Japan

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Japan Sinks Into Recession
 Japan Sinks Into Recession 
Nov 17, 2008 2:39 AM CST

Japan Sinks Into Recession

Economic downturn could last a year

(Newser) - The financial crisis rippling through the global economy has claimed another casualty as Japan has slipped into its first recession in seven years, Reuters reports. Third quarter statistics reveal a 0.1% contraction in Japan's Gross Domestic Product. Japanese economists warn the nation could languish in recession for an entire...

New ID System Scans Finger's Veins, Not Prints

Hitachi system is faster, more secure than fingerprinting, retinal scans

(Newser) - A new technology that scans finger veins to authenticate identity claims to be quicker and more reliable than fingerprinting, retinal scans, or facial recognition, the Times of London reports. Japanese company Hitachi's system shines infrared light through the network of capillaries in the index finger, capturing a unique 3D “...

Japanese Stores Conquer Convenience

Hard times suit the country's ultra-handy 7-11 descendants

(Newser) - Japan's ultra-convenient convenience stores are one of the few bright spots in the nation's struggling economy, the Washington Post reports. Business is booming at the 40,000 stores nationwide, which offer everything from hot soup to cold beer to fresh sushi. Customers can pay their bills, book travel, and even...

Japan Struggles with Slacker Salarymen

Anti-ambitious young Japanese opt out of the career fast track

(Newser) - A new generation of Japanese salarymen is dropping out of the competition for raises, promotions, and managerial opportunities, the Wall Street Journal reports. Older Japanese are shocked at the attitudes of these ambition-shunning young workers who openly decline to climb the corporate ladder and switch jobs in pursuit of less-demanding...

'Stationmaster' Puts $10M in Town's Kitty

Japanese hamlet cashes in on calico's popularity

(Newser) - The Japanese hamlet of Kishikawa has hopped aboard the Tama express, CNN reports, with the local economy getting a $10 million boost as the calico-turned-hat-wearing-stationmaster gains popularity within and beyond the nation’s borders. Folks flock to the town for a break from city life, taking pictures with the feline...

Kim Calls Shots from Hospital: Japan

Leader is sick, but able to run the country

(Newser) - Kim Jong-Il is probably in the hospital but still calling the shots, Japanese PM Taro Aso says, citing intelligence reports and adding that if the North Korean leader were incoherent, "we would be seeing different developments." A Japanese professor returning from Pyongyang says North Koreans are calm, a...

Japan's Own Banking Crisis Informs Current Power Play

Segue to international market could bolster declining profits

(Newser) - Japanese banks, which just years ago needed US investors to save them from bankruptcy, are using the current crisis to scoop up low-priced international firms. The timing is perfect for the Asian banks, desperate to bolster profits limited by a saturated domestic sector, the Financial Times reports. Though expansion may...

Online Divorcee Jailed After Killing Virtual Hubby

Japanese woman charged with hacking

(Newser) - A 43-year-old Japanese woman whose sudden divorce in a virtual game world made her so angry that she killed her online husband's digital persona has been arrested on suspicion of hacking, police said today. The woman allegedly used her digital husband's identification and password to log onto popular interactive game...

Himalaya Adventurers Find 'Yeti Tracks'

Traces aren't animal, experts say, 'look human'

(Newser) - The legendary abominable snowman of the Himalayas remains camera-shy, but a Japanese team has made a breakthrough, discovering what the lead researcher says are yeti footprints. "Myself and other team members have been coming to the Himalayas for years and we can recognize bear, deer, wolf and snow leopard...

Fad Banana Diet Finds Mass A Peel in Japan

Regimen claims to fuel weight loss with just banana, water for breakfast

(Newser) - A penchant for fad dieting is making Japanese consumers ripe for a new weight-loss scheme starring bananas, Time reports. Since a popular actress lost 26 pounds on the Morning Banana Diet, the fruit has been hard to come by. “There are no bananas on the shelves,” complained one...

