Friday, March 12, 9:13 (JST)
'Dr. Yellow' train keeps line safe, elates spotters
A seven-car shinkansen line inspection train runs about once every 10 days between Tokyo and Hakata in Fukuoka Prefecture, and rail buffs who spot it claim it brings good luck.
The train has been nicknamed "Dr. Yellow" because of its color but it is officially called a comprehensive shinkansen test train. The test train that travels the 1,174-km distance between Tokyo and Hakata is popular with rail fans. An urban legend has it happiness comes to those who spot it.
Its timetable is not published. Nevertheless, a Web site details the places and times it passes so those interested may figure out when they can see it. A cheering crowd with cameras was on hand when Dr. Yellow pulled into Shin-Osaka Station en route to Hakata in December.
All of the coaches' windows are blocked out. Carriages six and seven house large equipment to gauge signals and electricity. A dome in coach five lets inspectors view pantograph connections. (Japan Times)
A seven-car shinkansen line inspection train runs about once every 10 days between Tokyo and Hakata in Fukuoka Prefecture, and rail buffs who spot it claim it brings good luck.
The train has been nicknamed "Dr. Yellow" because of its color but it is officially called a comprehensive shinkansen test train. The test train that travels the 1,174-km distance between Tokyo and Hakata is popular with rail fans. An urban legend has it happiness comes to those who spot it.
Its timetable is not published. Nevertheless, a Web site details the places and times it passes so those interested may figure out when they can see it. A cheering crowd with cameras was on hand when Dr. Yellow pulled into Shin-Osaka Station en route to Hakata in December.
All of the coaches' windows are blocked out. Carriages six and seven house large equipment to gauge signals and electricity. A dome in coach five lets inspectors view pantograph connections. (Japan Times) Bullying flap shakes Japan's royals 
When an official at the Imperial Household Agency suddenly announced last week that 8-year-old Princess Aiko was refusing to go to school because of bullying, he did more than just disclose a mundane problem facing a member of Japan's ancient and secretive monarchy.
He also added a new twist to one of the most riveting but mysterious dramas in Japan, the seven-year depression and seclusion of Aiko's mother, Crown Princess Masako, the Harvard-trained former diplomat. Aiko is the only child of Princess Masako and her husband, Crown Prince Naruhito, and is widely known to be one of the few sources of joy for the troubled crown princess. (New York Times)
When an official at the Imperial Household Agency suddenly announced last week that 8-year-old Princess Aiko was refusing to go to school because of bullying, he did more than just disclose a mundane problem facing a member of Japan's ancient and secretive monarchy.
He also added a new twist to one of the most riveting but mysterious dramas in Japan, the seven-year depression and seclusion of Aiko's mother, Crown Princess Masako, the Harvard-trained former diplomat. Aiko is the only child of Princess Masako and her husband, Crown Prince Naruhito, and is widely known to be one of the few sources of joy for the troubled crown princess. (New York Times) Luck of the Irish to parade across country 
Celebrations for Ireland's most famous holiday are gaining in popularity worldwide, and Japan is no exception. St. Patrick, who helped spread Christianity to Ireland in the 5th century, is the country's patron saint. Legend has it that he died on March 17, so the Irish celebrate the day by wearing green, symbolizing the shamrock. In Japan, people have enjoyed the St. Patrick's Day parade since 1992. As an international cultural exchange event, it has become more popular, with recent years seeing around 1,000 participants and 50,000 spectators taking part in Omotesando, Tokyo. This year's parade is on March 14 and starts from Omotesando Hills; it runs from 2 p.m. till 4 p.m. (Japan Times)
Celebrations for Ireland's most famous holiday are gaining in popularity worldwide, and Japan is no exception. St. Patrick, who helped spread Christianity to Ireland in the 5th century, is the country's patron saint. Legend has it that he died on March 17, so the Irish celebrate the day by wearing green, symbolizing the shamrock. In Japan, people have enjoyed the St. Patrick's Day parade since 1992. As an international cultural exchange event, it has become more popular, with recent years seeing around 1,000 participants and 50,000 spectators taking part in Omotesando, Tokyo. This year's parade is on March 14 and starts from Omotesando Hills; it runs from 2 p.m. till 4 p.m. (Japan Times) Sushi chef charged with serving illegal whale 
Federal prosecutors filed charges Wednesday against a sushi chef and a Santa Monica restaurant on allegations that they served illegal and endangered whale meat.
