Japan

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Declining Sumo May Modernize
Declining Sumo May Modernize
Oct 19, 2007 11:04 AM CDT

Declining Sumo May Modernize

Ancient violent sport struggles to find place in modern Japan

(Newser) - A series of sumo wrestling controversies has led to soul-searching within the venerable Japanese sport. A 17-year-old apprentice died from hazing at a sumo school, and a grand champion is accused of faking an injury and fixing matches. As troubles pile up and popularity continues to decline, writes the New ...

3,000 Detained in Burma, by Junta's Count

Japan cuts aid, China supports UN diplomat

(Newser) - Burma’s military regime imprisoned roughly 3,000 people in last month’s crackdown on pro-democracy protesters, the state-run newspaper announced today. Over 500 are still in custody, and more are being arrested each day. “Those who should be released will be,” the paper said. Meanwhile international outrage...

Japan Sets Its Sights on the Moon
Japan Sets
Its Sights
on the Moon
Oct 9, 2007 12:26 PM CDT

Japan Sets Its Sights on the Moon

China, India lead race to put unmanned craft on lunar surface

(Newser) - Japan is officially joining the ranks of countries intent on lunar exploration. The country plans to land an unmanned rover on the lunar surface "in the middle of the 2010s," a government official announced today. China and India have already announced plans to place a spacecraft on the...

Radiation Weapon Plot Comes to Light

Cold War scheme included assassination, broad contamination

(Newser) - Newly declassified Army documents reveal the US mulled the use of a radioactive weapon to assassinate “important individuals” and contaminate “critical areas for long periods of time.” The heavily censored records date to 1948 and show the weapon was approved for development at the highest levels, reports...

How the World Dropped the Ball on Burma

And how we can pick it back up

(Newser) - International policy on Myanmar is at an impasse because the world went two different ways on the military junta—the US chose isolation while its neighbors chose constructive engagement—and both strategies failed. The country has gone from “antidemocratic embarrassment and humanitarian disaster” to “serious threat” to security,...

Deal Struck, Kim Will Dismantle Nuke Plants

Pyongyang to detail activities; expected to get off US terror list

(Newser) - Kim Jong-Il has reportedly agreed in six-party talks to begin disabling his nuclear facilities and revealing program details. In return—though not part of the agreement—the US will fast-track North Korea's removal from its terrorism list. The terms show new flexibility from a waning Bush administration, as well as...

Only Details Left in North Korea Disarmament

Delegates head home to talk 'nuts and bolts' with their governments

(Newser) - North Korea’s nuclear disarmament seems near at hand. Delegates from six-party negotiations returned home today to walk their governments through the plan's “nuts and bolts.” The talks fleshed out Korea’s February pledge to disarm for fuel aid. “Assuming we go forward with this, it lays...

World's Fastest Computer on the Fast Track

New machine will be three times as powerful as current champ

(Newser) - IBM is set to begin work on a computer capable of a quadrillion calculations per second, more power than a mile-high tower of laptops. McClatchy Newspapers reports the system will use 884,736 processors—six times the current best—to analyze problems on a dizzying scale. “We're on a...

Vietnam Bridge Collapse Kills 60
Vietnam Bridge Collapse Kills 60
Sep 26, 2007 12:05 PM CDT

Vietnam Bridge Collapse Kills 60

Dozens more injured in southern city of Can Tho

(Newser) - As many as 60 workers were killed today when a bridge under construction in the southern Vietnamese city of Can Tho collapsed, Reuters reports. Chinese and Japanese contractors were working on the bridge over the Hau river; Vietnamese TV reported that rain might have softened the bridge's foundations, though no...

Fukuda Steps In as Japan's PM
Fukuda Steps In as Japan's PM
Sep 25, 2007 5:11 AM CDT

Fukuda Steps In as Japan's PM

He bags easy victory in parliament vote

(Newser) - Lawmaker Yasuo Fukuda, the 71-year-old son of a former Japanese prime minister, has now taken the top job himself after winning a parliamentary election. The new leader of the dominant Liberal Democratic Party bagged 338 votes in the lower house, 100 votes more than the majority he needed, the BBC...

