News On Japan

A taste of old Japan in a mountain ryokan

guardian.co.uk — 2012-02-03 23:48:10

The Japanese clearly value tradition, yet for one reason or another - fire, natural disaster, the second world war, an enthusiasm for progress - there aren't many towns left that truly encapsulate the way things were. Kyoto has its temples, but in between them is a thoroughly modern city. Takayama is different - an old castle town in the mountains of central Japan. You can still see the ruins of the 17th-century castle in the town's Shiroyama Park, but Takayama is much better known for its townscape of narrow lanes and low wooden buildings stained the colour of espresso. With its steep hills the town couldn't produce much rice, so it produced artisans instead. Many were carpenters, who would go on to work on the palaces and temples in Kyoto, then return to construct their signature lattice-front buildings for local merchants. (guardian.co.uk)

Japanese city takes on its gangsters

bendbulletin.com — 2012-02-03 23:45:19

Two years ago, the authorities in this gritty rust belt region declared war on the yakuza, Japan's entrenched organized crime syndicates. And that is exactly what they got. Since this city and other local governments beefed up regulations to take on the yakuza - making it a criminal offense for companies and individuals to do business with them - there has been a death threat against Kitakyushu's mayor and his family, hand grenades tossed at the homes of corporate executives and a construction company chairman gunned down in front of his wife. The police say the attacks, and many other lesser threats and intimidation tactics, are the doing of the Kudokai, a gang with more than 650 members that officials call one of the most dangerous of Japan's yakuza. The attacks have prompted the National Police Agency to propose giving law enforcement more powers to search and arrest gang members. (bendbulletin.com)

Japan must be ready to expand stimulus: IMF official

Taipei Times — 2012-02-03 23:45:19

The Bank of Japan (BOJ) should be ready to expand monetary stimulus and intervention is an option if the yen moves excessively, an IMF official said in Tokyo. "Intervention could be an option," if yen moves are too large, Naoyuki Shinohara, a deputy managing director, said yesterday. "Japan's economy has many downside risks, so depending on the circumstances, the BOJ should always be ready to expand quantitative easing." The central bank kept its asset-buying fund at ￥20 trillion (US$260 billion) and its credit-lending program at ￥35 trillion on Jan. 24 while cutting its forecast for the nation's growth. A yen near post World War II highs against the US dollar is eroding exporters' profits just as faltering global growth undermines demand, with Panasonic Corp yesterday forecasting a record loss for the 12 months ending March. (Taipei Times)

Dolphins take up residence in Japan bay

UPI — 2012-02-03 23:45:19

Wildlife experts in Japan say Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins appear to have taken up permanent residence in Kagoshima Bay on the south coast of Kyushu. Experts at Kagoshima City Aquarium said several years of field studies have confirmed two schools of some 50 dolphins are residing in the bay, Kyodo News reported. There are young dolphins in both schools, meaning the animals are probably reproducing in the bay off Japan's southernmost island, they said. (UPI)

Panasonic joins ailing Japan giants

Sydney Morning Herald — 2012-02-03 23:41:47

Japan's Panasonic Corp warned of a record annual $US10.2 billion net loss, joining beleaguered rivals Sony and Sharp in a sea of red ink as they struggle to fix their broken TV businesses and show they have not lost their way. Panasonic's forecast loss of 780 billion yen ($US10.2 billion) for the year to March dwarfed expectations, and is almost all due to restructuring charges and writedowns for its Sanyo Electric unit. Sony on Thursday pressed its reset button after warning of a bigger-than-expected annual loss, announcing that Kazuo Hirai will take over from Stringer as CEO in April, triggering an 8 per cent jump in its share price on Friday, its biggest one-day per centage gain in almost a year. (Sydney Morning Herald)