Typhoon Restaurant Inc., which owns The Hump restaurant, and sushi chef Kiyoshiro Yamamoto, 45, were charged with illegally selling an endangered species product, a misdemeanor.
According to a search warrant, marine mammal activists were served whale during three separate visits to the restaurant. Federal labs confirmed the meat came from a Sei whale, an endangered species protected by international treaties, documents said. (AP)
Federal prosecutors filed charges Wednesday against a sushi chef and a Santa Monica restaurant on allegations that they served illegal and endangered whale meat.
Typhoon Restaurant Inc., which owns The Hump restaurant, and sushi chef Kiyoshiro Yamamoto, 45, were charged with illegally selling an endangered species product, a misdemeanor.
According to a search warrant, marine mammal activists were served whale during three separate visits to the restaurant. Federal labs confirmed the meat came from a Sei whale, an endangered species protected by international treaties, documents said. (AP) Japanese gaming to profit from child subsidies 
Japan's gambling industry is expected to be an unlikely beneficiary of a national child subsidy scheme, which aims to shower parents with cash and encourage young couples to start families.
Pachinko parlours - the cacophonous pinball arcades that claim about 23 trillion yen in illegal gambling revenues every year - are expected to perform especially well. The monthly family benefit payments are perfectly suited to fuel a couple of hours' play. (Times Online)
Japan's gambling industry is expected to be an unlikely beneficiary of a national child subsidy scheme, which aims to shower parents with cash and encourage young couples to start families.
Pachinko parlours - the cacophonous pinball arcades that claim about 23 trillion yen in illegal gambling revenues every year - are expected to perform especially well. The monthly family benefit payments are perfectly suited to fuel a couple of hours' play. (Times Online) 65 years after the war, Japan needs convincing of the need for US bases 
On a humid March evening in Okinawa young American men with crewcuts and thick necks sprawl out from the bars and lap-dancing clubs that cluster near US military bases across the island.
"Marijuana - it's like alcohol, but . . ." reads one T-shirt. A young white man weaves his Honda Saloon at speed through cars heading for a junction. "We all pull clear," one Japanese driver says. "There are so many accidents."
The US has slapped tough rules on the 22,000 Marines and 24,000 other personnel on its vast bases on Okinawa, the southernmost island of Japan, after the rape of a 12-year-old girl by three servicemen in 1995 brought tens of thousands of people on to the streets in protest. (Times Online)
On a humid March evening in Okinawa young American men with crewcuts and thick necks sprawl out from the bars and lap-dancing clubs that cluster near US military bases across the island.
"Marijuana - it's like alcohol, but . . ." reads one T-shirt. A young white man weaves his Honda Saloon at speed through cars heading for a junction. "We all pull clear," one Japanese driver says. "There are so many accidents."
The US has slapped tough rules on the 22,000 Marines and 24,000 other personnel on its vast bases on Okinawa, the southernmost island of Japan, after the rape of a 12-year-old girl by three servicemen in 1995 brought tens of thousands of people on to the streets in protest. (Times Online) Ibaraki Airport opens with only 1 regular daily flight to Seoul 
Ibaraki Airport opened Thursday as the third airport in the Tokyo metropolitan area, with a daily flight to and from Seoul by South Korea's Asiana Airlines serving as the only regular flight at the initial stage.
Although domestic budget carrier Skymark Airlines is scheduled to start a daily roundtrip flight between Ibaraki and Kobe from April 16, the need for the 22-billion-yen airport has been called into question as it serves only 600 people a day for the time being, even if both the Asiana and Skymark flights are operated at full capacity. (AP)
Ibaraki Airport opened Thursday as the third airport in the Tokyo metropolitan area, with a daily flight to and from Seoul by South Korea's Asiana Airlines serving as the only regular flight at the initial stage.
