Japan

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Japan's Inflation Surges
 Japan's Inflation Surges 
Mar 28, 2008 8:58 AM CDT

Japan's Inflation Surges

Unemployment also rises in world's second-largest economy

(Newser) - A double whammy of rising inflation and unemployment has experts worried that Japan’s economy—the world’s second largest—is fast losing steam, reports the Wall Street Journal. Inflation in February rose 1%, its fastest spike in a decade, and household spending stalled in the face of rising food...

MLB Starts Season With Rising Sun

Red Sox, A's take the field in Tokyo

(Newser) - The sun was just rising in Boston today as the Red Sox began their World Series title defense by taking on the Oakland Athletics half a world away. Many American fans were still in bed, but Japanese aficionados were paying rapt attention, the Christian Science Monitor reports. The Sox have...

Okinawa Protesters Rip US Military Crimes

Rape case sparks calls for slashing bases

(Newser) - Thousands poured into the streets of Okinawa today to protest crimes by US servicemen and to demand a smaller American military presence on the Japanese island, Reuters reports. "Crimes and accidents have happened over and over," said the mayor of Okinawa City. "But each time, our voices...

Japan Faces Credit Crisis With No Central Bank Governor

Political standoff leaves BoJ top job vacant

(Newser) - When markets are in chaos and currencies are fluctuating wildly, central bankers jump in to try to provide stability, as Ben Bernanke has done at the Fed. But in Tokyo a political standoff has left the Bank of Japan without a leader at the worst possible moment, reports the AFP....

Red Sox Boycott Resolved Bloodlessly

Players threatened to stay home unless staff, too, get paid for Japan trip

(Newser) - The Boston Red Sox are headed to Japan as planned after Major League Baseball gave in to players' demands that team coaches be paid for the trip, the Boston Globe reports. Players threatened not to board this afternoon's flight to Tokyo for season-opening games Tuesday and Wednesday against Oakland; "...

How Yahoo Would Improve Microsoft

(Newser) - Yahoo today restated its opinion that Microsoft’s $44.6 billion buyout bid underestimates the online giant’s “combination of unique assets,” but for the first time stated publicly the strengths it would bring to the Microsoft merger, MarketWatch reports. In an investor presentation for the SEC, the...

Dextre Lives! Space Robot Gets Power

NASA solves glitch; astronauts continue assembly tonight

(Newser) - Dextre's finally getting some juice. Astronauts aboard the international space station solved a glitch last night and got power flowing to their partially built robot, the AP reports. Now they can go ahead with a spacewalk tonight to finish assembling it. “There was obviously some real concern over the...

Dollar Sinks Below 100 Yen
 Dollar Sinks Below 100 Yen 
Mar 13, 2008 5:10 AM CDT

Dollar Sinks Below 100 Yen

Stocks tumble as dollar hits 12-year low

(Newser) - The dollar's decline continued today, dropping below the symbolically dramatic threshhold of 100 yen for the first time in 12 years. The greenback held on just above ¥100 during the trading day in Tokyo before slumping to ¥99.80 in Europe this morning. The dollar took a pummeling...

Tourism Busts Pre-9/11 Record
Tourism Busts Pre-9/11 Record
Mar 11, 2008 3:00 AM CDT

Tourism Busts Pre-9/11 Record

57 million foreign visitors traveled to US

(Newser) - Nearly 57 million foreign tourists visited the US last year, pumping more than $123 billion into the economy, Reuters reports. It's the first time a tourism record has been broken since the 9/11 attacks staggered the industry. Some 17.7 million visitors traveled from Canada and 15 million from Mexico....

Killing Exposes Sumo's Brutality
Killing Exposes Sumo's Brutality
Mar 10, 2008 4:50 PM CDT

Killing Exposes Sumo's Brutality

Teenager dies after routine beating

(Newser) - Seventeen-year-old sumo wrestler Takashi Saito was beaten to death 8 months ago, but the Japan Sumo Association took until last Thursday to punish the alleged culprits—Saito’s trainer and three fellow wrestlers. The dawdling response was much too slow to prevent a public relations disaster: Japan now knows that...