1.3 mil. will have nowhere to go in major Tokyo quake

Yomiuri — 2012-02-03 23:30:32

At least 1.3 million people in the Tokyo metropolitan area will likely have no place to take temporary refuge if the area is directly hit by a strong earthquake, according to projections by local governments concerned. There will only be space to accommodate 270,000 people, or more than 10 percent of the Tokyo residents whose houses are expected to be damaged in a major quake that has its epicenter in central Tokyo, the projections show. Combined with those who will be unable to return home due to the suspension of public transportation, local governments concerned will have to secure additional shelters for more than 1.3 million people. (Yomiuri)

Flu hits 'alarm level' for 1st time this winter

Yomiuri — 2012-02-03 23:26:39

Influenza reached the "alarm level" for the first time this season after an estimated 1.73 million flu cases were reported last week, an increase of more than 50 percent from the previous week, the health ministry said Friday. According to the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry, about 5,000 medical institutions throughout the country reported an average of 35.95 flu cases in the week starting Jan. 23, exceeding the alarm level of 30, ministry officials said. The average has surged from 22.73 new flu cases per institution, which was the "alert level," the previous week. It also eclipsed last year's peak of 31.88. (Yomiuri)

More leaks found at crippled Japan nuclear plant

AP — 2012-02-03 23:18:40

Leaks of radioactive water have become more frequent at Japan's crippled nuclear power plant less than two months after it was declared basically stable. The problem underlines the continuing challenges facing Tokyo Electric Power Co. as it attempts to keep the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant under control. A massive earthquake and tsunami badly damaged the plant last March, resulting in the melting of three reactor cores. Workers spotted a leak Friday at a water reprocessing unit which released enough beta rays to cause radiation sickness, TEPCO spokesman Junichi Matsumoto said. He said no one was injured and the leak stopped after bolts were tightened on a tank. (AP)

If Japan is our worst-case scenario, we're all right

Motley Fool — 2012-02-03 23:18:40

In 1991, former MIT dean Lester Thurow wrote that "If one looks at the last 20 years, Japan would have to be considered the betting favorite to win the economy honors of owning the 21st century." He wasn't alone. The standard view of the 1980s held that Japan's sway over the world economy was unbreakable. Its economy grew faster. Its corporations were more efficient. Its workers more productive. In 1988, former Reagan official Clyde Prestowitz warned: "The American century is over. The big development in the latter part of the century is the emergence of Japan as a major superpower." Such comments are now ridiculed relentlessly by analysts and commentators, including myself. Japan, after all, did not boom. Far from overtaking the United States, its economic growth stagnated for two decades, its stock and housing markets collapsed, and its government entombed itself in debt. Twenty years ago, Japan was synonymous with the phrase "juggernaut." Today, it's often seen next to the phrase "lost decade." America should take notice, we hear these days. If we don't get our act together, we could be in for a lost decade or two just like Japan. (Motley Fool)

Detroit automakers say 'no' to Japan joining trade talks

Reuters — 2012-02-03 23:18:40

Detroit automakers are urging President Barack Obama to reject Japan's bid to join talks on a regional free trade agreement, the head of an automotive group representing GM, Ford and Chrysler said on Thursday. "Adding Japan to the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations will lengthen those negotiations ... by years and perhaps keep them from ever coming to fruition," Matt Blunt, president of the American Automotive Policy Council, told Reuters. While Detroit automakers support Obama's goal of creating a free trade pact in the Asia Pacific, they do not believe U.S. negotiators can dismantle "non-tariff" measures Japan has long used to keep U.S. autos out of its market, said Blunt, a former Republican governor of Missouri whose father is a U.S. senator. (Reuters)

As red ink flows, Japanese firms struggle to keep manufacturing at home

csmonitor.com — 2012-02-03 23:18:40

Following the report of Japan's first annual trade deficit in more than 30 years, the country's major manufacturers have been delivering earnings results soaked in red ink. The factories that once powered the economy by churning out world-beating electronics, cars, and machinery are either being relocated overseas or losing out to Asian rivals. Japan will now have to come to terms with a new post-industrial economy that will see it increasingly rely on income from overseas investments. Japan recorded a trade deficit of nearly 2.5 trillion yen ($32 billion) in 2011 as a storm literally battered its industries. The March tsunami destroyed factories, ports, and infrastructure, disrupting supply chains across the country and the globe. (csmonitor.com)

