Japan

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APEC Leaders Agree to Take on Global Warming

But pact isn't ambitious enough, critics say

(Newser) - Leaders of 21 Pacific Rim nations yesterday pledged to “slow, stop, and then reverse” greenhouse emissions, at the annual APEC summit. The group—which includes developing nations and top emitters Russia, China, Japan, and the US—could influence UN climate change negotiations. But critics call the pact unambitious, citing...

Foreclosures Trigger Asian Drop
Foreclosures Trigger Asian Drop
Sep 7, 2007 4:07 AM CDT

Foreclosures Trigger Asian Drop

Fear of brake on US consumer spending

(Newser) - Asian stocks are falling again, reflecting worry the growing credit crisis in the US will puncture the economy and slash consumer spending. Mizuho Financial Group, Japan's second largest lender, dropped to a two-week low after an increase in home foreclosures in the US —and many other Asian financial stocks...

Asian Markets Stumble on Political News

Subprime turmoil now a given; traders await central banks' moves

(Newser) - In the wake of the Japanese agriculture minister's resignation, Asian markets stumbled today ahead of uncertain US economic data. For a change, analysts didn't point to the subprime crisis to account for the Nikkei's 0.5% slide: "After all, investors have got used to news on subprime issues,"...

US Laborers Work Hard for the Money

New UN report says Americans more productive than peers

(Newser) - Labor Day is a well-deserved rest for Americans, as a new UN report shows US laborers work longer, harder, and get more done than their counterparts worldwide. The average US worker produces the most wealth, raking in $63,885 yearly, followed by Irish laborers at $55,986. Only Norway beat...

N. Korea Agrees to Ban Nukes
N. Korea Agrees to Ban Nukes
Sep 2, 2007 1:49 PM CDT

N. Korea Agrees to Ban Nukes

Move could lead to friendlier relations with US

(Newser) - North Korea has promised to disable all of its nuclear facilities by the end of this year, the BBC reports, possibly paving the way for warmer relations between the US and a country it now lists as a supporter of terror. After meeting with representatives from the North, US negotiator...

Georgia Rules Little League
Georgia Rules Little League
Aug 26, 2007 6:55 PM CDT

Georgia Rules Little League

Series victory gives USA third straight title

(Newser) - After a tough week for Georgia sports fans, a team of preteens from Warner Robins gave them something big to cheer about today, capturing the Little League World Series title with an extra-innings triumph over Japan in Williamsport, Pa. Dalton Carriker smacked a walkoff homer in the bottom of the...

Lay Judges to Join Bench in Japan
Lay Judges
to Join Bench
in Japan
Aug 25, 2007 8:38 AM CDT

Lay Judges to Join Bench in Japan

Will citizens temper Japan's courts, where 99.9% are found guilty?

(Newser) - Japan will give citizens the gavel in an effort to counteract its judicial system’s prejudice for presuming guilt. Six citizens and three trained jurists will sit on criminal cases, and the majority will rule, Bloomberg reports. The new system follows a clamor of criticism about forced confessions, inhumane treatment...

Historian Begs to Differ With the Decider

Says Bush keeps misquoting him on post-war Japan

(Newser) - A historian quoted by President Bush yesterday said his words were misused in a “perverse” attempt to defend the Iraq War, Politico reports. At issue is John Dower's statement in a 1999 book that if naysayers had had their way, the fledgling democracy in Japan after WWII “would...

Arm Wrestling Game Breaks Japanese Arms

After three fractures, company blames "overexcited" players

(Newser) - Atlus Co. will remove all 150 of its "Arm Spirit" arm wrestling games from Japanese arcades after three broken arms have been reported. The company claims the recall is only a precaution, insisting that the machine isn't really that strong. "Even women should be able to beat it,...

Jet Catches Fire in Japan; Passengers, Crew Escape

Plane's engine exploded; cause unknown

(Newser) - A jet burst into flames after landing in Okinawa today, moments after all 165 people onboard escaped. The China Airlines plane skidded while landing on arrival from Taipei, and its left engine exploded shortly afterward. The cause of the fire is unknown, the AP reports. Firefighters took an hour to...

