision on Whale Hunts

Fractious conference delays decision on moratorium by a year

(Newser) - A moratorium on commercial whaling looks set to continue for another year after an international body put off a decision yesterday, the Economist notes, but its fate beyond that appears tenuous. The 81-nation International Whaling Commission, often paralyzed by conflicting views, also decided to revamp its decision-making process by forming...

Bizarro Travel-Industry Jobs
 Bizarro Travel-Industry Jobs 
Travel
Jun 25, 2008 2:03 PM CDT

Bizarro Travel-Industry Jobs

Gigs that straddle the line between necessary and absurd

(Newser) - From Parisian sewer guides to a coconut safety engineer in St. Thomas, some travel industry jobs straddle the line between necessary and absurd. Travel and Leisure highlights some of the strangest.
  1. Tourism ambassador, Japan. Diplomacy never looked so soft and cuddly after Japan appointed elder statesfeline Hello Kitty for PR
...

Japan Unveils Robot Girlfriend
 Japan Unveils Robot Girlfriend 
Jun 20, 2008 1:53 PM CDT

Japan Unveils Robot Girlfriend

15-inch 'maiden' puckers up on command

(Newser) - If you’re looking for love and the electronic variety is good enough, a Japanese company may have just the thing for you. Sega unveiled “EMA” today (that’s Eternal Maiden Actualization), a 15-inch robotic girlfriend that can find and kiss human faces on command, Reuters reports. The company...

Four Japanese Busted for Copycat Stabbing Threats

Warnings followed stabbings by crazed attacker

(Newser) - Threats of copycat violence posted on Japanese websites have led to four arrests in the wake of seven fatal stabbings in Tokyo this month by a crazed attacker, AP reports. “I'm going to do it, too. I’m going to kill 100 people,” wrote one man. Last week's...

7.2-Mag Quake Kills 6 in Northern Japan
7.2-Mag Quake Kills 6 in Northern Japan
UPDATED
Jun 14, 2008 7:21 AM CDT

7.2-Mag Quake Kills 6 in Northern Japan

(Newser) - A 7.2-magnitude earthquake jolted northern Japan today, killing at least 6 people and injuring more than 140 others, the AP reports. Landslides trapped another 100 bathers at a hot springs resort, but no tsunami warning was issued. At a nuclear power plant, 5 gallons of radioactive water splashed from...

Japan Wages War on Waists
 Japan Wages War on Waists 
Jun 13, 2008 6:48 AM CDT

Japan Wages War on Waists

Japanese workers told to tighten belts

(Newser) - Japan has launched an unprecedented national campaign to help its residents lose their love handles. The nation now requires local governments and corporations to annually measure the waistline of everyone age 40 to 74, the New York Times reports. Women over 35.4 inches and men over 33.5 inches—...

Under Fire, Japan's PM Won't Bow to Election Calls

Body's censure of Fukuda a post-war first

(Newser) - Japan's prime minister suffered a humiliating blow today in a no-confidence motion passed by the upper house of the country's legislature—a post-war first, the BBC reports. Although the measure isn't politically binding, it's the latest step by the opposition to force Yasuo Fukuda to call new elections, a call...

Astronaut Waves Robot Arm
 Astronaut Waves Robot Arm 

 
Jun 9, 2008 3:25 PM CDT

Astronaut Waves Robot Arm

Japanese-built device will service equipment from Kibo laboratory

(Newser) - A Japanese astronaut on board the International Space Station successfully unfolded a massive robotic arm from the newly installed Kibo laboratory today, Reuters reports. The arm moved slightly on Saturday, but today’s extension of the 33-foot device was the first full test, Space.com reports. The Japanese-built robot had...

Tokyo Killer Warned of Slaughter Online

Posted 'It's time' 20 minutes before rampage that killed 7

(Newser) - The young man accused of killing 7 people in a knife rampage in downtown Tokyo warned of the attacks in a series of messages to an Internet bulletin board, reports the AP. Tomohiro Kato, who rammed his truck into pedestrians before stabbing 17 of them, posted warnings from his cell...

7 Killed in Tokyo Stabbing Spree
7 Killed in Tokyo
Stabbing Spree
Jun 8, 2008 7:36 AM CDT

7 Killed in Tokyo Stabbing Spree

10 more wounded after man drove truck into pedestrians in electronics district

(Newser) - A Japanese man plowed his truck into Tokyo pedestrians before jumping out and stabbing them, killing at least 7 and wounding 10 more, the AP reports. Police nabbed a 25-year-old man in the attack, which occurred in the city’s leading electronics district, a hotspot for young people. The suspect...

iPhone May Be Too Low-Tech for Japan

Consumers love their gizmos, and Apple has relatively few

(Newser) - The new iPhone will be in Japan at the end of the year, but it may not be souped up enough for consumers there, Wired reports. Japanese phones tend to have an endless array of cool features such as live TV and Wii-style games. Even though most people hardly ever...

Japanese Melon Sells for $6K
 Japanese Melon Sells for $6K 
Jun 6, 2008 10:05 AM CDT

Japanese Melon Sells for $6K

Black delicacy is the first of the season

(Newser) - A rare black watermelon, one of 65 from Japan's first harvest of the year, sold for more than $6,000 at auction today, the AP reports. The Densuke melon has the distinction of being the most expensive of its kind in Japan, and probably the world, though the Guinness World...

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