Japan

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Japan Election Results Spell Big Trouble for PM

Party loses majority in upper house; Abe insists he won't resign

(Newser) - Shinzo Abe's scandal-plagued administration suffered a possible death blow today as his coalition lost its majority in the upper house of the Japanese parliament, but the beleaguered PM vowed to remain on the job. Although Abe's Liberal Democratic Party dominates the lower chamber, the opposition can stall legislation in the...

Japan's Defense Force Goes on the Offense

Neighbors getting nervous; US applauds shows of might

(Newser) - Japan has been chipping away at a post-war rule that it's Self-Defense Force can only act, well, defensively. Tokyo recently completed a live-bomb training run on a small island near Guam, the Times reports, stirring tremors among its wary neighbors, but drawing support from a US eager for a powerful...

Meat Can be Tough on the Environment

Steaks do more damage than driving; cow farts also a problem

(Newser) - Four average-sized steaks generate as much greenhouse gas as an ordinary car traveling for 3 hours at 50mph. The meat also chews up 169 megajoules of energy, enough to light a 100-watt bulb for 20 days. These were among the findings of Japanese scientists investigating the effects of beef production...

Quake Damage Halts Auto Assembly Lines

Japanese car makers hit by damage to key suppliers

(Newser) - Japanese auto makers known for their lean inventories have had to shut down assembly lines for want of parts in the wake of Monday's earthquake. A key supplier of transmission and engine components was damaged in the 6.8-magnitude quake. Toyota, Nissan and Mitsubishi have all halted production at some...

Quake Triggers Wave of Nuke Plant Fears

Japanese disaster boosts movement for tighter control of power sources

(Newser) - New fears about the safety of nuclear power are rattling Japan after radioactive material leaked from a reactor damaged in this week's magnitude 6.8 earthquake. Plants must be built to withstand a 6.5, but stronger quakes are common on the Pacific Rim, and this year all 12 of...

Japanese Don't Want Their Day in Court

Traditional values clash with forthcoming jury-style system

(Newser) - Japan is switching to a jury-style system in 2009, but according to polls, 80% of Japanese don't want to serve. The new system clashes with traditional Japanese values, including deferral to authority and a reluctance to argue in public. To help win over the public, mock trials are being held...

Quake Rocks Japan
Quake Rocks Japan
Jul 16, 2007 8:09 AM CDT

Quake Rocks Japan

Six killed, hundreds hurt; Kashiwazaki is hardest hit

(Newser) - A 6.8 magnitude earthquake hit Japan early Monday, killing six people, injuring hundreds, and causing a fire in a nuclear power plant. The quake hit Kashiwazaki the hardest—2,000 people were evacuated from the city. "I almost fainted by the fear of shaking," a shopkeeper there...

Typhoon Drowns Southern Japan
Typhoon Drowns Southern Japan
Jul 13, 2007 1:38 PM CDT

Typhoon Drowns Southern Japan

40 ft waves and 150mph winds; at least 17 injured,100,000 homes without power

(Newser) - A massive typhoon is pummeling the Japanese island of Okinawa, stirring up 40 foot waves and 150mph winds which are overturning trucks and ripping trees from the ground. Super typhoon Man-yi has injured at least 17 people and cut the electricity to nearly 100,000 homes. "This is one...

Mystery Man Dumps Cash in Bathrooms
Mystery Man Dumps Cash in Bathrooms
Jul 12, 2007 12:02 PM CDT

Mystery Man Dumps Cash in Bathrooms

Flush benefactor has Japanese investigators following the money

(Newser) - The yen is in the toilet once again. Someone has left over 400 bundles, each containing about $80 worth of the stuff, in men's bathrooms all over Japan. The cash is being discovered in the powder rooms of government offices, along with notes enjoining the lucky gentleman who finds the...

Japanese TV Is Losing to Wii
Japanese TV Is Losing to Wii
Jul 11, 2007 5:29 AM CDT

Japanese TV Is Losing to Wii

Nintendo system steals prime-time audiences as families play together

(Newser) - Ratings are plummeting for Japanese prime-time TV shows as audiences increasingly turn to playing games on Nintendo's Wii system. Wii, which dominates the nation's $30B video games market, has stolen TV's "golden hour,"  thanks in part to parents who are choosing to share family time on Wii's...

