Japan

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US Jump-Rope Team Seeks Edge
US Jump-Rope Team Seeks Edge
Nov 8, 2007 10:06 PM CST

US Jump-Rope Team Seeks Edge

NC squad aims to wrest double dutch title by borrowing from Japanese champs

(Newser) - After a long tenure as an America-dominated pastime, jump-rope has gone global in recent years—and Japanese teams are leading the way. With a key competition on the horizon, the Wall Street Journal reports on a North Carolina team that is trying to reclaim America's glory by taking a page...

US Urges Japan to Return to Afghanistan

Japanese naval contribution halted by domestic politics

(Newser) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates urged Japan today to resume a naval support mission for US operations in Afghanistan, Reuters reports. Japan has conducted refueling operations in the region for the past six years at a cost of approximately $195 million. The mission was stopped earlier this month after an opposition...

Tree-Hugging Bra Hits Japan
Tree-Hugging Bra Hits Japan
Nov 8, 2007 12:38 PM CST

Tree-Hugging Bra Hits Japan

Eco-friendly product features chopstick compartment

(Newser) - The latest weapon in the fight to save trees? The Chopstick Bra, which offers a handy pouch to slide chopsticks into. Each Japanese citizen goes through 200 pairs of disposable wooden chopsticks in a year—a grand total of 25 billion pairs nationwide. One lingerie company is responding with the...

Japanese Opposition Leader Un-Quits
Japanese Opposition Leader Un-Quits
Nov 6, 2007 12:20 PM CST

Japanese Opposition Leader Un-Quits

About-face after 2 days reflects party pressure, government turmoil

(Newser) - The leader of Japan's opposition party has withdrawn his resignation after 2 days of wrangling in the country's latest political crisis, Bloomberg reports. "This is truly embarrassing," a party official quoted Ichiro Ozawa as saying. The Democratic Party of Japan had asked Ozawa to reconsider, fearing a split...

Top 20 International Travel Hits
Top 20 International Travel Hits
Nov 6, 2007 11:05 AM CST

Top 20 International Travel Hits

The dollar may be down—but that isn't keeping Americans from spending their money abroad

(Newser) - Money may not be flowing the way it once did, but Americans are traveling more than ever. Forbes Traveler lists the top 20 destinations for Yankee jetsetters:
  1. Mexico
  2. Canada
  3. UK

Japanese Party Scrambles to Keep Boss to Dodge Chaos

Opposition chief to quit amid deadlock mess

(Newser) - Members of Japan's opposition party are pleading with their leader to rethink his announced resignation, fearing the move will break up the party and hurt its chances at the polls. The head of the Democratic Party of Japan said he would resign yesterday after the party leadership resoundingly voted to...

Hiroshima Bomb Pilot Dead at 92
Hiroshima Bomb Pilot Dead at 92
Nov 1, 2007 3:19 PM CDT

Hiroshima Bomb Pilot Dead at 92

Pilot defended his role to the last, said he had 'no regrets'

(Newser) - The commander and pilot of the B-29 that dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, in 1945—the first military use of nuclear weapons—died today, the Associated Press reports. Paul Tibbets was 92, and requested no funeral or headstone for fear that they might attract anti-nuclear protesters. Tibbets always...

250 Taliban Surrounded, Villagers Flee

But Afghan mission loses support of Japanese ships ordered home

(Newser) - Some 250 Taliban fighters are surrounded by coalition troops just 15 miles north of the Taliban’s old power base of Kandahar, the AP reports. Villagers fled as the insurgents took over their homes. “They’re surrounded and in big trouble,” said Kandahar police. But the coalition lost...

Japan Backs Off Support of Afghan War

Standoff with domestic opposition leaves PM in hot water with US

(Newser) - Japan's PM is being forced to withdraw the country's support for coalition forces in Afghanistan because the opposition party refuses to back the mission without UN support. Yasuo Fukuda's party could swing the votes for an override, but doing so would probably lead to an early election—which Fukuda might...

Asian Space Race Stirs Friction, Pride

Moon shots spark suspicion about military plans in space

(Newser) - With China, India and Japan all launching civilian moon missions, the Christian Science Monitor examines the  Asian space race, driven by what one expert calls "techno-nationalism."  They "generate pride domestically and they demonstrate prowess internationally," but they're also inflaming security concerns and suspicions, as all...

