Friday, May 24, 21:53 (JST)
Ama divers seek cultural designation 
Ama female divers from the Toba-Shima area have formed a group to preserve their traditions, as part of a bid by the Mie prefectural government to have the divers declared a national cultural property and UNESCO intangible cultural heritage asset. (Yomiuri 
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Ama female divers from the Toba-Shima area have formed a group to preserve their traditions, as part of a bid by the Mie prefectural government to have the divers declared a national cultural property and UNESCO intangible cultural heritage asset. (Yomiuri )
JAPAN EXPEDITION
Stricken Japan nuke plant struggles to keep staff 
Keeping the meltdown-stricken Fukushima nuclear plant in northeastern Japan in stable condition requires a cast of thousands. Increasingly the plant's operator is struggling to find enough workers, a trend that many expect to worsen and hamper progress in the decades-long effort to safely decommission it. (AP )
Keeping the meltdown-stricken Fukushima nuclear plant in northeastern Japan in stable condition requires a cast of thousands. Increasingly the plant's operator is struggling to find enough workers, a trend that many expect to worsen and hamper progress in the decades-long effort to safely decommission it. (AP ) Hashimoto's meeting with 2 former sex slaves canceled 
Two South Korean women who were forced to serve as wartime sex slaves canceled a scheduled meeting Friday with Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto, saying it is "worthless." (Kyodo )
Two South Korean women who were forced to serve as wartime sex slaves canceled a scheduled meeting Friday with Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto, saying it is "worthless." (Kyodo ) Baker to raise bread prices from July 
Japan's largest bread maker will raise the prices of some of its products from July. (NHK )
Japan's largest bread maker will raise the prices of some of its products from July. (NHK ) Japanese becomes oldest person to conquer Everest 
Eighty-year-old Yuichiro Miura has become the oldest person to scale Mount Everest, his management office said Thursday. (Japan Times )
Eighty-year-old Yuichiro Miura has become the oldest person to scale Mount Everest, his management office said Thursday. (Japan Times ) Japan files protest over S.Korean editorial 
Japan has issued a protest with a major South Korean newspaper over a commentary that describes the 1945 US atomic bombings of Japan as divine punishment. (NHK )
Japan has issued a protest with a major South Korean newspaper over a commentary that describes the 1945 US atomic bombings of Japan as divine punishment. (NHK ) Japanese researchers find virus-carrying tick 
Researchers have found for the first time in Japan a tick carrying a virus blamed for 8 deaths so far in the country. (NHK )
Researchers have found for the first time in Japan a tick carrying a virus blamed for 8 deaths so far in the country. (NHK )| May 24 | Tokyo cops bust casino in Shibuya |
 Tokyo Metropolitan Police on Wednesday raided an Internet casino in Shibuya Ward for offering illegal gambling. (Tokyo Reporter ) |
| May 24 | WWII vet gets 'Order of the Rising Sun' from Japan's ambassador |
 The government of Japan has bestowed one of that nation's highest honors on a Japanese-American, a former U.S. Soldier and World War II veteran, for his work furthering relationships between the Japanese and Americans. (army.mil ) |
| May 23 | Osaka court accepts losing horse racing bets as expenses |
 Osaka District Court accepted a claim on Thursday that losses on betting on horse racing should be deductible from payouts to calculate taxable income. (Jiji Press ) |
| May 23 | Youth arrested for hitting 16-year-old girl with baseball bat |
 An 18-year-old youth has been arrested on a charge of attempted murder after he allegedly hit a 16-year-old girl in the head with a baseball bat. (Japan Today ) |
| May 22 | X Japan waxes lyrical at Madame Tussauds debut |
 This Monday, members of the seminal metal band X Japan were in Odaiba rubbing shoulders with the likes of Brad Pitt, Lady Gaga and AKB48′s Yuko Oshima. The catch? They were all made out of wax. (Japan Times ) |
| May 24 | Square arrives in Japan, its first market outside North America |
 At a press event in Tokyo today, Twitter founder Jack Dorsey announced the long-awaited Japanese debut of Square, the smartphone credit card processing service with the iconic white dongle. (theverge.com ) |
| May 24 | Baker to raise bread prices from July |
| Japan's largest bread maker will raise the prices of some of its products from July. (NHK ) |
| May 21 | Premature escalation? Sex-industry source reverses position on 'Abenomics' |
 With Japan's Nikkei index continuing its upward momentum this month, the term "Abenomics" has been commonly included in articles by just about any major financial newspaper or magazine one might care to name. This week is no exception - and it might signal that the days of cheap sex in Tokyo are over. (Tokyo Reporter ) |
| May 21 | Japan Inc. should take a look in the mirror |
 Sony Corp.'s curt dismissal of a foreigner's advice last week didn't shock Michael Woodford, the former chief executive officer of Olympus Corp. (Bloomberg ) |
| May 19 | Yahoo Japan suspects 22 million user IDs leaked |
 Yahoo Japan Corp said on Friday night it suspected that up to 22 million of its user IDs may have been "leaked" and it detected an unauthorized attempt to access the administrative system of its web portal Yahoo Japan, the Kyodo news agency reported. (Reuters ) |
| May 24 | Kuroda struggles with communication as Japan rates rise |
 Haruhiko Kuroda may need to talk his way out of a paradox he helped create.
