Japan

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Apple Plays the Field in Japan
Apple Plays the Field in Japan
Dec 18, 2007 10:34 PM CST

Apple Plays the Field in Japan

Seeks exclusive partner for iPhones

(Newser) - Apple wants to bring the iPhone to Japan to compete with some of the most futuristic phones around, but it's being choosy in its search for a partner, Reuters reports. Apple is in talks with DoCoMo and Softbank, the country's biggest and third-biggest mobile operators respectively, but they're both wary...

Japan Shoots Down Dummy US Missile

Japanese expanding missile defense systems with Yank help

(Newser) - A Japanese warship off Hawaii has shot down a US-made mock ballistic missile in flight over the Pacific Ocean, the BBC reports. The test, using a US-developed intercept missile, was the first of its kind by an American ally. Japan and the US stepped up their missile defense cooperation after...

'Rape of Nanking' Fresh, 70 Years Later

Massacre still colors Sino-Japan relations, informs China's identity

(Newser) - Seventy years have passed since the "Rape of Nanking," when Japanese soldiers brutally massacred as many as 300,000 Chinese civilians, but the effects of the trauma are still very much present in China and its relations with Japan. Memorializing the event plays a major role in cementing...

Japan Hosts Camera Phone Film Festival

48 tiny videos yield intimate close-ups from around the world

(Newser) - Featuring 48 judge-selected short movies, each of them shot using a camera phone, Japan's Pocket Film Festival marks the dawning of a new era in amateur film making. Without special effects or fancy camera-work, the pocket-flicks, like winners "Thumb Girl" and "Walkers," are all close-up and intimate...

Japan Blogs, But Politely
Japan Blogs, But Politely
Dec 7, 2007 11:09 AM CST

Japan Blogs, But Politely

Also profusely, briefly, anonymously, and nonconfrontationally

(Newser) - Japan's enormous blog culture is very different from its counterpart in the English-speaking world, reports the Washington Post. Japanese blogs have more and shorter posts, and they consist mostly of anonymous musings on life and personal experiences. The relentless criticism and self-aggrandizement of American and European bloggers shock many of...

Pearl Harbor Survivors Remember
Pearl Harbor Survivors Remember
Dec 7, 2007 10:10 AM CST

Pearl Harbor Survivors Remember

Shrinking ranks of vets, civilians recall attack on 66th anniversary

(Newser) - Pearl Harbor survivors will pause today to remember the attack that reshaped their lives—and the nation's—66 years ago today. The remembrances come as the ever-shrinking number of surviving vets wonder how Americans will remember their legacy, the LA Times reports. Says a historian: "When all of our...

Robots Could Care for Elderly
Robots Could Care for Elderly
Dec 6, 2007 6:29 PM CST

Robots Could Care for Elderly

Toyota unveils new technology aimed at targeting Japan's aging population

(Newser) - Toyota’s new robot can play the violin, and the car-maker hopes it could be used in the future to care for the elderly, AFP reports. The 5-foot-tall robot has 17 hand and arm joints, giving it enough dexterity to play an error-free “Pomp and Circumstance” today. Toyota wants...

In Japan, Robots Tackle the Dirty Work

As workforce shrinks, machines gain favor over immigrants

(Newser) - With the birthrate sinking and the government showing no inclination to loosen immigration restrictions, Japanese businesses are turning to science for help with the impending worker shortage. The London Times visits a Tokyo exhibition that showcases the possible answer: robots. "Robots do the D-work"--dirty, dangerous, and difficult--"that...

Japan to Pay Widow After Husband Dies of Overwork

Toyota employee on constant overtime

(Newser) - A Japanese court ruled today that the government must pay damages to the widow of a white-collar employee at Toyota who died from overwork, the AP reports. Kenichi Uchino had put in more than 80 hours of overtime per month for at least half a year before collapsing in his...

Fukuda Govt Roiled by Scandal
Fukuda Govt Roiled by Scandal
Nov 28, 2007 10:14 AM CST

Fukuda Govt Roiled by Scandal

Current finance minister tied to bribery bust of former defense honcho

(Newser) - In a growing corruption scandal, a former vice defense minister and his wife were arrested today over charges that he awarded contracts to companies that wined and dined him, the AP reports. Takemasa Moriya admits he enjoyed free golf trips and expensive dinners on the tab of the recently arrested...