Phones Goose Transit Gropers
Phones Goose Transit Gropers
Oct 25, 2007 10:24 AM CDT

Phones Goose Transit Gropers

Let your phone do the talking

(Newser) - Commuters tired of being groped on Japan's crowded trains are fighting back with their cell phones. The popular application flashes increasingly angry messages on the phone's screen for the offending feeler-upper. Messages range from "Excuse me, did you just grope me?" to "Shall we head to the police?"...

Declining Sumo May Modernize
Declining Sumo May Modernize
Oct 19, 2007 11:04 AM CDT

Declining Sumo May Modernize

Ancient violent sport struggles to find place in modern Japan

(Newser) - A series of sumo wrestling controversies has led to soul-searching within the venerable Japanese sport. A 17-year-old apprentice died from hazing at a sumo school, and a grand champion is accused of faking an injury and fixing matches. As troubles pile up and popularity continues to decline, writes the New ...

3,000 Detained in Burma, by Junta's Count

Japan cuts aid, China supports UN diplomat

(Newser) - Burma’s military regime imprisoned roughly 3,000 people in last month’s crackdown on pro-democracy protesters, the state-run newspaper announced today. Over 500 are still in custody, and more are being arrested each day. “Those who should be released will be,” the paper said. Meanwhile international outrage...

Japan Sets Its Sights on the Moon
Japan Sets
Its Sights
on the Moon
Oct 9, 2007 12:26 PM CDT

Japan Sets Its Sights on the Moon

China, India lead race to put unmanned craft on lunar surface

(Newser) - Japan is officially joining the ranks of countries intent on lunar exploration. The country plans to land an unmanned rover on the lunar surface "in the middle of the 2010s," a government official announced today. China and India have already announced plans to place a spacecraft on the...

Radiation Weapon Plot Comes to Light

Cold War scheme included assassination, broad contamination

(Newser) - Newly declassified Army documents reveal the US mulled the use of a radioactive weapon to assassinate “important individuals” and contaminate “critical areas for long periods of time.” The heavily censored records date to 1948 and show the weapon was approved for development at the highest levels, reports...

How the World Dropped the Ball on Burma

And how we can pick it back up

(Newser) - International policy on Myanmar is at an impasse because the world went two different ways on the military junta—the US chose isolation while its neighbors chose constructive engagement—and both strategies failed. The country has gone from “antidemocratic embarrassment and humanitarian disaster” to “serious threat” to security,...

Deal Struck, Kim Will Dismantle Nuke Plants

Pyongyang to detail activities; expected to get off US terror list

(Newser) - Kim Jong-Il has reportedly agreed in six-party talks to begin disabling his nuclear facilities and revealing program details. In return—though not part of the agreement—the US will fast-track North Korea's removal from its terrorism list. The terms show new flexibility from a waning Bush administration, as well as...

Only Details Left in North Korea Disarmament

Delegates head home to talk 'nuts and bolts' with their governments

(Newser) - North Korea’s nuclear disarmament seems near at hand. Delegates from six-party negotiations returned home today to walk their governments through the plan's “nuts and bolts.” The talks fleshed out Korea’s February pledge to disarm for fuel aid. “Assuming we go forward with this, it lays...

World's Fastest Computer on the Fast Track

New machine will be three times as powerful as current champ

(Newser) - IBM is set to begin work on a computer capable of a quadrillion calculations per second, more power than a mile-high tower of laptops. McClatchy Newspapers reports the system will use 884,736 processors—six times the current best—to analyze problems on a dizzying scale. “We're on a...

Vietnam Bridge Collapse Kills 60
Vietnam Bridge Collapse Kills 60
Sep 26, 2007 12:05 PM CDT

Vietnam Bridge Collapse Kills 60

Dozens more injured in southern city of Can Tho

(Newser) - As many as 60 workers were killed today when a bridge under construction in the southern Vietnamese city of Can Tho collapsed, Reuters reports. Chinese and Japanese contractors were working on the bridge over the Hau river; Vietnamese TV reported that rain might have softened the bridge's foundations, though no...

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