Japan

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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...

Japan Fights Heat Tooth and Nail—But Not With A/C

Tokyo cooks up stigma against energy waste

(Newser) - The Japanese are waging a painful war against energy consumption, meeting summer needs not with air-conditioning but with business casual clothing and a good dose of grinning and bearing it. The 2-year-old Cool Biz movement, which aims to keep office temperatures at 82 degrees, took off in earnest this summer,...

Oil, Steel Fuel Surge in Asian Markets

Near-record crude prices outweigh fears of US skid

(Newser) - Crude climbed within 50 cents of a record today, and that meant Asian stock indexes were climbing as well with the Nikkei rising 0.3% and the Asia-Pacific index up 0.1% after big losses Friday. Steel joined oil as a big mover when South Korean producers announced a price...

Japanese PM Backtracks From Hints He'll Quit

Abe ignores calls for resignation, says he'll stay to enact reforms

(Newser) - Shinzo Abe has backed off his threat to quit if Japan yanks aid to US-led troops in Afghanistan. Many clamored for the beleaguered PM to step down after his party’s defeat in July elections, and Abe hinted yesterday that he'd walk away—a possible indication that he was looking...

APEC Leaders Agree to Take on Global Warming

But pact isn't ambitious enough, critics say

(Newser) - Leaders of 21 Pacific Rim nations yesterday pledged to “slow, stop, and then reverse” greenhouse emissions, at the annual APEC summit. The group—which includes developing nations and top emitters Russia, China, Japan, and the US—could influence UN climate change negotiations. But critics call the pact unambitious, citing...

Foreclosures Trigger Asian Drop
Foreclosures Trigger Asian Drop
Sep 7, 2007 4:07 AM CDT

Foreclosures Trigger Asian Drop

Fear of brake on US consumer spending

(Newser) - Asian stocks are falling again, reflecting worry the growing credit crisis in the US will puncture the economy and slash consumer spending. Mizuho Financial Group, Japan's second largest lender, dropped to a two-week low after an increase in home foreclosures in the US —and many other Asian financial stocks...

Asian Markets Stumble on Political News

Subprime turmoil now a given; traders await central banks' moves

(Newser) - In the wake of the Japanese agriculture minister's resignation, Asian markets stumbled today ahead of uncertain US economic data. For a change, analysts didn't point to the subprime crisis to account for the Nikkei's 0.5% slide: "After all, investors have got used to news on subprime issues,"...

US Laborers Work Hard for the Money

New UN report says Americans more productive than peers

(Newser) - Labor Day is a well-deserved rest for Americans, as a new UN report shows US laborers work longer, harder, and get more done than their counterparts worldwide. The average US worker produces the most wealth, raking in $63,885 yearly, followed by Irish laborers at $55,986. Only Norway beat...

N. Korea Agrees to Ban Nukes
N. Korea Agrees to Ban Nukes
Sep 2, 2007 1:49 PM CDT

N. Korea Agrees to Ban Nukes

Move could lead to friendlier relations with US

(Newser) - North Korea has promised to disable all of its nuclear facilities by the end of this year, the BBC reports, possibly paving the way for warmer relations between the US and a country it now lists as a supporter of terror. After meeting with representatives from the North, US negotiator...

Georgia Rules Little League
Georgia Rules Little League
Aug 26, 2007 6:55 PM CDT

Georgia Rules Little League

Series victory gives USA third straight title

(Newser) - After a tough week for Georgia sports fans, a team of preteens from Warner Robins gave them something big to cheer about today, capturing the Little League World Series title with an extra-innings triumph over Japan in Williamsport, Pa. Dalton Carriker smacked a walkoff homer in the bottom of the...

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