NHK to sell relay stations to Softbank

Japan Times — 2012-02-03 23:18:40

NHK is in talks to sell some 1,050 analog broadcasting relay stations it no longer uses to Softbank Mobile Corp., sources said. The mobile phone service provider will use the stations - rendered obsolete by the nationwide switch to digital broadcasting last July - mostly as cell towers in mountainous areas because of complaints about reception in rural areas, the sources said Thursday. By improving its network, the carrier hopes to gain an advantage in the competition for radio bands for next-generation, high-speed data communications that might be allocated by the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry later this month, they added. (Japan Times)

Scientists say contamination of ocean fish minimal so far

Japan Times — 2012-02-03 23:18:40

The massive radioactive fallout from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant has sparked fear in seafood lovers and commercial fishermen both at home and abroad, and some worry the contamination could pass through and even become more concentrated in the ocean food chain. But more than 10 months after the three reactor meltdowns, testing of thousands of fish, including tuna, bonito and "sanma" (Pacific saury), caught far from Tohoku's coast has turned up little contamination. Nevertheless, experts point out that consumer concern and uncertainty will remain regarding bottom fish from coastal areas near Fukushima Prefecture, including "hirame" (Japanese flounder), as well as freshwater fish from Fukushima and parts of Gunma and Tochigi prefectures. (Japan Times)

Cellphone taps resulted in 22 arrests last year

Japan Times — 2012-02-03 23:18:40

Police wiretapped mobile phones in 10 investigations last year and the eavesdropping led to the arrest of 22 people, a Justice Ministry report to the Diet showed Friday. The 10 investigations involved narcotics trafficking, underworld-conspired murder and gun possession, three of the four areas in which courts issue wiretapping warrants. All 22 arrests involved drug-trafficking cases, according to the report. The police obtained warrants for each instance of cellphone-tapping, allowing them to listen to conversations and read text messages. (Japan Times)

U.S. fighter said flew low over school

Japan Times — 2012-02-03 23:18:40

A U.S. F/A-18 fighter jet flew over an elementary school in Miyoshi, Hiroshima Prefecture, at a dangerous and illegally low altitude in December, the Japanese Communist Party's local chapter said. According to an investigation by the party's Hiroshima prefectural committee, the aircraft flew over the school at an altitude of about 200 meters around 1:20 p.m. Dec. 20, in violation of the Aviation Law, which sets the minimum level at 300 meters. The committee said it has asked the Hiroshima Prefectural Government to urge the U.S. military to stop low-altitude flights, adding the flyby also violated a Japan-U.S. agreement that calls on American forces to show consideration over flight training around schools and hospitals. (Japan Times)

Woman sentenced to 4 1/2 years for breaking babies' legs

Japan Today — 2012-02-03 12:01:38

A Tochigi court on Wednesday sentenced a 30-year-old woman to 4 1/2 years in prison after she was found guilty of breaking the legs of four babies. The sentence was handed down at the Ashikaga branch of the Utsunomiya District Court. The court heard that Yuko Saotome approached mothers in children's goods stores and other public places, asking to hold their children and then surreptitiously broke their legs, NTV reported. According to police, the incidents took place between April and May 2010. The court said that Saotome could not be excused of her crimes on the grounds of temporary insanity. The judge went on to describe her actions as "despicable" and added that the crimes were motivated by jealousy at seeing happy mothers. (Japan Today)

