Japan

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'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...

Japanese Firm Buys Lehman's Asian Assets

Nomura Holdings wins auction to pay $225M

(Newser) - Japan’s Nomura Holdings won an auction to buy bankrupt Lehman Brothers’ Asian assets for $225 million, the Wall Street Journal reports. Healthy Japanese firms like Nomura are pouncing on the Wall Street crisis as a means to expand. Lehman has 2,940 workers in the region, where the company...

Stocks Rally Strong on Fannie, Freddie Takeover

Europe, Japan, US futures see market surge

(Newser) - European and Japanese stocks saw their biggest surge since January and US futures climbed amid news of the Treasury Department’s plan to take charge of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Bloomberg reports. Europe's UBS AG, pounded by subprime losses, and Japan’s Mizuho Financial Group, its biggest bank by...

WWE Comes Out Swinging in Japan

Wrestling giant opens Japanese office to compete in key Asian market

(Newser) - Move over, sumo. WWE is pushing hard into Japan, tailoring its blend of sport and spectacle to this key Asian market, AP reports. The company opened a Japanese office this year—its only overseas outpost devoted to a single country—and now 35,000 Japanese users subscribe to WWE’s...

Sony Recalls 440K Vaios
 Sony Recalls 440K Vaios 
Sep 4, 2008 8:55 AM CDT

Sony Recalls 440K Vaios

The TZ model may have bad wiring at the hinge and could overheat and wear quickly

(Newser) - Sony is recalling 440,000 Vaio laptops worldwide due to a wiring flaw that could cause overheating in 19 models of its TZ series manufactured between May 2007 and July 2008. The company said today that improperly placed wires near the hinge connecting the body of the laptop and its...

Whale Meat Makes Comeback in Iceland

Sellers aim to introduce dish to youth market

(Newser) - Illegal for two decades, whale meat is back on menus in Iceland, and entrepreneurs are hoping to turn young people on to its charms, the Wall Street Journal reports. The food is reminiscent of beef, but costs only half as much—perhaps a mark in its favor for the young....

Ex-Foreign Minister Leads Race to Be Japanese PM

Aso seen as best shot at reuniting split party

(Newser) - Former foreign minister Taro Aso is on course to become Japan's third prime minister in 12 months, Reuters reports. The onetime Olympic sharpshooter says he's the right candidate to take the helm of the Liberal Democratic Party following yesterday's abrupt resignation of Yasuo Fukuda in the face of a political...

Japanese PM Resigns
 Japanese PM Resigns
Sep 1, 2008 11:42 AM CDT

Japanese PM Resigns

Fukuda hopes move will clear parliamentary gridlock

(Newser) - Yasuo Fukuda has resigned as Japan’s prime minister, the AP reports. Fukuda said he was stepping down to ensure that a special session of parliament to address the economy runs smoothly. Fukuda, whose approval rating is at 29% after less than a year in office, has presided over a...

Japanese Women Dodge Men ISO Mommies, Stay Single

Plunging birth rate causes national alarm

(Newser) - "WANTED: Female to cook, clean, wash my socks, bear and raise my children, and generally enable my workaholism—all while maintaining your own career in a sexist environment." Sound good? Given the choice, many Japanese women are saying to heck with marriage and staying single, reports the Washington ...

Wagyu: 'the Hummer of Beef'
 Wagyu: 'the Hummer of Beef'
GLOSSIES
Aug 25, 2008 7:41 PM CDT

Wagyu: 'the Hummer of Beef'

Esquire taste tests extravagant $130-per-pound meat

(Newser) - Wagyu beef, a Japanese tradition catching on in the US, uses cows “bred so that fat corrupts the striations of every muscle,” Tom Junod writes in Esquire. After sampling some at $130 per pound, Junod ponders how Americans can be attracted to such excess. Despite America's ecological awakening,...

China Overtakes US as Top Market for Japan Goods

Exports to US from Japan fall for 11th consecutive month

(Newser) - China imported $11.8 billion in Japanese goods in July, MarketWatch reports, barely surpassing the US as the world’s largest importer of products and services from Japan for the first time. The 11.5% drop in shipments to the US was the 11th consecutive month of declines; exports to...

Japan Upsets US for Softball Gold
 Japan Upsets US
 for Softball Gold
Olympics
Aug 21, 2008 9:43 AM CDT

Japan Upsets US for Softball Gold

Americans denied top prize for first time since sport's Olympic debut in 1996

(Newser) - The US softball team was denied a chance for a fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal today, beaten 3-1 by Japan in the sport's last appearance in the Olympics for at least 8 years. Japanese pitcher Yukiko Ueno shut down an American squad that ruled the sport since its Olympic debut...

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