Although domestic budget carrier Skymark Airlines is scheduled to start a daily roundtrip flight between Ibaraki and Kobe from April 16, the need for the 22-billion-yen airport has been called into question as it serves only 600 people a day for the time being, even if both the Asiana and Skymark flights are operated at full capacity. (AP)| Mar 12 | Court takes assets from Horie's home (Japan Times) |
 The Tokyo District Court on Wednesday confiscated several items from the home of former Livedoor Co. President Takafumi Horie in connection with a lawsuit filed against him and fellow executives over a window-dressing case involving the once high-flying Internet venture.
The items seized at the upscale Roppongi Hills complex in Tokyo included a television set, a shamisen, golf clubs and a wine storage unit, according to a lawyer for the plaintiffs. The items are worth ¥330,000 and will be put up for auction on April 7, with the proceeds to be distributed to plaintiffs, including individual shareholders.
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| Mar 11 | Japan steals march on fair value rules (Accountancy Age) |
| While Europe stalls, Japan has raced ahead to become the largest economy so far to take advantage of new accounting rules reformed in the wake of the banking crisis. Japanese companies began using the International Accounting Standards Board's (IASB) new fair value rules yesterday, increasing pressure on other developed nations to adopt as well. It is the first stage of a three-part revision of the fair value standard. The rules, redesigned with banks in mind, use a mixed-measurement model to value assets at either their market price or amortised cost. |
| Mar 11 | 61 airports fall short on passengers (Asahi) |
| Sixty-one airports across the nation failed to meet projected demand in fiscal 2008, underlining a widely held belief that many were built on the basis of overly optimistic projections. Actual and predicted passenger numbers at the nation's 98 airports for fiscal 2008 were released by the transport ministry on Tuesday. Of the 69 airports with comparable demand forecasts, only eight, including Haneda, Naha and Kumamoto, cleared their targets. |
| Mar 11 | Digital billboard that watches you shop hits Japan (postchronicle.com) |
| Sci-fi is becoming reality. Did you know they now make digital billboards that capture your expression, response, age, and relevance to their product on the billboard? Digital billboards are new in Japan currently. They want to get to know their audience and consumers better by seeing people's reactions to their advertisements. This way they can create more affective advertisement. Billboards will capture you expression towards the ad. |
| Mar 11 | Yakuza gets bailout for its four-finger economy (BusinessWeek) |
| Japan's gangsters may remember 2010 as a banner year. That's not how the vast majority of Japan's 126 million people will see it. Deflation is accelerating, Japan Airlines Corp. went bankrupt and the hits at Toyota Motor Corp. keep on coming. And the year is barely 2 1/2 months old. Amid such gloom, it will soon be good to be a yakuza, a member of Japan's organized-crime syndicates. We learned this week that almost 3,000 consumer-finance companies risk being shut out of the market by the end of June as stricter rules take effect. It will be a boon for extortionate lenders. It also helps explain why Japan's central bank has virtually no chance of ending deflation. |
USD to JPY:
90.605
| Mar 11 | Japan's economic recovery slower than thought (AFP) |
 Japan's economy grew at a slower rate than previously thought in the fourth quarter of 2009, new data showed Thursday, raising fresh concerns over the country's recovery from a crushing recession.
The world's number two economy expanded at a pace of 0.9 percent in October-December from the previous quarter, revised down from an initial estimate of 1.1 percent growth, the government said.
And a revised figure for July-September showed a contraction of 0.1 percent, illustrating how Japan's nascent revival stalled in the third quarter.