Japan Sends Mixed Signals on Whale Hunt

It cites tradition but denies tribe's bid to fish for salmon

(Newser) - Japan has a ready defense for its internationally maligned whale hunt: Whaling is integral to Japanese culture, embedded in the country's traditional diet, literature, and religion. Yet this argument looks questionable in light of the Japanese government's refusal to allow indigenous people to continue their traditional salmon fishing, writes Bruce...

New Zealand to Japanese Whalers: Go Home!

'Deception' blasted as fleet sails for 'research'

(Newser) - As a Japanese whaling fleet churned to Antarctic waters, a furious New Zealand prime minister today blasted the "deception" of Japan's claim that the killing ships will conduct research rather than commercial whaling. It would be better "if the Japanese stayed home," said Helen Clark. The fleet...

Dolly Scientist Dumps Embryo Cloning Method

Switches to less controversial Japanese technique

(Newser) - The scientist who created the cloned sheep Dolly is now abandoning the technique he pioneered in favor of a rival method of cell modification developed in Japan. The Japanese approach, which genetically manipulates adult human cells, has proven less controversial than embryonic stem cell research. But scientist Ian Wilmut insists...

Bullying Cases Spike in Japan
Bullying Cases Spike in Japan
Nov 16, 2007 10:44 PM CST

Bullying Cases Spike in Japan

Six students commit suicide, 125K cases reported despite government plan

(Newser) - School bullying cases have spiked sixfold in Japan this year, according to a new survey that highlights a dark issue in Japanese education. Officials blame the 125,000 cases on a recent, broader definition of bullying and the addition of more schools to the tally—but admit to six student...

Bush, Japanese PM Boost Ties
Bush, Japanese PM Boost Ties
Nov 16, 2007 5:25 PM CST

Bush, Japanese PM Boost Ties

Leaders offer assurances on Afghanistan, North Korea

(Newser) - President Bush and new Japanese PM Yasuo Fukuda today vowed to reconcile hot-button issues concerning North Korea and Afghanistan that have strained relations, Reuters reports. In his first visit to the White House, Fukuda pledged to do his "utmost" to renew a refueling mission for coalition forces in Afghanistan,...

Bush's Japan Policy Lost in Translation

Expect discord as new PM arrives in US for weekend summit

(Newser) - As President Bush welcomes the third Japanese prime minister in 3 years to Washington today, a former Tokyo correspondent writes in the Los Angeles Times that current difficulties with arguably our most important ally stem from a fundamental Bush misunderstanding. W has confused Japan with the US's other "special...

Your Phone Could Tell You Where to Eat

Magitti knows where you are, reads your texts and sees your calendar

(Newser) - Looking for the perfect evening? Your phone could know you well enough to do the planning. Prototype software called Magitti scans its user’s text messages and calendars, monitors his position with GPS, and then recommends nearby activities. Over time, Technology Review reports, Magitti knows its customer more closely, and...

Japanese PM Pushes Restart of Afghan Duty

Bill passes one house, but showdown could still trigger an early election

(Newser) - The lower house of Japan's Diet approved a bill today that would resume the country's naval support for the war in Afghanistan. The legislation, pushed through just days before PM Yasuo Fukuda travels to Washington, will allow the Japanese self-defense force to refuel American ships on their way to the...

Asian Stocks Plunge on US Slowdown Worries

(Newser) - Renewed anxiety over the US sub-prime crisis and Friday's Wall Street slump ignited a stock dump in Asian markets today, hammering the Japanese Topix index to a two-year low and sending the dollar’s value against the yen to its lowest point in 18 months. Hong Kong’s Hang Sang...

Breakthrough May Put Japan Back on Board Afghan Mission

Bill would OK fueling US 'terror inspection' ships

(Newser) - A Japanese parliamentary committee has apparently broken a deadlock that halted aid to US ships in the Indian Ocean headed to Afghanistan. The nation's constitution forbids involvement in overseas wars, but Japanese fuel tenders have provided 126 million gallons of fuel to coalition ships. The opposition party blocked the operation...

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