Fukuda to Be Japan's Next Prime Minister

Ruling party picks dovish moderate

(Newser) - Moderate lawmaker Yasuo Fukuda has beaten out hawkish former foreign minister Taro Aso in a ruling party vote for the leader of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party, paving the way for his appointment as prime minister.  Former PM Shinzo Abe vacated the post following a series of mistakes and scandals....

World's Oldest Man Is 112
World's Oldest Man Is 112
Sep 19, 2007 1:24 PM CDT

World's Oldest Man Is 112

The secret? Avoid alcohol and cigarettes, says Japan's Tomoji Tanabe

(Newser) - The world's oldest man celebrated his 112th birthday yesterday, the BBC reports. Japan's Tomoji Tanabe, born in 1895, attributes his longevity to sticking to a daily routine, drinking milk and avoiding alcohol and cigarettes. "I want to live indefinitely," he announced. "I don't want to die."

New Japanese PM Likely to Be Less US-Centric

Party unites around dovish elder statesman Yasuo Fukuda

(Newser) - Japan's Liberal Democratic Party is set to choose its replacement for Shinzo Abe, who resigned suddenly last week, in voting Sunday. The winner will become prime minister Tuesday. Although early prognoses hyped hawk Taro Aso as the favorite, his close association with the outgoing PM has hurt him. Victory is...

Danger! Crocs on the Escalator!
Danger! Crocs on the Escalator!
Sep 18, 2007 9:02 AM CDT

Danger! Crocs on the Escalator!

Accidents on the rise for kids wearing popular shoes

(Newser) - At rail stations, department stores and shopping malls from Washington to Tokyo, kids wearing Crocs shoes or similar footwear are getting their toes caught in escalators with painful and occasionally bloody results. The accidents have become so commonplace that the Washington Metro has posted ads—featuring a crocodile—calling for...

Technology Goes to the Toilet
Technology Goes to
the Toilet
Sep 15, 2007 8:59 AM CDT

Technology Goes to the Toilet

Japanese fixtures warm, clean, massage and disguise noises

(Newser) - In a country obsessed with both technology and cleanliness, it should be no surprise that  Japanese toilets set the standard for high-tech hygienic services, ranging from pre-warmed seats to artificial flushing sounds that drown out bodily noises without wasting water. More than 60% of all Japanese households are now equipped...

From Tokyo With Love: Japan Launches 1st Lunar Probe

Mission to rival Apollo program

(Newser) - Japan began its first trip to the moon today, launching a lunar probe that will spend a year orbiting Earth’s natural satellite. In what the Japanese call the most complex moon mission since America’s famous Apollo program, Selene will study the body’s origin and evolution, the BBC...

Japanese PM Hospitalized as Party Scrambles for Successor

Abe suffers 'exhaustion' after resigning

(Newser) - Japanese PM Shinzo Abe is in a Tokyo hospital battling stress and exhaustion a day after announcing his resignation. Abe is expected to be hospitalized for at least three or four days, while his scandal-plagued party fields a replacement and calls for a general election escalate. In his surprise announcement,...

Same Party, New Face: Aso Likely to Step in as Japanese PM

Political 'blueblood' faces scandals, debt

(Newser) - Fellow party member  and Foreign Minister Taro Aso is emerging as the favored successor of resigned Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. If elected, Aso would face an economy saddled with the world's largest public debt, the stagnation of his own Liberal Democratic Party and the enmity of the main opposition...

Nikkei Falls After Abe Steps Down
Nikkei Falls After Abe
Steps Down
Sep 12, 2007 7:21 AM CDT

Nikkei Falls After Abe Steps Down

Mining and energy stocks rise but can't stem tide

(Newser) - A jump in the price of copper boosted mining and energy stocks in Asia, but Japan's Nikkei index fell nonetheless after news hit of PM Shinzo Abe's resignation. Some investors say the change will be good for Japanese markets in the longer term, however. "Abe was an ineffective prime...

Japanese Prime Minister Resigns
Japanese Prime Minister Resigns
Sep 12, 2007 1:48 AM CDT

Japanese Prime Minister Resigns

Scandals shatter public support for controversial leader

(Newser) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has announced he'll resign today in the wake of several cabinet-level scandals and the suicide of  a top official that has destroyed public confidence in his administration. After taking power just last year, Abe's nationalist Liberal Democratic Party lost the upper house of parliament to...

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