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| Mar 10 | Japan's finance minister battles for licence to print money (The Australian) |
| Japan's Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Naoto Kan wants the central bank to do something so unorthodox he wouldn't say what it was, so Bank of Japan policy board member Tadao Noda said it for him. "We need to be mindful of the risk of BoJ long-term bond purchases being interpreted as monetising debt, triggering rises in long-term interest rates that deviate from the economic outlook," Noda warned last week. |
| Mar 10 | Japan public pension fund to keep asset model (Reuters) |
| Japan's public pension fund, the world's largest, will not change its asset allocation model for the next five years after the Health Ministry urged the fund to keep investing in safe assets, the Nikkei business daily reported. The Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) holds assets of about $1.4 trillion, larger than the gross domestic product of India, and is a major force in financial markets, particularly the Japanese government bond market. |
| Mar 10 | Ensuring Japan's food security through free trade not tariffs (East Asia Forum) |
| Japanese agriculture is in a free-falling decline. In the years between 1960 and 2005, the share of agricultural output in GDP dropped from 9 per cent to 1 per cent, the food self-sufficiency ratio from 79 per cent to 41 per cent, and agricultural land, indispensable for food security, from 6.09 million hectares to 4.63 million hectares. Meanwhile, the ratio of part-time farm households, which derive more than half their income from non-farm employment, increased from 32.1 per cent to 61.7 per cent. The percentage of farmers over 65 years old also jumped from 10 per cent to 60 per cent. |
| Mar 10 | No easy solutions for U.S., Japan to revive economies (Japan Times) |
| Even as Japan and the United States need deficit-funded stimulus now to stay on the recovery path, sustained large budget deficits will be a long-term problem that undermines their future growth prospects and must be addressed. But how? Tax hikes might be one inevitable solution, given that the two countries are near the bottom of the list of advanced economies around the world in terms of tax-to-gross domestic product ratio. U.S. data meanwhile suggest that tax reduction is a much more effective tool than increases in government spending as a tool to turn the economy around. |
NIKKEI 225:
10664.95
| Mar 11 | Nikkei climbs to 7-week high as exporters gain (Reuters) |
| Japan's Nikkei average rose 1 percent to a seven-week high on Thursday, with exporters such as Sony Corp (6758.T) climbing after the yen dipped and U.S. wholesale inventories fell unexpectedly in January. Gains in financial shares also helped buoy the broader market, with big banks such as Mizuho Financial Group (8411.T) rising after a rally in their U.S. peers and consumer lenders extending gains after an upbeat brokerage report on the sector. |
| Mar 11 | Investors unconvinced by Fujitsu claims, TSE probe (Japan Times) |
| Fujitsu Ltd. has drawn renewed calls from investors to shed more light on the departure of former President Kuniaki Nozoe after the Tokyo Stock Exchange ended a probe Tuesday into the conflicting reasons given by the firm. The TSE ended its probe of Fujitsu after determining the company didn't mislead investors enough to warrant further action. In response, the nation's largest provider of computer services said it will strive to disclose information appropriately. |
| Mar 10 | Japan stocks flat; Toyota falls on mounting woes (BusinessWeek) |
| Japanese stocks finished flat Wednesday, as declines by shipping lines and Toyota Motor Corp. offset encouraging economic data. The benchmark Nikkei 225 stock index slipped 3.73 points, or .04 percent, to 10,563.92 in thin trading. With few trading cues, the overall market struggled to find direction. The broader Topix index fell 0.2 percent to 922.44. Toyota shed 1.4 percent to 3,445 yen after the besieged automaker faced more concerns about its quality problems. |
| Mar 09 | Nikkei down after hitting 6-week high (AP) |
| Japan's Nikkei stock index fell Tuesday on profit-taking after rising to a six-week high, but losses were limited as investors stayed on the sidelines ahead of the release of key Asian indicators. The benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average fell 18.27 points, or 0.2 percent, to 10,567.65 after hitting a six-week high Monday. The broader Topix index shed 0.3 percent to 924.38. "Investors locked in profits following yesterday's rally. It was technical selling," said Masatoshi Sato, market analyst at Mizuho Investors Securities Co. Ltd. |
| Mar 09 | Companies abandoning smaller bourses to focus on TSE (Asahi) |
| In a trend that could undermine smaller bourses in Japan, more companies are concentrating their shares solely on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE). According to TSE records, the number of companies whose shares were listed on the TSE as well as one of Japan's four other stock markets in Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka and Sapporo has slid from 1,042 in 1999 to 773 in 2009. Many companies have pulled out of the smaller bourses to save on the annual commissions paid to those stock exchanges, which range from hundreds of thousand yen to millions of yen, and to reduce paperwork. |
