News On Japan

Japan finds a key to unlock philanthropy

nature.com — 2012-02-08 06:52:03

Japan's universities and research institutes have long had to make do with few philanthropic donations. Strict laws governing university finances, and the lack of a philanthropic tradition, have discouraged the gifts that serve Western institutions so well. But change is coming. This week, the University of Tokyo unveils the country's first institute named after a foreign donor: the Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe. The announcement adds Norwegian philanthropist Fred Kavli's name, along with a US$7.5-million endowment, to one of Japan's most successful institutes. (nature.com)

Japan 2011 current account surplus smallest in 15 years

Reuters — 2012-02-08 06:52:03

Japan's current account surplus shrank sharply last year to its smallest in 15 years as weak exports and surging fuel imports resulted in a rare trade deficit, raising worries about the country's declining ability to fund its huge public debt with domestic savings. The current account balance -- a broad measure of trade and other flows--logged a surplus of 9.6289 trillion yen ($125 billion) in 2011, down 44 percent from the previous year, marking its biggest fall on record, although income from overseas investment still more than offset the trade deficit. The decline in inflows has been heralded by earlier data that showed Japan posted its first trade deficit since 1980 last year as a devastating earthquake in March hurt exports and increased its reliance on fuel imports due to nuclear plant shutdowns. (Reuters)

Apple offers clues to where Sony needs to go: William Pesek

Bloomberg — 2012-02-08 05:33:45

Kazuo Hirai, charged with halting Sony Corp. (6758)'s downward spiral, could be excused for asking: Do I really want this job? Last week, the consumer-electronics giant said it expects a $2.9 billion loss in the year ending March 31, putting it on course for an unprecedented fourth consecutive year in the red. It's a stunning reminder of the depths to which the onetime pride of Japan Inc. has plunged in the Apple Inc. age. Thirty-three years after unleashing the Walkman revolution, Sony is playing catch-up to the upheaval wrought by Steve Jobs's iPod, iPhone and iPad. When Hirai, 51, takes control in April, he must succeed where Chief Executive Officer Howard Stringer, 69, failed. To restore Sony to anything approaching its past glory, Hirai needs a new offering of products that consumers view as game changers. (Bloomberg)

Pair indicted over murder of Nepalese man in Osaka

Japan Today — 2012-02-07 21:25:29

Prosecutors in Osaka on Tuesday indicted a man and a woman over the murder of a Nepali man in Osaka on Jan 16. Hiroki Shiraishi, 21, a tattoo artist, and Miyoko Shiraishi, 22, are charged with being part of a gang of four that beat a 42-year-old Nepalese Bishnu Prasad Dhamala to death while he was walking home after work in Osaka's Abeno Ward early in the morning on Jan 16. He died later in hospital. Two other assailants, Hiromasa Ie, 21, and Kuniko Tsukamoto, 21, fled the scene and were traced to Tokyo where they were arrested a week later. (Japan Today)

Lollipop Chainsaw gets censored edition in Japan

mcvuk.com — 2012-02-07 21:18:30

Looking for the full gory experience of Lollipop Chainsaw? You'll have to buy the premium edition. Reports have emerged that the regular SKU of the next title from Japanese developer Grasshopper Manufacture will be censored in Japan. This will tone down the blood and violence, and be rated CERO D, according to Siliconera. However, the premium version has the option to play both censored and uncensored modes, earning it the CERO Z rating - Japan's equivalent of the 'adults only' classification. The title comes from the studio behind Suda 51 titles such as No More Heroes. Consumers play a cheerleader who takes up a chainsaw to combat the zombie apocalypse. (mcvuk.com)

Otaku band AKB48 morphs into $200M business

CNET — 2012-02-07 21:18:30

What if the vice president of your university were a genius producer who had put together an insanely successful pop group of 90 singers and then approved the creation of identical doll versions of them?

Weird? Not for Kyoto University of Art and Design and Yasushi Akimoto, the Steve Jobs of otaku (supergeeks) in Japan. The school just hosted a hit exhibition of dolls based on the gals in the band he produces, AKB48.