Installed as Bank of Japan chief in March, Kuroda aims to unlock borrowing and spending by lifting inflation expectations and wages after 15 years of deflation. (Bloomberg ) |
| May 24 | BOJ offers to buy JGBs for 2nd day |
 The Bank of Japan on Friday offered to buy some 900 billion yen in Japanese government bonds from commercial financial institutions on Tuesday, launching JGB-buying market operations for the second consecutive day. (Jiji Press ) |
| May 24 | Veteran fears 'beginning of the end' for Japan as bond market buckles |
 Global markets face a witches' brew of new risks as Japan's monetary adventure wobbles, China slows further and the US Fed prepares to shut the spigot of dollar liquidity. (telegraph.co.uk ) |
| May 22 | Japan's central bank says economy picking up |
 Japan's central bank says the world's third-biggest economy is "picking up" as demand recovers in other countries and remains resilient at home, though the trade deficit widened in April, for the tenth straight month.
(abcnews.go.com ) |
| May 22 | Japan exports disappoint, full benefits of weak yen yet to show |
 Japan's exports rose less than expected in April from a year earlier due to weak demand from Europe and China, highlighting the challenges confronting the world's third-biggest economy as policymakers try to engineer a sustained revival. (Reuters ) |
| May 24 | Japan stocks close up after big plunge |
 After a bumpy ride, stocks in Japan closed with a small gain on Friday, recovering from a deep plunge the day before. (CNN ) |
| May 23 | Japan vice econmin: Thursday Nikkei plunge a 'temporary adjustment' |
 Thursday's plunge in Tokyo stock prices represents a short-term pullback from recent gains, not a sign of doubt in Japan's economic policies, a senior government official said. (Reuters ) |
| May 23 | Nikkei tumbles over 7% to end below 14,500 in roller-coaster session |
 The Nikkei stock index tumbled more than 7 percent Thursday in Tokyo to end a roller-coaster trading session below 14,500 as selling triggered by weak Chinese data outpaced sharp gains made earlier and snapped a four-session winning streak. (Kyodo ) |
| May 23 | Is Japan the new apple? |
| Many big hedge fund investors have in recent years had a very hard time keeping up with the U.S. stock market and other financial benchmarks against which they are judged. The big market drop in Japan will probably make things even harder for some of them. (Forbes) |
| May 22 | Tokyo shares end higher on heavy volume, investors bullish |
 Tokyo stocks rose sharply Wednesday on heavy volume as confidence in recovering domestic and U.S. economies helped construction firms such as Kajima Corp., exporters such as Olympus, and Fast Retailing and other heavily indexed shares. (Wall Street Journal ) |
| May 23 | Japan files protest over S.Korean editorial |
| Japan has issued a protest with a major South Korean newspaper over a commentary that describes the 1945 US atomic bombings of Japan as divine punishment. (NHK ) |
| May 23 | U.N. urges Japan to block defamation of 'comfort women' |
 A United Nations committee on May 21 called on Japan to prevent hate speech and other actions that degrade former "comfort women" and portray them as prostitutes for Japanese troops in World War II. (Asahi ) |
| May 23 | Japan to give fresh 40-billion-yen grant aid to Myanmar |
 The Japanese government plans to provide 40 billion yen in fresh grant aid to Myanmar for the country's infrastructure development, officials said Thursday. (Jiji Press ) |
| May 22 | Japan approves child abduction treaty |
 Japan's parliament has approved an international treaty on child abductions after decades of pressure from the United States and other Western nations. (ninemsn.com.au ) |
| May 22 | Sex slavery row costs Hashimoto electoral cooperation |
 The small opposition Your Party decided Tuesday to cancel planned electoral cooperation with the Japan Restoration Party, following controversial remarks by its co-head and Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto concerning wartime sexual servitude. (Kyodo ) |