| Mar 12 | Tokyo ward mayor sets example by taking paternity leave (Japan Times) |
| Hironobu Narisawa, mayor of Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo, plans to take about two weeks of paternity leave in April to encourage other male staff to follow suit, officials said Thursday. "I want to enjoy both the joy and pain of child-rearing as a father," said the mayor, 44, whose wife had their first child, a boy, on Feb. 5. "As a mayor who has to exert leadership, I want to support male employees" in taking paternity leave, he said at a press conference. |
| Mar 11 | High court rules 2009 general election constitutional (AP) |
| The Tokyo High Court on Thursday declared last year's general election constitutional despite a sharp disparity in the value of each vote between constituencies, ruling differently from four other high court panels that ruled it unconstitutional or close to unconstitutional. Presiding Judge Tatsuki Inada also turned down a suit filed by two voters in Tokyo and one in neighboring Kanagawa Prefecture who sought a court decision to make the election results in their single-seat constituencies invalid. |
| Mar 10 | Hirano says unused secret funds to be returned to treasury (AP) |
| Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano said Wednesday any unused discretionary funds at his disposal will be returned to state coffers after the current fiscal year through the end of this month. He also pledged not to use up all of the funds, claiming the previous government led by the Liberal Democratic Party had done so. Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, who took office last September in a historic change of power, has said he will try to bring more transparency to the funds, which are intended to pay for the costs of classified government activities, including intelligence gathering. |
| Mar 10 | U.S. subs unlikely to visit Japanese ports with Tomahawk: Okada (AP) |
| Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada said Wednesday that he does not think the United States will load nuclear Tomahawk cruise missiles on its attack submarines when they make port calls in Japan, in line with a U.S. policy to withdraw tactical nuclear weapons on its ships. "There are deep exchanges between the Japanese and the U.S. governments...But I don't think that Tomahawk will be reloaded," Okada told a parliamentary committee, a day after a Foreign Ministry panel acknowledged the existence of a "tacit agreement" that led Japan to allow U.S. nuclear-armed ships to visit Japanese ports without prior consultation. |
| Mar 10 | Chrysanthemum or Samurai? (foreignpolicy.com) |
 In a thoughtful essay in today's Financial Times, Gideon Rachman asks whether Japan may now be tilting towards China after 60 years of aligning itself with the United States. This question is interesting on multiple dimensions -- including with regard to the future of U.S. primacy in Asia, the impact of China's rise on its neighbors, the nature of Japanese politics and identity, and our understanding of the deep structure of international relations at a time of systemic power shifts. Indeed, Japan is a critical case study for assessing how the developed world will respond to the rise of dynamic new power centers in Asia -- and what the implications will be for American leadership in the international system.
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| Mar 12 | 70 immigration detainees on hunger strike (Japan Times) |
| At least 70 detainees at the West Japan Immigration Control Center, which has long been criticized by human rights groups and Diet members, have been on a hunger strike since Monday, center officials and volunteers helping them confirmed Thursday. "Around 70 foreigners began a hunger strike Monday night because they want to be released on a temporary basis," Norifumi Kishida, an official at the center, said Thursday morning. |
| Mar 12 | Three teens busted for lifting items from set of pop group AKB48 TV drama (Mainichi) |
 Three teenagers have been arrested for stealing a signboard and other equipments from the set of a TV drama featuring popular all-girl J-pop group AKB48, police said on Thursday.
"We're big fans of them and wanted to obtain whatever they used," one of the boys were quoted as telling police. The stolen items, worth 180,000 yen in total, included a 90 by 25 centimeter signboard and cushions prepared for the shooting as well as coats designed for AKB48 members.
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| Mar 11 | Tuna brokers at Japan's largest fish market rally against proposed Atlantic bluefin ban (canadianbusiness.com) |
 Tuna brokers at Japan's largest fish market protested a proposed international trade ban on Atlantic bluefin tuna Thursday, saying it would unfairly hit Japan and its massive tuna market.