At 90 members, AKB48 is the Guinness-certified world's largest pop band. Its members are all females in their teens and early twenties, and all its bubble-gum singles top the charts on the day of their release.

The music is, shall we say, an aquired taste; it sounds like arcade game tunes drenched in a massive one-part vocal harmony. Yet intense otaku fandom has lifted the hydra-headed, miniskirted band to the highest levels of Japanese acceptability. It's even acting as Japan's unofficial representative in China.

The original idea behind the group, which was founded in 2005 with 20 girls, is "idols you can meet." (CNET)

Thailand a miracle cure for Japanese drug makers

Bangkok Post — 2012-02-07 21:18:30

More than a dozen Japanese pharmaceutical and healthcare companies are exploring business opportunities in Thailand as a way of increasing their Asian presence, a seminar heard yesterday. Pharmaceutical and healthcare companies need to expand outside Japan as the number of elderly in Asia rises while newborn rates drop, said Yasuhiko Shioi, a vice-president of the Toyama Pharmaceutical Association (TPA) and the chief executive of Kokando Co. Several healthcare firms count on Thailand as a production hub for exporting their products to neighbouring countries due to its geographical advantage. (Bangkok Post)

Japan's perverse message; just tax the corporate cash mountains even more

telegraph.co.uk — 2012-02-07 21:18:30

Everyone thinks of Japan as a nation of savers. Stop the blighters from saving and get them to spend instead, it is often said, and the country's economic woes would be over. In reality, it's a bit more complicated than that. In fact Mrs Watanabe no longer saves that much. The last time I looked, she was down to the sort of pitiful savings ratio we see in the UK and the US. At the vanguard of the ageing process, in fact Japan is moving into that phase of demographics where in aggregate, households may soon be in savings drawdown, rather than further adding to them. But the same is not true of companies. Poor levels of domestic demand means that in aggregate, there is not enough to invest in, even though Japanese companies are big investors in the future. The consequent surplus is recycled into J-bonds instead, where it finances the deficit. (telegraph.co.uk)

Toyota lifts profit forecast as disaster woes fade

AP — 2012-02-07 21:18:30

Toyota's quarterly profit slid 13.5 percent on production setbacks caused by last year's tsunami disaster and the flooding in Thailand, but Japan's top automaker raised its annual earnings forecast, saying a recovery is on track. Toyota Motor Corp. reported Tuesday an 80.9 billion yen ($1.05 billion) profit for the October-December third quarter, down from 93.6 billion yen a year earlier. Showing confidence in its ability to bounce back, the manufacturer of the Prius gas-electric hybrid, Lexus luxury models and the Camry sedan raised its annual profit forecast to 200 billion yen ($2.6 billion) from 180 billion yen ($2.3 billion). (AP)

New fish markets planned for Tsukiji

Yomiuri — 2012-02-07 21:06:03

The Tokyo metropolitan government and the Chuo Ward Office came to a broad agreement Tuesday to open a fresh-fish market in the current Tsukiji wholesale market--scheduled to be relocated--it was learned Tuesday. The new fish market will be partially open to the general public, according to Tokyo officials. This is the first time a concrete use for the site has been decided prior to its relocation. The superannuated Tsukiji wholesale market is scheduled to move to the Toyosu district in neighboring Koto Ward by the end of fiscal 2014. (Yomiuri)

Cat cafes bare fangs over 'curfew'

Yomiuri — 2012-02-07 21:06:03

Operators of so-called cat cafes, where visitors can play with cats in a relaxing atmosphere, are upset over a revision of the enforcement regulations of the Animal Protection Law that would prohibit the display of cats late at night starting June 1. The aim of the revision is to keep pet stores in busy shopping districts from displaying puppies and kittens for sale later than 8 p.m. Cat cafe operators are protesting the government's plan to prohibit all forms of "display" irrespective of the type of business. "Cats are nocturnal animals. [They] are adults and already get enough rest [during the day]," the operator of one cat cafe said. I recently visited Neko no Iru Kyukeijo 299, a cat cafe in Ikebukuro, Tokyo, at about 8 p.m. There were about 10 customers, some taking pictures of cats with their cell phones and others playing with cats. (Yomiuri)

Bullying rose 6.7% in 2010 school year