Japan

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Fukushima Watchdog Doing Crummy Job: Experts

Regulators routinely approve TEPCO plans: investigators

(Newser) - Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority was launched in September to keep a closer watch on the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi plant and TEPCO's work there—but what was supposed to be a more independent, tougher regulator is simply running "the same old routine," says an investigator. The NRA...

Fukushima Plant's Cooling System Fails—Again

Second cooling glitch in a month

(Newser) - Japanese nuclear regulators say the cooling system has failed for a storage pool for fuel at one of the reactors at the tsunami-damaged nuclear plant in the northeast. There was no immediate danger from the failure, the second at the plant in a month. A spokesman for the Nuclear Regulation...

New Ambassador to Japan: Caroline Kennedy

She was big Obama backer in 2008

(Newser) - Japan is getting another big-name ambassador from the US. Caroline Kennedy's name had been floated for the post; now she's got the job, the Washington Post reports. She follows in a line of famous ambassadors to the island nation, including former VP Walter Mondale and former Senate majority...

Washington Starts Dismantling Tsunami Dock

185-ton structures washed ashore from Japan

(Newser) - The 2011 Japanese tsunami washed an estimated 5 million tons of debris into the ocean, and two years later, one small chunk of that is being dismantled in Washington state. Workers have begun taking apart a 185-ton, 65-foot-long dock that washed ashore in a hard-to-reach area of Olympic National Park,...

North Korea Threatens US Bases in Guam, Japan

They're within 'striking range,' says the North

(Newser) - After the US announced it's flying B-52 bombers over South Korea, the North is issuing its latest warning: US military bases in Guam and Japan are in its "striking range." Said the country's military: "The US should not forget that the Andersen Air Force Base...

In a First, Japan Turns 'Fire Ice' Into Natural Gas

Underwater methane hydrates could be a huge energy find

(Newser) - The quest to mine frozen methane has taken a big step forward—Japanese officials say their researchers have, for the first time anywhere, extracted gas from an underwater deposit of methane hydrate, reports the BBC . (Methane hydrates are also known as "fire ice," notes the Washington Post .)...

Japan Marks 2 Years Since Quake, Tsunami

300K still displaced as recovery continues

(Newser) - Japan fell silent today to mark the second anniversary of the country's worst natural disaster in living memory, an earthquake and subsequent tsunami that left 19,000 people dead or missing and devastated large areas along its northeast coast. "I pray that the peaceful lives of those affected...

US Can Fend Off N. Korea Attack: White House

But South Korea, Japan may have more to worry about

(Newser) - The White House's take on North Korea's threats against the US? Pshaw. The US is "fully capable of defending against" a North Korean ballistic missile attack, said press secretary Jay Carney yesterday. Though it's still in development, a US missile defense system known as the Ground-Based...

This Giant Isopod Hasn&#39;t Eaten in More Than 4 Years
This Giant Isopod Hasn't Eaten in More Than 4 Years
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Mar 3, 2013 10:27 AM CST

This Giant Isopod Hasn't Eaten in More Than 4 Years

Keepers are concerned about 'No. 1'

(Newser) - A giant isopod at Japan's Toba Aquarium apparently enjoyed the horse mackerel he was fed on Jan. 2, 2009—he downed it in just five minutes and hasn't taken another bite since. Feb. 10 marked 1,500 days since the creature, known simply as No. 1, ingested any...

2 US Sailors Found Guilty in Japan Rape

Christopher Browning sentenced to decade in prison

(Newser) - A Japanese court today convicted a pair of US Navy sailors in the rape and robbery of a young woman in an Okinawa parking lot, the AP reports. Seaman Christopher Browning, 24, accused of robbery after the rape, was sentenced to 10 years in prison, while Petty Officer 3rd Class...

Japan to Fire Back Up Its Nuclear Plants

PM says new standards could come as soon as July

(Newser) - Japan isn't going to let one catastrophic meltdown scare it off of nuclear power forever. The country will restart its idled reactors later this year after implementing new safety guidelines, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told parliament today. Abe didn't say when the first reactor would come online, but...