Raw tuna is a key ingredient in traditional dishes such as sushi and sashimi, and the bluefin variety - called "hon-maguro" here - is particularly prized.
"This is like telling the U.S. to stop eating beef," said Kimio Amano, a 36-year-old broker who has worked at the market for 20 years.
But global stocks of bluefin are dwindling, especially in the Atlantic, and governments around the world are increasingly supporting a complete trade ban to let the fish recover. About 80 percent of the species ends up in Japan.
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| Mar 11 | The Cove will segue into a new TV series (chron.com) |
 Fans of The Cove, the environmentally themed film that won the feature documentary Oscar Sunday night, will be happy to know there's more where that came from.
A new television series about the controversial dolphin trade in Japan, tentatively titled Dolphin Warriors, has been green-lighted by Animal Planet.
The series picks up where the movie leaves off and, like the film, stars animal activist Ric O'Barry. Two episodes of the series - being executive- produced by O'Barry's son, Lincoln O'Barry - have been completed, although a premiere date has yet to be announced, Ric O'Barry said.
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| Mar 11 | Strong winds, snow wreak havoc; 140 hurt (Yomiuri) |
| Strong winds and snow battered the Pacific side of the nation Tuesday and Wednesday, wreaking havoc with road, rail and air routes and leaving thousands of homes without power. According to the Tokyo Fire Department, 26 people were taken to hospitals in Tokyo with fall injuries between Tuesday evening, when it began snowing, and 6 a.m. Wednesday. Ten people in Yokohama suffered fall and other injuries, and 46 people in Saitama Prefecture either fell or were involved in skidding accidents. The hazardous weather also brought chaos to the nation's transport network. |
| Mar 11 | Sumo: Asashoryu denies alleged drunken rampage, undecided on future (AP) |
 Former Mongolian-born grand champion Asashoryu on Thursday refuted reports of an alleged drunken rampage that preceded his retirement from sumo.
"I didn't commit any violent act," Asashoryu said at a press conference in Ulan Bator, referring to Japanese magazine reports in January that said he became extremely drunk before striking and seriously injuring a man outside a nightclub in Tokyo in the early hours of Jan. 16.
On rumors that he will go into mixed martial arts, Asashoryu said, "I haven't really thought about what to do next. I don't regret my decision to quit sumo, though."
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| Mar 11 | Golf: Ishikawa hopes to show improvement in 3 U.S. PGA events (AP) |
| Teenage star Ryo Ishikawa said Thursday he is well prepared to play in three U.S. PGA tournaments, including the Masters Tournament, in the next four weeks. "My spirit, technique and physical condition are great," the 18-year- old JGTO money title winner said before flying off to the United States from Narita airport, east of Tokyo. "I want to give all I have got in the upcoming events." |
| Mar 10 | Sports: Mori to step down as JASA head next year (AP) |
| Former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori said Wednesday he will step down as head of the Japan Sports Association when his current term expires at the end of March next year. "Next year will be time to take a new step forward. It will be the JASA's 100th anniversary, a crucial time. I would like to be allowed to serve out my term in March next year," the 72-year-old Mori said at an association board meeting. |
| Mar 09 | Sumo: Schoolboy tipped to crush opponents (ABC News) |
 A 15-year-old Japanese schoolboy tipping the scales at 145 kilograms is set to make his professional sumo debut and is already being tipped as a future 'yokozuna'.
National junior high school champion Ryoya Tatsu stands 1.93 metres tall and is expected to take part in the Osaka grand sumo tournament beginning this weekend.
The Japan Sumo Association said Tatsu had passed his first health check and was waiting for the results of internal tests to determine if he could wrestle in Osaka.
