Japan

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In This Case, Paternity Leave Is Big News
Young Japanese Politician
Sets Out to Bust a Taboo
the rundown
Jan 15, 2020 11:34 AM CST

Young Japanese Politician Sets Out to Bust a Taboo

Cabinet minister Shinjiro Koizumi is taking paternity leave, a rare thing in his country

(Newser) - A politician announcing that he's taking paternity leave typically doesn't make international headlines. But the circumstances of this one are indeed unusual: The politician is Japanese Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, 38, and the reason it's making news is because so few men take paternity leave in Japan....

For First Time, Olympians Will Snooze on Cardboard Beds

Bed frames at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo will be made of cardboard

(Newser) - Tokyo Olympic athletes, beware—you may not want to celebrate your gold by jumping on the bed. That's because the bed frames in the athletes village at this year's Olympics will be made of cardboard. Sturdy cardboard. "Those beds can stand up to 200 kilograms," explained...

Why Did Ghosn Flee Japan? He Cites a Figure: 99.4%

Ex-Nissan boss gives his first press conference since escaping the country

(Newser) - In his first press conference given since his clandestine exit from Japan, Carlos Ghosn cleared one thing up on Wednesday: No, there's no Netflix show in the works about his dramatic exit. But Ghosn certainly brought the drama in the lengthy press conference given in Beirut, likening his November...

Billionaire to Dole Out $9M in 'Serious Social Experiment'

Japanese entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa wants to see if $9K will make 1K lucky winners happier

(Newser) - Money supposedly doesn't buy happiness, but a Japanese billionaire thinks it might at least cheer some people up. Just a couple of weeks after Zozo founder Yusaku Maezawa donated more than $18 million to a Japanese city hit hard by a typhoon, the fashion-minded entrepreneur is back in the...

Now Japan's Going After Ghosn's Wife

Carole Ghosn suspected of making false statements in court

(Newser) - Fugitive Carlos Ghosn will have a new complaint to discuss at his Wednesday press conference in Beirut. On the eve of that press conference, Tokyo prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for Ghosn's wife, accused of perjury. Fashion entrepreneur Carole Ghosn is suspected of making false statements during a witness...

Ghosn, Hidden in Box, Exploited Airport Security Flaw

There was no mandatory check on luggage for private planes

(Newser) - Reports that Carlos Ghosn escaped Japan in a musical instrument box were pretty close to the truth. The former Nissan executive facing charges of financial wrongdoing hid in a large black box designed for concert equipment, with breathing holes poked in the bottom, reports the Wall Street Journal , citing sources...

World's Oldest Person Has Another Birthday

Kane Tanaka is 117 and would like to see 120

(Newser) - After she was born prematurely in 1903, Kane Tanaka was lucky to survive to her first birthday. But she made it to that milestone—and many, many more. Tanaka, believed to be the world's oldest person, turned 117 on Jan. 2. She celebrated Sunday with cake and a party...

Inside the Battle Between a Japanese Man and 7-Eleven

Franchisee doesn't want to maintain the 24/7/365 schedule

(Newser) - He's Japan's best-known 7-Eleven franchisee, reports the New York Times . But Mitoshi Matsumoto says the company is trying to change that description to Japan's best-known former 7-Eleven franchisee. The convenience store owner and the company have been engaged in a battle over its round-the-clock demands: Last month,...

Ghosn Could Face More Serious Trouble in Lebanon

Lawyers accuse him of collaborating with the enemy, Israel

(Newser) - Lebanon might not be the safe haven Japan's most high-profile criminal defendant sought. A group of lawyers has filed a complaint with the country's judiciary, claiming Carlos Ghosn—a citizen of France, Lebanon, and Brazil—violated a law against collaborating with the enemy when he formerly visited Israel,...

Fugitive CEO's Wife: 'Best Gift of My Life'

Carole Ghosn happy her husband escaped, is believed to have played a role

(Newser) - It will take a while to figure out exactly how former Nissan exec Carlos Ghosn managed to jump bail in Japan and flee to Lebanon , but the Wall Street Journal reports that his wife played a big role in the escape. "Best gift of my life," she texted...