Japan stocks fall on profit taking, strong yen

monstersandcritics.com — 2012-02-03 11:57:07

Japanese shares dropped Friday as investors sold stocks to lock in profits after recent gains and as market sentiment was hurt by the yen's rise against the euro. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost 44.89 points, or 0.51 per cent, to close at 8,831.93. The broader Topix index was down 1.76 points, or 0.23 per cent, at 760.69. For the week, the Nikkei was down 0.11 per cent while the Topix inched down 0.1 per cent. Investors were also cautious ahead of the release of US employment data later in the day. (monstersandcritics.com)

Japan's parliament approves fourth extra budget to fund disaster relief projects

Washington Post — 2012-02-03 11:48:13

Japan's parliament has approved a 2.5 trillion yen ($32.9 billion) extra budget bill, the fourth one to fund reconstruction projects after last year's disasters and support the nation's economy. The lower house on Friday approved the supplementary budget for the fiscal year ending March 31. The bill will be further debated in the upper chamber but will eventually become law due to the lower house's superiority. The budget includes 740 billion yen ($9.7 billion) to help small businesses hit by last March's earthquake and tsunami obtain loan guarantees to rebuild. The budget also earmarks 300 billion yen ($3.9 billion) to finance green vehicle promotion programs. (Washington Post)

Japanese archaeologists find pottery with ogre's face

People's Daily — 2012-02-03 11:48:13

A team of Japanese archaeologists has found a piece of pottery painted with the face of ogre which dates back to the 12th century in Nara Prefecture in western Japan. The earthenware was excavated from a well built in the early 12th century at Shindo Remains in Kashihara City, Nara Prefecture, where once Japan's capital was located, Japan's Nippon Hoso Kyokai (NHK) public broadcaster reported Friday. The excavation team said that the pottery is round shape with about 10 centimeters in diameter, noting that a face of ogre was drawn on its surface in ink. In particular, the team stressed, bold lines are clearly shown for his eyes, eyebrows and tusks from his mouth, making the face quite humorous and impressive. (People's Daily)

Basketball: Fan dribbles 370 km for tsunami-hit kids

Reuters — 2012-02-03 11:48:13

Moved by the plight of children in Japan's tsunami-hit north, one diehard sports fan did something a bit different to help -- dribble a basketball 370 km (231 miles), through rain and snow, to bring sports back to damaged schools. A long-time basketball fan, Hiroshi Moriaka set out from the heart of Tokyo in mid-January to raise enough money to buy 100 basketballs for children in the northern Tohoku region, a vast swathe of which was devastated by the March 11, 2011 disaster and the ensuing nuclear crisis. Wearing long tights and basketball shorts, a thick cap pulled down over his ears, Moriaka dribbled the basketball from hand to hand as he walked, dodging puddles and, in some places, weaving a narrow path along snow-lined sidewalks. (Reuters)

Record lows recorded at 38 locations

Japan Times — 2012-02-03 11:48:13

The nation experienced severe cold weather Friday with temperatures dropping to record lows at 38 locations in the morning, the Meteorological Agency said. From Tohoku to Kyushu, temperatures hit their lowest records in 16 prefectures, including the town of Kusu in Oita Prefecture, where temperature fell to minus 14.7 degrees. In Mashiki, Kumamoto Prefecture, it was minus 8.4. Of 927 observation points, over 90 percent, or 874 sites, marked temperatures below zero early Friday, the agency said. The lowest figure observed was minus 32.6 in Esashi, Hokkaido. The agency said the cold air mass that led to blizzards in several Sea of Japan coastal areas has now passed over the archipelago. (Japan Times)

Manabe denies intent to break law

Japan Times — 2012-02-03 11:48:13

Ro Manabe, the Defense Ministry's Okinawa bureau chief, strongly denied Friday that he intended to break the law by urging ministry officials and their relatives to vote in the Ginowan mayoral election, or that he advised them to vote for a specific candidate, but also admitted his actions could be judged unlawful. Manabe, summoned for unsworn testimony in the Diet, has been blasted by the opposition for allegedly trying to influence the Feb. 12 mayoral race. The opposition camp is charging that Manabe suggested during two internal lectures last week that participants vote for the candidate who is relatively more in line with the government's contentious plan to relocate U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma from Ginowan to Nago, also in Okinawa. (Japan Times)

