Japan

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Giant Ant Colony Spreads Across World

Insects from different continents treat each other as family

(Newser) - In what may be a first for the animal kingdom, one giant family of ants has established itself in different parts of the world, the BBC reports. Researchers studying the species known as Argentine ants in Europe, the US, and Japan found that they had a strikingly similar chemical profile,...

Japan's Latest Fad: Spouse-Hunting

Bars, bras, and baseball games get in on 'konkatsu'

(Newser) - Some call it a passing fad, but in Japan, konkatsu—"marriage hunting"—has inspired events in venues ranging from bars to baseball stadiums, the Wall Street Journal reports. A book that uses the word, punning on the words for “marriage” and “activity,” has sold 170,...

Live With It: Retirement Must Shrink
Live With It:
Retirement
Must Shrink
OPINION
Jun 26, 2009 12:13 PM CDT

Live With It: Retirement Must Shrink

Longer lifespans, older population mean quitting age has to rise

(Newser) - With people living longer and having fewer children in developed countries, the population is aging even as the workforce shrinks. And with retirement ages in the 60s, retirees are living longer on pensions. Those demographic shifts make a policy shift inevitable: we’re all going to have to work longer,...

World's Oldest Man Dies at 113
 World's Oldest Man Dies at 113  
Jun 19, 2009 3:48 AM CDT

World's Oldest Man Dies at 113

(Newser) - The world’s oldest man died today at the age of 113, AFP reports. Tomoji Tanabe, who suffered from a chronic heart problem, died of heart failure at his home in Miyakonojo City, Japan. Tanabe—who had eight children, 25 grandchildren, 53 great-grandchildren and six great-great-grandchildren—said his secret to...

Japanese Law Prevents Boy's Life-Saving Transplant

(Newser) - A Japanese law prevents 11-year-old Hiroki Ando from receiving the heart he so desperately needs, CNN reports. Ando suffers from cardiomyopathy and will likely die—as his sister did 5 years ago—without a heart transplant. But the minimum age for organ donations in Japan is 15. "This stipulation...

Airbus 330 Makes Emergency Landing in Guam

Cockpit fire forces move; plane same type as in Air France crash

(Newser) - An Airbus 330 carrying 203 people has made an emergency landing in Guam after an electrical problem sparked a small fire in the cockpit, airline officials said. There were no injuries. Though it's the same type of plane as the Air France flight that crashed last week in the Atlantic,...

For Rent: 'Cheery, Clean' Fake Friends

Japanese firm pads guest lists; wedding toast costs extra

(Newser) - Why bother making friends when you can rent them? A Tokyo-based company allows you to do just that, hiring out fake friends for any occasion, even the happiest day of your life. Need to pad your wedding guest list? The rent-a-friend will attend for just $200; for an extra $100,...

Ambassadors: Rich People in Useless Jobs
Ambassadors: Rich People in Useless Jobs
OPINION
May 29, 2009 2:11 PM CDT

Ambassadors: Rich People in Useless Jobs

If posts are just plums for political donors, why have them?

(Newser) - Barack Obama opted for politics as usual in his ambassador appointments yesterday, writes David Rothkopf for ForeignPolicy. Like recent predecessors, Obama turned to deep-pocketed campaign donors; hence Japan, the world’s second-largest economy, will deal with a tech lawyer whose sole qualification seems to have been his ability to raise...

Only Trade Can Rescue World Economy: Brown
Only Trade Can Rescue World Economy: Brown
OPINION
May 28, 2009 8:35 AM CDT

Only Trade Can Rescue World Economy: Brown

'A banking crisis has become a trade crisis,' writes British PM

(Newser) - The banking crisis has stabilized, according to Gordon Brown, but a new calamity has replaced it: "a trade crisis" that is killing jobs in industrialized nations and exacerbating poverty in developing ones. Globalization has compounded the downturn, but it can also accelerate the pickup, the British PM writes in...