Ex-Nissan Boss Jumps Bail, Somehow Flees Japan

'I have escaped injustice,' Ghosn says

(Newser) - Authorities in Japan might be regretting their decision to grant bail to former Nissan and Renault chief Carlos Ghosn earlier this year. He has fled the country and is now in Lebanon, which does not extradite its citizens, the Wall Street Journal reports. It's not clear how Ghosn managed...

'Ghost Ship' Comes Ashore Carrying Human Heads

Japanese officials suspect they know where it came from

(Newser) - A shipwreck on the coast of Japan carried grisly cargo: five human bodies and two human heads, Sky News reports. Police apparently found the boat Saturday on Sado Island, about 31 miles northwest of the mainland, and are investigating the cause of death. "Five of the bodies were identified...

Just After Midnight, NK 'Gift' Was Sent. Except It Wasn't

Public broadcaster NHK sent out incorrect report that North Korea had launched a missile

(Newser) - North Korea's " Christmas gift " to the US never came (at least that we know of), but a news alert sent in Japan early Friday temporarily scared people into thinking the gift had been delivered. Reuters reports that a few minutes after midnight, public broadcaster NHK put out...

In Rare Move, Japan Hangs a Foreigner

Wei Wei was convicted of the 2003 murders of a family of 4

(Newser) - "It was an extremely cold-blooded and cruel case, in which (Wei) killed four innocent members of a happy family," said Japan's justice minister in announcing a rare move: the execution of a foreigner. The AP reports Wei Wei's Thursday death by hanging was the first time...

Journo Wins Big #MeToo Case Against Powerful TV Anchor

Judge: Account of Japan's Shiori Ito, who accused Noriyuki Yamaguchi of rape, 'trustworthy'

(Newser) - A 30-year-old freelance journalist in Japan who accused a high-powered TV journalist of rape won about $30,000 in damages in a Tokyo court Wednesday, in what she calls a "milestone" for Japan, per the New York Times . Judge Akihiro Suzuki said he found Shiori Ito's account, laid...

He Was Angry at His Phone Company. Then, a 'Tipping Point'

71-year-old Akitoshi Okamoto arrested after KDDI says he made 24K phone calls to them

(Newser) - Customer service hotlines exist in part so that customers can air grievances, and one elderly man in Japan apparently took advantage of that. CNN reports 71-year-old Akitoshi Okamoto was arrested Nov. 26 on suspicion of fraudulent obstruction of business after allegedly making 24,000 phone calls over a two-and-a-half-year period...

Store Faces Backlash Over 'Miss Period' Badge

Outcry after Japan's Daimaru debuts badge alerting others to workers' menstrual status

(Newser) - A Japanese department store that says it was trying to help out its female employees is now facing backlash over a uniform accessory. The BBC reports the hubbub is centered on a badge that Daimaru introduced in October to hundreds of workers in its women's wardrobe department. One side...

Pope to Change Church Teaching: Nukes Are 'Immoral'

Francis warns that an 'accident of possession' or 'insanity of a leader can destroy humanity'

(Newser) - Pope Francis is planning to change official Catholic Church teaching to declare the use and possession of atomic weapons as "immoral," a move that makes clear that his rejection of the Cold War-era doctrine of deterrence is to be official church policy. Francis had declared the possession of...

What May Be World's Best Sushi Place Now Has No Stars

Sukiyabashi Jiro in Tokyo no longer ranked by Michelin because it's too exclusive

(Newser) - The 2020 Michelin Guide for Tokyo includes 226 restaurants with at least one star, more than any other city, per Eater . But a restaurant widely regarded as the world's best for sushi isn't one of them, reports the Guardian . Sukiyabashi Jiro—where former President Obama reportedly had the...

This Firm Cut Its Workweek to 4 Days, With Surprising Results

Microsoft Japan's monthlong experiment saw a nearly 40% boost in productivity

(Newser) - Japanese employees are known for their work ethic, to the point where it can often be excessive: As CNBC notes, there's even a term there—"karoshi," or "death by overwork"—that has cropped up due to workers dying on the job . Yet Fox News reports...

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