| May 24 | Panel: English should be regular primary class |
| A council directly under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has recommended English become a regular subject at primary schools, as part of efforts to rejuvenate the national education system. (Yomiuri) |
| May 23 | Japan rethinks cultural bias against working mothers |
 The government is now reaching out to an underutilized demographic - highly skilled mothers. (myfoxal.com ) |
| May 23 | 600 students lose loans for poor performance |
| About 600 university students have been declared no longer eligible for student loans because of their poor academic performance last year, the Japan Student Services Organization said Thursday. (Japan Times) |
| May 23 | Education panel urges Japanese colleges to reach outside |
| The nation's universities should try to rejuvenate themselves by collaborating with overseas institutions to offer joint degrees and attracting more foreign teachers and students to nurture global talent among Japanese, a government panel said in proposals released Wednesday. (Japan Times) |
| May 21 | Yokohama clears out nursery waiting lists |
 Officials at Yokohama City Hall said Monday the city has reduced the number of children on nursery school waiting lists to zero from 179 as of April 1, meeting its 2010 target of doing so in three years. (Japan Times ) |
| May 23 | Japanese researchers find virus-carrying tick |
| Researchers have found for the first time in Japan a tick carrying a virus blamed for 8 deaths so far in the country. (NHK ) |
| May 23 | Nuclear regulators acknowledge fault below Tsuruga reactor is active |
 The Nuclear Regulation Authority accepted on Wednesday an assessment that a reactor at the Tsuruga plant in western Japan is sitting above an active fault, making it increasingly difficult for the facility to resume operation. (Kyodo ) |
| May 23 | Cesium levels in water, plankton baffle scientists |
 Plankton and seawater sampled at 10 points less than a year after the Fukushima meltdowns found concentrations of radioactive cesium were highest at different locations in the Pacific, puzzling scientists. (Japan Times ) |
| May 22 | Japan to launch new rocket with satellite on Aug. 22 |
 The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency will launch the country's new solid-fuel rocket Epsilon on Aug. 22, carrying a satellite whose mission is to observe Venus and Mars while orbiting Earth, the science ministry said Tuesday. (Kyodo ) |
| May 22 | Japan draws up draft measures against cyberattacks |
 The Japanese government drew up a draft outline on Tuesday of strategies to counter the increasing threat of cyberattacks by foreign entities. (Jiji Press ) |
| May 19 | Yahoo Japan suspects 22 million user IDs leaked |
| Yahoo Japan Corp said on Friday night it suspected that up to 22 million of its user IDs may have been "leaked" and it detected an unauthorized attempt to access the administrative system of its web portal Yahoo Japan, the Kyodo news agency reported. (Reuters ) |
| May 18 | Facebook hires new head in Japan |
| There's a change at the top at Facebook….in Japan, where the company has hired former McDonalds and Boston Consulting Group marketing exec Atsushi Iwashita as its new Managing Director. (thenextweb.com) |
| May 16 | Docomo to lower prices of new smartphones |
 NTT Docomo Inc. said Wednesday it will set the prices of upcoming new models of its popular smartphones lower than for existing models. (Yomiuri ) |
| May 14 | Japan's DoCoMo to use mobile data to monitor traffic jams |
 NTT DoCoMo, Japan's largest mobile carrier, will use location data from its 61.5 million subscriber devices to build a platform that monitors traffic conditions across the country. (pcworld.com ) |
| May 10 | Line reports sharp spike in first-quarter sales |
 Line Corp., a privately held smartphone messaging company based in Tokyo, said Thursday that sales climbed 92 percent to ¥5.82 billion in the first quarter. (Japan Times ) |