Japan's Seniors Turn to Crime
 Japan's Seniors Turn to Crime 
Oct 17, 2008 9:10 AM CDT

Japan's Seniors Turn to Crime

Violence surges among over-65s

(Newser) - It's not the kids who are causing hand-wringing in Japan these days, but the elderly, who are responsible for a crime wave, the Daily Telegraph reports. With some 49,000 people over the age of 65 convicted of crimes ranging from petty theft to murder last year—more than triple...

'Japanese OJ' Hangs Self in LA Jail Before Murder Trail

Businessman accused in wife's shooting death

(Newser) - A Japanese businessman hanged himself last night in a Los Angeles jail, just hours after arriving in the US to face charges for allegedly planning his wife’s death 27 years ago. Kazuyoshi Miura, 61, was alone in his cell when he "used a piece of his shirt as...

Asian Markets Plunging
 Asian Markets Plunging  
Oct 9, 2008 8:08 PM CDT

Asian Markets Plunging

(Newser) - Asia's markets are following on the heels of the Dow's plunge today, MarketWatch reports. All of them are dropping precipitously at the start of Friday's trading, with Japan's benchmark Nikkei index down more than 10%. Elsewhere, South Korea's was down nearly 9%, Hong Kong's 8%, and Australia's 6.7%. The...

Big, Fat Trouble Piles On Sumo Wrestling

Drugs, game rigging scandals drag down Japanese sport

(Newser) - Japan's most beloved sport is being dragged down by unrelenting scandal, NPR reports, as sumo has this year banned three Russian wrestlers from competition for smoking pot amid match-rigging accusations elsewhere. Another wrestler died in an apparent hazing incident, while a Mongolian champion stands accused of faking injury. Many Japanese...

Barenaked Brit Skinny-Dips at Tokyo Palace

Tourist arrested after climbing royal wall during hour-long chase

(Newser) - A naked Westerner jumped into the moat surrounding Japan’s fortified imperial palace today, Reuters reports, climbing its walls during a chase that lasted more than an hour. Onlookers giggled and snapped photos of the 40-year-old bald man, who claimed to be a British tourist from Spain. He was captured...

Pass the Bailout, Or Else We'll Become Japan
Pass the Bailout, Or Else We'll
Become Japan
OPINION
Oct 2, 2008 8:27 AM CDT

Pass the Bailout, Or Else We'll Become Japan

Its decade of decline shows the risks of inaction: Kristof

(Newser) - Watching the House vote down the bailout package this week, Nicholas Kristof recalled a bad memory: Japanese politicians doing the same thing during the financial crisis of the 1990s. The New York Times columnist, who was then based in Tokyo, watched as a desire to punish "corrupt, profligate, and...

Scientists Find Genetic Source of Daytime Snoozing

Gene seems associated with narcolepsy particularly common among Japanese

(Newser) - We may be step closer to understanding the genetic basis for narcolepsy, say Japanese scientists who looked at the DNA of those suffering from the condition. In people who exhibit the excessive daytime sleepiness, vision problems, and muscle weakness associated with narcolepsy, one particular gene variant shows up with significant...

Japanese Protesters Greet US Nuke Ship

Huge carrier arrives near Tokyo amid radiation fears

(Newser) - Japanese protesters greeted a nuclear-powered American warship at its new home port near Tokyo today, Reuters reports. The USS George Washington drew criticism after reports last month than a US submarine had leaked radioactive material at Japanese ports for 2 years —underscoring the tense relationship between Japanese citizens and...

Aso Becomes Japan PM, But Election Looms

New leader may go to the polls as soon as next month

(Newser) - Taro Aso took office today as Japan's fourth prime minister in just 2 years, and the hawkish new leader appointed several long-time supporters to serve with him in cabinet. But the government may be short-lived, Bloomberg reports. Officials in Tokyo predicted that the PM would call an election as soon...

Japan's Ruling Party Picks Next PM

Nationalist Taro Aso likely to call early election

(Newser) - Japanese nationalist Taro Aso won a convincing ruling-party vote to become the country’s next prime minister, Reuters reports. The Liberal Democrat and former foreign minister will become the third PM this year. Facing a troubled economy and strong opposition in Parliament’s upper house, Aso will likely call an...

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