Asian Markets Soar After Fed's Rate Cut

Stocks see biggest jump in 5 years as panic gives way to optimism

(Newser) - The global equities sell-off ground to a halt today as Asian stocks had their biggest gains in five years. Responding to Friday’s cut in the US Federal Reserve’s discount rate, Japan’s Nikkei 225, Hong Kong's Hang Seng and South Korea's Kospi indexes all saw huge gains as...

Credit Fears Sink Asian Markets
Credit Fears Sink Asian Markets
Aug 15, 2007 3:08 AM CDT

Credit Fears Sink Asian Markets

Nikkei drops as subprime crisis rocks world

(Newser) - Global credit turmoil rocked Asian markets today, pushing Japan’s Nikkei to 2007 lows, as US and Canadian firms struggled to meet payments and Wal-Mart and Swiss Bank UBS released disappointing forecasts. Through it all the Yen rose, as risk-averse investors turned to some safe havens in Japan, Reuters reports.

Japan Pumps Cash Into Market
Japan Pumps Cash Into Market
Aug 13, 2007 12:16 AM CDT

Japan Pumps Cash Into Market

Interest rate hikes unlikely

(Newser) - The Bank of Japan pumped $5.1 billion into the Japanese financial system today as the  global credit crunch continued to ripple through the Asian markets, Bloomberg reports. Adding to the jitters, Japan's growth is slowing more markedly than economists predicted; the world's second-largest economy expanded by only 0.5%...

Big Boys Do Cry
Big Boys
Do Cry
Aug 11, 2007 4:03 PM CDT

Big Boys Do Cry

Sumo wrestler in tears after Japanese association won't let him go home

(Newser) - Japan's Sumo Association forbid a Mongolian wrestler from returning home after the ponderous athlete was in tears—diagnosed with a near breakdown. The organization, which suspended defending champion Asashoryu from two tournaments, said it wants the bawling behemoth to seek treatment at a Japanese hospital, against his doctor’s orders...

Toyota Banks Best-Ever Quarter
Toyota Banks Best-Ever Quarter
Aug 3, 2007 2:27 PM CDT

Toyota Banks Best-Ever Quarter

Good yen rate bolsters $4B quarter

(Newser) - Toyota reported its highest quarterly earnings ever today after profits surged 32% to $4.1 billion due to booming sales and favorable exchange rates for the yen. Revenue rose $54 billion, up 16% compared to the same quarter last year, and the Japanese giant sold 2.16 million cars, an...

Move Over, Yogi, and Make Room for Ichiro

Seattle slugger auditions for 'Lost in Translation'

(Newser) - Seattle Mariners star Ichiro Suzuki says some weird stuff, from reporting conversations with his dog to odd metaphors about bowling. Slate studies the Japanese import's bons mots and suggests that Suzuki may be unused to the American media's unending locker room interviews. Or perhaps, one reporter says, he's trying to...

Japanese PM Axes Minister, Clings to Job

Abe attempts to root out image of corruption as position remains tenuous

(Newser) - Embattled Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, whose party suffered a devastating election loss this past weekend, fired his scandal-ridden agriculture minister today in an effort to clean up his administration's image. But Abe still refuses to step down. "I take the results of the election seriously," he said....

New Party in Japan Prompts US Anxiety

Election winners threaten to veto anti-terror measures

(Newser) - The ruling party’s losses in Japanese elections last week are causing worry in the White House and the Pentagon, says the Financial Times. An anti-terror measure that that has allowed Japanese ships to refuel American vessels is set to expire in November, and the Democratic Party of Japan is...

Drinking Coffee May Fight Colon Cancer

Japanese study finds benefits of 3 cups a day apply only to women

(Newser) - Drinking three or more cups of coffee a day can cut the risk of colon cancer in half—but the benefit manifests itself only in women. What's more, Reuters reports, the research was conducted in Japan, where men drink and smoke so much that scientists had trouble controlling for those...

Japanese PM Refuses to Pack It In
Japanese PM Refuses to
Pack It In
Jul 30, 2007 4:59 AM CDT

Japanese PM Refuses to Pack It In

After crushing defeat, Shinzo Abe holds on as political gridlock looms

(Newser) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will keep his job despite a humiliating defeat for his ruling party in Sunday's election, party officials said today. Only 10 months into his term, Abe and his Liberal Democratic Party lost their majority as voters reacted to a series of government scandals. Now government...

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