| May 23 | Foreign travelers to Japan hit record-high |
 The number of foreigners visiting Japan reached a record high last month. Analysts say the weakening yen is making Japan a more affordable destination. (NHK ) |
| May 23 | Skytree celebrates 1 year |
 Tokyo Skytree, the 634-meter-high tower in Sumida Ward, Tokyo, marked the first anniversary of its opening on Wednesday. (Yomiuri ) |
| May 22 | X Japan waxes lyrical at Madame Tussauds debut |
| This Monday, members of the seminal metal band X Japan were in Odaiba rubbing shoulders with the likes of Brad Pitt, Lady Gaga and AKB48′s Yuko Oshima. The catch? They were all made out of wax. (Japan Times ) |
| May 21 | Japan panel proposes allowing long stay for wealthy foreigners |
| A government panel discussing measures to boost tourism on Monday drew up an interim report proposing creating a new type of entry qualification that would allow wealthy foreigners to stay in Japan for several years. (Jiji Press) |
| May 20 | 634-meter high Tokyo Skytree attracts 6.34 mil. visitors |
 The number of visitors to the observation deck of Tokyo Skytree, the world's tallest broadcasting tower at 634 meters, reached 6.34 million on Monday, matching the numerals of its height two days before the first anniversary of its opening, according to the operator. (Kyodo ) |
| May 21 | Japan's 'Shield of Straw' an action pic in Cannes |
 Director Takashi Miike says shooting an action movie in Japan is a lot harder than it looks. (miamiherald.com ) |
| May 19 | Agonising family choice in Japanese film at Cannes festival |
 A film about baby-switching by Japan's Kore-eda Hirokazu that ponders nature versus nurture premiered at the Cannes film festival on Saturday, joining an Iranian challenger as contenders for the top prize. (Reuters ) |
| May 10 | Wild Japan - National Geographic (Nature Documentary) |
 Join our cameras to see Japan's Wild Secrets on Nat Geo WILD as they take an island-hopping excursion to explore this little-known Land of the Rising Sun. (DocumentaryChannel24 ) |
| May 10 | A Life in Japan |
 Ever wondered how a life in Japan might be? 19 foreigners share their personal experiences, likes and dislikes. See the country through the eyes of, mostly western, foreign residents, who have lived in Japan between a few months and several decades. (PetriStorlopare ) |
| May 10 | Real Ninjas - History Documentary |
 Documentary on the history of real life ninjas, and their origins in ancient Japan. (HistoricalDoc ) |
| May 23 | Olympics: Japan hammer-thrower Murofushi loses IOC vote appeal |
 The Court of Arbitration for Sport on Wednesday said it had rejected an appeal by Japanese hammer-thrower Koji Murofushi against his exclusion as a candidate for election to the IOC Athletes' Commission on the grounds of unfair campaigning at the 2012 London Olympics. (Bangkok Post ) |
| May 22 | Sumo: Hakuho, Kisenosato win to keep title within reach |
 Yokozuna Hakuho dispensed with Kotooshu, and Kisenosato did a hatchet job on Aran to improve to 11-0 with four days remaining at the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament on Wednesday. (Japan Times ) |
| May 20 | Sumo: Hakuho flattens Aran to kick off second week |
 Hakuho kicked off the second week of action with another swashbuckling win to keep his unblemished record intact, mowing down Russian Aran at the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament on Sunday. (Japan Times ) |
| May 18 | Sumo: Hakuho tops Takarafuji to keep flawless record |
 Hakuho kept his eyes firmly on the prize and wrapped up the first week of the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament with another high-octane performance against Takarafuji on Saturday. (Japan Times ) |
| May 17 | Honda announces F1 comeback |
 Honda Motor Co. <7267> said Thursday that it will return to Formula One auto racing with a plan to supply engines to British F1 team McLaren from 2015. (Jiji Press ) |
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