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| Mar 08 | Golf: Ishikawa graduates from high school (AP) |
| Japan's No. 1 golfer Ryo Ishikawa attended his high school graduation ceremony in Tokyo on Monday, receiving his diploma along with the general student body. The 18-year-old, who became the youngest ever to top the money rankings on the Japanese men's professional tour last year, turned pro while still a freshman at Suginami Gakuin High School in January 2008. He has won six tournaments while enrolled there. |
| Mar 12 | Japan baby-robot teaches parenting skills (AFP) |
 It giggles and wiggles its feet when you shake its rattle, but will get cranky and cry from too much tickling: Meet Yotaro, a Japanese robot programmed to be as fickle as a real baby.
The cuddly baby-bot looks unearthly with a pair of luminous blue eyes and oversized cheeks, but engineering students are hoping it will teach young people the pleasures of parenting as Japan faces a demographic crisis.
"Yotaro is a robot with which you can experience physical contact just like with a real baby and reproduce the same feelings," said Hiroki Kunimura of Tsukuba University's robotics and behavioral sciences lab north of Tokyo.
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| Mar 11 | Hatoyama says it may take time before decision on Korean schools (AP) |
| Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said Thursday his government will make a decision on whether to include pro-Pyongyang senior high schools for Korean residents in Japan in a proposed tuition waiver program after a related bill clears parliament. Hatoyama said that the government will lay out a ministerial ordinance to determine which schools will be eligible for the program after the bill, which is currently in deliberation in an ordinary parliamentary session through June 16, passes the Diet. |
| Mar 11 | 2 in 3 university students see no bright future: Net survey (AP) |
| With a sense of apprehension growing stronger among young Japanese amid the prolonged recession, roughly two in three university students in an Internet survey said they have no hope for Japan's future, U.S. asset management company Fidelity Investments said Thursday. The survey, conducted in January, covered some 2,200 students excluding freshmen. Of them, 65 percent gave the pessimistic response. |
| Mar 11 | Japan's spouse hunters hone skills at marriage school (Reuters) |
| In search of Mr. or Mrs. Right, dozens of Japanese are attending a newly launched school in Tokyo that aims turn them into marriage material. The Infini school offers various classes for wannabe brides and grooms at a time when many people in Japan are either shunning the institution of marriage or are finding it very difficult to hook up with a partner. The school, which is open to men and women, teaches students how to talk, walk and present themselves elegantly in a bid to capture the hearts and minds of prospective partners and their parents, who are often a major obstacle to successful unions. |
| Mar 10 | Japanese Students Petition to Abolish Worldwide Nuclear Arms (Xinhua) |
| A group of high school students in Tokyo are collecting signatures from people to support a world without nuclear arms to submit to the review conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in May in New York, the Kyodo News agency reported on Wednesday. So far the group, consisting of more than 10 students, have collected some 3,500 signatures since last summer in their free time on weekends and mainly in the busy, youthful districts like Harajuku in central Tokyo. The students ultimately aim to collect 10,000 signatures to support their non-nuclear cause. |
| Mar 12 | Osaka cows plum good but a bit pickled (Japan Times) |
 Cows at the Harano stock farm begin to drool at the sight of "ume," the plums used to make the fruity liqueur. As the brown, ripened plums are dropped into their feed, the cows compete with each other to eat them. "They really seem to like the plums, don't they?" said Shoji Harano, who runs the stock farm in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture.
For about 10 years, the 55-year-old has been raising his beef cattle on plums added to supplement the regular feed, which includes barley.