Nations Mull Secret Whaling Compromise

Plan would let Japan hunt legally, but decrease slaughter

(Newser) - Representatives from more than 70 governments gathered last week at a secret meeting in London to hash out a compromise that would allow Japan to resume commercial whaling for the first time in more than 20 years. Pro- and anti-whaling nations discussed plans to lift the worldwide ban on whaling,...

Japanese 'Frankenwhale' Experiments Slammed

Scientists say whale research is bizarre, useless

(Newser) - Scientists have reviewed the research Japan uses to justify hunting whales, and they've concluded that it is mostly useless—and very weird, Sydney's Daily Telegraph reports.   Researchers tried to fertilize cow and pig eggs with whale sperm, and to create test-tube whales from frozen sperm.  "It's totally...

Whaling Protester Says He Was Shot
Whaling Protester Says He Was Shot
Mar 7, 2008 10:03 AM CST

Whaling Protester Says He Was Shot

Japanese vessel denies using bullets against activists

(Newser) - An anti-whaling activist says he was shot during a clash with a Japanese ship on the high seas, the Guardian reports. Japanese officials deny the allegations from the captain of the Sea Shepherd and say they fired only flash grenades, not bullets. Paul Watson, though, says he pulled one from...

4 Marines Face Court-Martial in Hiroshima Rape Case

Gang-rape trial to begin in spring

(Newser) - The American military has announced it will court-martial four Marines on charges of gang-raping a Japanese woman in Hiroshima last year. The first two Marines will face a general court-martial in late April or early May. Japanese prosecutors had concluded that there was not sufficient evidence to charge them in...

Michelin Guide Knocks Classic Paris Eatery

After losing crown to Tokyo, more bad news for French cuisine

(Newser) - Now that the Michelin food critics have declared Tokyo the world's culinary capital, this week's publication of the 2008 guide to France had the feeling of a day of reckoning. Sure enough, the red book reduces Paris' vaunted Le Grand Véfour from three stars to two, citing inconsistency at...

Activists Hurl 'Acid' at Whalers
Activists Hurl 'Acid' at Whalers
Mar 3, 2008 8:46 AM CST

Activists Hurl 'Acid' at Whalers

Action draws condemnation from Japan, Australia

(Newser) - In the latest clash between Japanese whalers and activists in Antarctic waters, members of a militant anti-whaling group threw bottles of a slick, foul-smelling rancid butter concoction onto the whaling fleet's flagship. Japanese officials said three sailors were injured when butyric acid, found in spoiled butter, splashed into their eyes,...

Marine in Okinawa Rape Case Released
Marine in Okinawa Rape Case Released
Feb 29, 2008 10:22 AM CST

Marine in Okinawa Rape Case Released

Teen victim drops charges, but US is still investigating incident

(Newser) - A US Marine was released into US custody today after Japanese prosecutors dropped rape charges against him, Reuters reports. The Okinawa arrest had sparked outrage across Japan, but prosecutors backed off when the alleged victim withdrew her accusations. The 38-year-old Marine had admitted holding down his 14-year-old accuser but maintained...

Arrest Made in 1981 LA Murder
Arrest Made in 1981 LA Murder
Feb 24, 2008 8:34 AM CST

Arrest Made in 1981 LA Murder

Japanese businessman nabbed in Saipan for ordering hit on wife

(Newser) - The LAPD is holding a Japanese businessman on suspicion of murder in the Los Angeles shooting death of his wife more than a quarter century ago, the AP reports. In the 1981 incident Kazuyoshi Miura was shot in the leg and his wife in the head; she later died. Miura...

Japan Launches Super Speed Internet Satellite

Technology could lead to fast access across Asia

(Newser) - Japan today launched a satellite that, if successful, will be able to sling information across Japan and remote parts of Southeast Asia at high speeds and low cost, the AP reports. The satellite, dubbed “Kizuna,” won’t be used commercially–instead, scientists will run about 100 experiments on...

New Sexual Assault Charge Shocks Okinawa

After alleged rape, 2nd case threatens US-Japan ties

(Newser) - The American military is investigating a second allegation of sexual assault against a woman on the Japanese island of Okinawa. Reuters reports that a soldier has been taken into custody, accused of sexual assault against a Filipina living on the island. The new allegation comes only a week after a...

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