Japan Inc. suppliers cut jobs as yen batters tv, chip profit

BusinessWeek — 2012-02-03 11:48:13

Japan Inc. is suffering and the supply chain is bearing the cost. Sumco Corp., a supplier to Sony Corp. and Toshiba Corp., said yesterday it will cut 1,300 jobs. Auto windshield maker Nippon Sheet Glass Co., which sells to Mazda Motor Corp., said it will cut 3,500 jobs. They join NEC Corp., a Japanese maker of telecom equipment and components, which said last month it would eliminate 10,000 positions. The yen's 7 percent surge against the dollar in the past 12 months has widened losses at Panasonic Corp. Sony, Mazda and Sharp Corp., which plans to halve TV production at its biggest factory to reduce inventory. Manufacturers have been forced to both relocate production outside of Japan and to press their suppliers for cost cuts. (BusinessWeek)

Japanese entrepreneurs aim for Silicon Valley

AP — 2012-02-03 11:48:13

For an emerging generation of Japanese innovators, the dream isn't a job for life at a big company. They have new ambitions, and they're determined to go places. Especially Silicon Valley. Small but growing numbers of Japanese entrepreneurs are jumping into the startup scene in northern California, particularly since the earthquake and tsunami last March. They include Naoki Shibata, who took the plunge by giving up the sort of life many Japanese in past decades spent their lives trying to attain. Only 30, Shibata had an executive-level position at online retailing giant Rakuten Inc. and an assistant professorship at the prestigious University of Tokyo, where he earned a Ph.D. Last June he launched AppGrooves, an iPhone application discovery tool. "I wanted a global company from the first moment," he said. "If you want to reach a global market, then you have to start from Silicon Valley." (AP)

Panasonic projects record annual net loss

AP — 2012-02-03 11:48:13

Panasonic on Friday nearly doubled its projected net loss for the fiscal year to a record 780 billion yen ($10.2 billion) amid weak TV and mobile phone sales and ongoing restructuring costs after acquiring smaller Sanyo Electronics Co. Panasonic joins Sony and Sharp as the latest major Japanese electronics maker to predict huge losses for the year through March. That reflects the battering these brand name companies have taken from the yen's surge, a weak global economy, last year's tsunami disaster as well as flooding in Thailand, which disrupted supply networks. For the October-December quarter, Panasonic reported a net loss of 197.6 billion yen ($2.6 billion). A year earlier, it had a net profit of 40 billion yen for the same quarter. (AP)

Hitachi to reorganize business structure

Reuters — 2012-02-03 11:48:13

Hitachi Ltd said on Friday it would reorganize its operational structure in April by setting up five new groups as the Japanese conglomerate continues to overhaul its sprawling operations to boost profitability. The nation's biggest industrial electronics company has been revamping its empire of some 900 firms after it reported one of the biggest losses in Japanese corporate history only three years ago under the weight of a high-cost structure and lack of operational focus. Hitachi bounced back from those losses and has been a rare bright spot among its peers during the current earnings season, with its shares jumping more than 7 percent on Friday after it maintained its full-year profit outlook, in contrast to other electronics makers that have forecast massive annual losses. (Reuters)

Bird life badly hit by nuclear fallout in Japan

irishtimes.com — 2012-02-03 03:20:44

Researchers working in the irradiated zone around the disabled Fukushima nuclear plant say bird populations there have begun to dwindle, in what may be a chilling harbinger of the impact of radioactive fallout on local life. In the first major study on the impact of the world's worst nuclear crisis in 25 years, the researchers from Japan, the US and Denmark say that analysis of 14 species of birds common to Fukushima and Chernobyl shows the effect on numbers is worse in the Japanese disaster zone. Published next week in the journal Environmental Pollution, the paper says its findings demonstrate "an immediate negative consequence of radiation for birds during the main breeding season March-July". Two of the study's authors have spent years working in the irradiated 2,850sq m zone around the Chernobyl plant, which exploded in 1986. A quarter of a century later, the zone is almost devoid of people. (irishtimes.com)