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| Mar 12 | Marten killed ibises in Sado / Security camera footage, tracks point to weasel-like animal as culprit (Yomiuri) |
| The Environment Ministry announced Thursday that a marten killed nine of 11 Japanese crested ibis that were being prepared to return to the wild in a cage in Sado, Niigata Prefecture. The ministry said it found the small carnivore's tracks inside the birds' cage at the Sado Japanese Crested Ibis Conservation Center on Sado Island. The 11 ibises were being kept in the large pen in preparation for their release into the wild in autumn. |
| Mar 11 | Govt finalizes allocation of 100 bil. yen research fund (Yomiuri) |
| The government's Council for Science and Technology Policy decided Tuesday on how a 100 billion yen research fund will be divided among 30 leading researchers under the supplementary budget for fiscal 2009. The fund is expected to produce cutting-edge research achievements and boost the country's competitiveness. The researchers who will receive grants of 5 billion yen are Kyoto University Prof. Shinya Yamanaka--who created the world's first induced pluripotent stem cells--and Akira Tonomura--a Hitachi Ltd. fellow and leading expert on electron microscope-based research. |
| Mar 10 | Researchers cultivate mouse intestines from stem cells (AP) |
| A group of Japanese researchers said Wednesday they have succeeded in cultivating the intestines of a mouse from stem cells. It is the first time an organ has been cultivated from induced pluripotent stem cells, according to the group led by Nara Medical University professor Yoshiyuki Nakajima. As an organ formed from a person's own cells would not be rejected upon transplantation, the research will be helpful in the study and remedy of some intestinal diseases, Yamazaki said. |
| Mar 10 | Shipment of nuclear waste arrives from U.K. (Japan Times) |
 The first delivery of at least 850 canisters of high-level radioactive vitrified waste arrived Tuesday morning by ship from the U.K. in Rokkasho, Aomori Prefecture, where it will sit in storage for decades before being buried deep underground. Antinuclear activists argue that with no local government yet willing to host a final disposal site and concern over the international security and environmental risks of transporting so much nuclear waste between the U.K. and Japan, the shipments should end.
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| Mar 12 | Sony unveils motion-sensing game control kit (Japan Times) |
| Sony has a new message for Nintendo Wii gamers: Come join us. The maker of the PlayStation 3 unveiled on Thursday its highly anticipated motion-based controller system, as it takes aim at Nintendo's dominance in gaming. With PlayStation Move, Sony hopes to lure gamers who have outgrown Nintendo, which launched the Wii in 2006 and became the first to introduce motion-detecting controllers. |
| Mar 11 | Sony 3D glasses to cost $133 in Japan (afterdawn.com) |
 Gizmodo is reporting today that Sony Japan has announced the release of standalone shutter glasses that can be used alongside the company's upcoming 3D-supporting HDTVs.
Roughly converted from yen, the Sony TDG-BR100 and TDG-BR50 active shutter glasses will cost $133 each, with a June release date. The infrared emitter necessary to drive the glasses will cost $55 extra.
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| Mar 11 | Japanese 'mosquito' reveals your date's real age (weirdasianews.com) |
 Japan is famous for producing tiny electronic devices with, shall we say, unique purposes. In the past, we've seen devices for helping women understand the minds of men and making sure you take the right amount of bites when eating. Now, the latest electronic novelty making headlines in Japan promises to help you tell if your date is telling the truth about their age. The concept is simple. As people age, their hearing tends to diminish. One of the first signs of age-related hearing loss is the inability to hear very high pitched noises.
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| Mar 10 | In Japan, getting a tattoo means you can never go home (Kotaku) |
 At last night's launch event for Final Fantasy XIII, Square Enix boss Yoichi Wada showed up with a Fal'cie symbol from the game tattooed on his hand. He tweeted that he "probably" would not be able to return to Japan.
Wada, of course, was being lighthearted. The tattoo, of course, is fake. It appears in the game, and this is a publicity stunt. It is worth noting that there has been a bizarre thread of sorts in which game execs have gotten game titles tattooed on their bodies. Actually, it's not really that big of a trend. As far as Kotaku can tell, Wada is the second to do this. The first is former Microsoft exec Peter Moore who apparently got Halo 2 and its release date tattooed on his arm.
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| Mar 10 | Onkyo's computer stands in for TV; Thanko aids shy phone users (Japan Times) |
| Onkyo opts for a very different form of computer in the shape of its new DE411. Apart from being an all-in-one design, the DE411 also nixes a high-powered processor in favor of the low-powered, 1.6-gigahertz Atom 330 chip, one of those that netbooks favor. It compensates somewhat for the lack of computing muscle with a Nvidia ION chip set. In line with its all-in-one brethren the Onkyo product would look at home in a lounge room, with a digital TV tuner to help in the process and a simple stand at the back to prop it up to a watchable angle. |