North Korea Performs 3rd Nuke Test


 North Korea 
 Performs 3rd 
 Nuke Test 
UPDATED
Feb 12, 2013 7:58 AM CST

North Korea Performs 3rd Nuke Test

Obama: Time for 'swift action'

(Newser) - In open defiance of the UN, North Korea has executed its third nuclear test, prompting global condemnation among leaders from the US to Russia to Japan. The latest test involved a "miniaturized and lighter nuclear device with greater explosive force than previously" in 2006 and 2009, the country said....

China, Japan Trade Barbs in Island Fight

China denies using radar-lock on Japanese destroyer

(Newser) - China is denying that one of its naval vessels put a radar lock on a Japanese warship in waters close to the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu islands. Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had claimed on Wednesday that a Chinese frigate used its radar to gather information on the Japanese destroyer last week—...

Japan Scrambles Jets, Says Russia Violated Airspace

As Japan holds rally demanding Moscow return group of disputed islands

(Newser) - Japan's Defense Ministry says two Russian fighter jets briefly intruded into Japanese airspace today off the northern tip of the island of Hokkaido. Japanese jets scrambled after the intrusion by the two SU-27 jets off the coast of Rishiri island, which lasted just over a minute, according to ministry...

Japan Pop Star Shaves Head, Apologizes for Tryst

She spends night with boyfriend, might lose spot in popular girl band

(Newser) - Japan's pop-culture world is abuzz today over the tearful public apology from a member of a pure-as-the-driven-snow girl band who, gasp, spent the night with a boyfriend. The mea culpa on YouTube by 20-year-old Minami Minegishi, who shaved her head in repentance, has been viewed more than 3 million...

Japan Official: Sick Old Folks Should &#39;Hurry Up and Die&#39;
Japan Official: Sick Old Folks Should 'Hurry Up and Die'
in case you missed it
Jan 26, 2013 1:08 PM CST

Japan Official: Sick Old Folks Should 'Hurry Up and Die'

It would save the government a lot of money, says finance minister

(Newser) - And the award for compassion showed by a politician when talking about a touchy issue goes to Japan finance minister Taro Aso. While addressing the heavy state costs of medical care for the elderly, he said:
  • "I would wake up feeling increasingly bad knowing that [treatment] was all being
...

22 Hostages Still Missing in Algeria: Report

...as standoff between military, militants continues

(Newser) - After the Algerian military launched an attack on militants holding hostages at a gas field, numbers remain hazy, but Reuters reports that the whereabouts of 22 of those hostages—14 Japanese and eight Norwegians—remain unknown. Algerian special forces continue to surround the site, a local insider tells Reuters, adding...

Early Reports: 35 Hostages Killed in Algeria Crisis

Many had already escaped, according to earlier reports

(Newser) - Some 35 hostages and 15 Islamist militants in the Algerian crisis have reportedly been killed in a helicopter attack launched by the Algerian military, reports the AP . Those numbers, however, were released by the militants, who also announced that seven of the 41 hostages taken, including two Americans, are still...

Don Juans Have a Secret: the 'Infidelity Phone'

Japanese cheaters stick with the Fujitsu F-Series

(Newser) - Japanese philanderers know their weak spot: the smartphone. Afraid that girlfriends and wives will spot incoming calls from certain secret someones, Lotharios in Japan are sticking with Fujitsu's old "F-Series" flip phones, the Wall Street Journal reports. The so-called "infidelity phones" can easily be programmed to conceal...

Japan's Right Scores Election Win

Former PM Shinzo Abe likely to return to power

(Newser) - Japanese public broadcaster NHK is projecting that the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party has won a clear majority in parliamentary elections. NHK said today that its exit polls show that the conservative LDP, which ruled Japan for most of the post-World War II era, won between 275 and 300 seats...

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