Security Council Condemns N. Korea

(Newser) - The UN Security Council has condemned North Korea's nuclear test as a clear violation of its resolutions. The council said in a statement today that it will begin work immediately on a new legally binding resolution addressing North Korea's violations.

Japan Tops Life-Expectancy List

Sierra Leone, Afghanistan fall at bottom

(Newser) - Health initiatives and wars have flipped some of the world's life expectancies since 1990, the World Heath Organization said today. Some findings, via AP:
  • Japanese women, at 86, and San Marino men, 81, enjoy the longest life expectancies.
  • Sierra Leone men, 39, at Afghan women, 42, have the shortest.
  • In
...

US Trading Partners See Huge GDP Falls

Mexico contracts 21.5% as American demand dries up

(Newser) - Yesterday Mexico became the latest country to disclose a sharp economic contraction as a result of the slowdown in US consumption of imported goods. Mexican GDP fell at an annualized rate of 21.5% in the first quarter, following Germany, down 14.4%, and Japan, 15.2%—its worst performance...

Cheaper 'Fast Fashion' Booms in Japan

Recessionistas head to cheaper chain stores in once-superstylish district

(Newser) - In Tokyo’s Harajuku district, designer brands are making way for cheaper “fast fashion” stores, where $100 buys an outfit, bag, shoes, and accessories. The most recent chain to debut, Forever 21, drew massive crowds—in a scene reminiscent of November, when 2,500 did the same thing next...

Dealer Cuts Mean Deals on Chrysler, GM Cars

Closing dealership networks have just weeks to move massive inventory

(Newser) - At 789 Chrysler lots across America sit 44,000 potential bargains, cars and trucks that are stuck between shellshocked dealers and a troubled company that no longer wants their services. The dealers have just a few weeks to sell the Chryslers, Dodges, and Jeeps or risk losing thousands of dollars...

UN: Sri Lanka Conflict a 'Bloodbath'

Aid groups urge Japan to push for Security Council action

(Newser) - After intense weekend fighting, the UN says the battle between rebels and the government in Sri Lanka has become a “bloodbath,” the New York Times reports. A government doctor estimates 1,000 civilians died in the heavy shelling of the small coastal area occupied by a few hundred...

Flu Spreads, Kills US Man
 Flu Spreads, Kills US Man 
May 10, 2009 7:30 AM CDT

Flu Spreads, Kills US Man

Australia, Japan see cases

(Newser) - Health officials have confimed that a 30-year-old Washington state man died last week of the H1N1 flu strain, raising its US death toll to  three, Reuters reports. He had suffered from heart problems. The disease has now been found in some 2,200 Americans and has spread to Japan and...

Toyota Forecasts First-Ever Annual Loss

$8.6B loss is far worse than anticipated

(Newser) - Toyota forecast a 2009 loss of $8.6 billion, its first annual loss ever and one far deeper than anticipated, Reuters reports. Only last year Toyota posted record profits and climbed past GM to become the world's largest car maker, but the global downturn in the auto industry and a...

Communists Rise in Japan
 Communists Rise in Japan 
May 5, 2009 3:57 AM CDT

Communists Rise in Japan

Young Japanese see red over lack of workers' rights

(Newser) - The recession has reversed a long slide in the fortunes of the Japanese Communist Party, the BBC reports. The party had been shrinking for decades, but membership is now growing at the rate of a thousand people a month. Young people—introduced to Communist ideology through efforts like a manga...

Japanese Say 'I Do' Stateside to Save Money

Couples like marrying in NY, Hawaii to duck $100K nuptials

(Newser) - Thousands of Japanese couples have chosen to marry in the US over the past decade to avoid pricey weddings back home, NPR reports. Favored destinations like Hawaii and New York City may not be cheap, but they're easier on the pocketbook than ceremonies that include hundreds of family, friends, and...

Borders Tighten as Swine Flu Deaths Hit 152

(Newser) - Countries are tightening borders and stepping up containment methods as the swine flu body count continues to rise, the New York Times reports. The disease is suspected in 152 deaths, all in Mexico; 50 US cases are now confirmed from California to New York City. Health officials in Japan and...

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