Japanese town selling land for pocket change
News On Japan via Reuters -- Jul 12

Looking for a home in the country? Then for well under the cost of a nice dinner for two in Tokyo or London, a plot of land in a rural Japanese town could be yours.

Faced with a steadily declining population, the remote town of Yuni on Japan's northernmost island of Hokkaido is set to start selling land for 120 yen per square metre, hoping to lure a few new residents.

The population of Yuni, some 800 km north of Tokyo, is now at about 5,900 but is falling by 100 people a year, a town official said.

Source: Reuters



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 22 Transport ministry to unify rules for baby strollers on buses, trains
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has announced that it intends to draw up a set of unified rules for the use of baby strollers on buses and trains. (Japan Today )
May 21 Man stabs ex-wife, then crashes car during getaway
A man stabbed his ex-wife on a street in Isehara, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Tuesday morning, and then caused a car crash while he was fleeing from the scene. (Japan Today )
May 21 Japan Crown Prince to visit Spain
Japanese Crown Prince Naruhito will visit Spain for seven days from June 10, the government said Tuesday. (Jiji Press )
May 21 Tokyo broker for Thai hostesses busted for wrongful employment
Tokyo Metropolitan Police on Monday announced the arrest of a broker of Thai females for violating immigration laws by employing the women as masseuses. (Tokyo Reporter )
May 21 Claim filed against Yamaguchi-gumi top bosses for arson death in Nagoya
The parents of a nightclub worker killed in an arson fire three years ago filed a suit in the Nagoya District Court on Monday seeking damages against top members of the Yamaguchi-gumi organized crime group. (Tokyo Reporter )
May 21 Senior Kyodo News official dismissed over improper act
Kyodo News said Monday that it has dismissed Satoshi Kondo, 51, deputy chief of its general administration bureau and former personnel affairs division chief, for meeting individually with a female student searching for a job and doing an inappropriate act. (Jiji Press )
May 20 Saitama cops bust massive child porn DVD operation
Saitama and Okayama prefectural police last week arrested the manager of an online porn DVD operation that specialized in films featuring children. (Tokyo Reporter)