Japan's celebration of Spring: Penis and vagina festivals

weirdasianews.com — 2012-02-02 21:46:45

Dating back more than 1,500 years, Japan's rites of spring are deeply rooted in its agricultural past. As in all the world's ancient cultures, such observances were believed to promote a successful harvest and produce many babies. It is ironic that Japan's Penis and Vagina Festival is an annual event dating back to ancient times and today that nation has one of the world's lowest birth rates. The government hopes to ease the financial burden of child-rearing and encourage more children by offering a monthly stipend of $280 per child. But these annual festivals, which attract many tourists and fill local coffers, offer more encouragement on a visceral level. (weirdasianews.com)

500 vehicles stranded by snow in Aomori Pref.

Yomiuri — 2012-02-02 21:03:45

More than 500 vehicles were stranded on a section of National Highway Route 279 in Yokohama, Aomori Prefecture, on Wednesday night after a large truck and a bus skidded and became stuck on the road due to a blizzard, according to police. Early Thursday, Aomori Gov. Shingo Mimura asked the head of the Marine Self-Defense Force's Ominato District Headquarters to send a disaster relief team to the town. According to the Aomori prefectural government, 250 drivers caught in the gridlock abandoned their vehicles and spent the night at eight public facilities nearby, including an assembly hall and a primary school, opened as temporary shelters by the Yokohama town government and the neighboring city of Mutsu. (Yomiuri)

Court rules on using stars' images

Yomiuri — 2012-02-02 21:03:45

The Supreme Court on Thursday handed down the nation's first ruling on publicity rights, saying celebrities' names and photos are protected under publicity rights, but rejecting a compensation demand by the plaintiffs in the case, singing duo Pink Lady. Presiding Justice Ryuko Sakurai said in the ruling: "Celebrities' names and images can help sales by attracting potential customers. They are protected under publicity rights." By clarifying the status of publicity rights and providing a guideline on what constitutes a violation, the ruling will likely be seen as a wake-up call on using celebrities' names or images in publications and on the Internet without permission. Pink Lady had demanded that Kobunsha Co. pay them compensation of 3.72 million yen, saying the use of their photos without their agreement in a magazine published by the company infringed on their publicity rights. (Yomiuri)

Ministry seeks again to set smoking rate target

Yomiuri — 2012-02-02 21:03:45

A health ministry panel has approved a draft plan seeking to decrease the smoking rate to 12.2 percent by fiscal 2022, facilitating the ministry's long-hampered wish to officially set a target figure, it has been learned. The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry has sought several times since 1999 to set a target figure for cutting the smoking rate. However, it was foiled each time by stiff opposition from the tobacco industry and related ministries and agencies. The ministry's latest plan for decreasing the smoking rate by nearly 40 percent to 12.2 percent or less by fiscal 2022 was presented Wednesday at a meeting of the panel for discussing cancer prevention measures. (Yomiuri)

E-book apps found 'stealing' private user info

Yomiuri — 2012-02-02 21:03:45

What kind of electronic books do smartphone users prefer? When and how much of each book are they reading? Some smartphone e-book applications have collected this sensitive information for developers without obtaining permission from users, according to sources. The e-book market has been rapidly expanding, and is expected to grow to 200 billion yen in three years. Therefore, experts are calling for clear guidelines on how e-book software should handle smartphone users' private information, as it can reveal their thoughts and beliefs. Viewn, an application provided by the SoftBank group, features 42 items, including magazines, newspapers and television programs. Since June 2010, the software collected identification data of smartphones that had installed the app, as well as kept records on items viewed by users--without first obtaining user permission. Furthermore, in September, the app began collecting users' names and e-mail addresses. (Yomiuri)

Genba meets AKB48 China envoys