Japanese Airline Bans Bulldogs
Japanese Airline Bans Bulldogs
Jul 7, 2007 10:30 AM CDT

Japanese Airline Bans Bulldogs

All other breeds remain off summer no-fly list

(Newser) - Japanese airline JAL has imposed a ban on bulldogs after heat-related deaths, the BBC reports. The problem isn't in the cargo hold, where they ride in climate-controlled baskets, but sitting on the toasty tarmac, or in baggage handling areas that aren't air conditioned. All other dog breeds, 60,000 of...

Japanese Pol Resigns Over A-Bomb Gaffe

Defense minister said WWII bombings were inevitable

(Newser) - Japan's defense minister has resigned in a storm of protest over remarks he made last weekend that the American bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were justified. Fumio Kyuma said he understood the US decision to drop the bombs, and that "it couldn't be helped." He also suggested that...

Hot-Dog-Eating Champ Out With Strained Jaw

5-year wiener reign could end July 4

(Newser) - Will the 4th of July ever be the same? For 5 years, the day has belonged to Takeru Kobayashi, the unstoppable winner of Nathan's annual hot dog eating contest. But the chow champ—a Japanese professional eater nicknamed "tsnuami" for his technique—is in a pickle. He can barely...

Tuna Shortage Triggers Sushi Crisis
Tuna Shortage Triggers
Sushi Crisis
Jun 25, 2007 4:21 AM CDT

Tuna Shortage Triggers Sushi Crisis

Japanese chefs resort to deer and even horse meat

(Newser) - Plummeting supplies of tuna have become a recipe for disaster in Japan, where sushi lovers eat 60,000 tons of the fish a year. Desperate chefs are experimenting with increasingly bizarre sushi substitutes, including deer and even horse, the New York Times reports. But sushi without tuna in Japan is...

Japan Renames Iwo Jima
Japan Renames Iwo Jima
Jun 21, 2007 4:20 AM CDT

Japan Renames Iwo Jima

Old name evokes bitter memories of bloody battle

(Newser) - Iwo Jima, the Japanese island that hosted one of the most horrific battles of World War II, is getting a new handle. The BBC reports the Japanese government is officially rechristening the island Iwo To, which was its name until 1944. Iwo Jima is best known for photographer Joe Rosenthal's...

Pension Flub Could Doom Japanese PM
Pension Flub Could Doom Japanese PM
Jun 14, 2007 1:31 PM CDT

Pension Flub Could Doom Japanese PM

Government loses track of 64M checks, enraging voters

(Newser) - A pension scandal rocking Japan threatens to bring down the ruling party, and it could take PM Shinzo Abe with it. Sixty-four million pension payments—in a country of 130 million—have gone missing, and that's riling Japan's growing gray-haired population. The pensioners may pay Abe back with a vote...

Scandal-Plagued Japanese Minister Dead

Matsuoka's suicide is another blow to Abe government

(Newser) - Facing questioning in an investigation of political contributions, the Japanese agriculture minister hanged himself at his Tokyo home today. Toshikatsu Matsuoka had refused calls to resign or explain reports of financial improprieties, but embattled PM Shinzo Abe had stood by him. Abe faces a serious challenge to his Liberal Democratic...

Suicide Takes A Communal Turn
Suicide Takes A Communal Turn
Apr 23, 2007 2:07 PM CDT

Suicide Takes A Communal Turn

Japanese groups gather in online chat rooms to plot very real suicides

(Newser) - Of all the things initiated in anonymous online chat rooms, group suicide has to be the most macabre. David Samuels explores  why hundreds of Japanese adults, previously unknown to each other, have gathered to die together in small groups, often asphyxiating themselves in cars by carefully placing charcoal burners to...

Mobster Guns Down Nagasaki Mayor
Mobster Guns Down Nagasaki Mayor
Apr 18, 2007 1:36 PM CDT

Mobster Guns Down Nagasaki Mayor

Officials attribute slaying to grudge against city

(Newser) - The mayor of Nagasaki was murdered yesterday by a gangster affiliated with Japan's largest organized-crime syndicate. The assassin, who shot Iccho Ito twice in the back, reportedly was steamed that the city refused to pay for damages to his car after he drove it into a hole at a construction...

Matsuzaka Fires Gem in Much-Hyped Debut

$103 million Japanese rookie strikes out 10 Royals as Red Sox win

(Newser) - The Red Sox's $103-million man Daisuke Matsuzaka lived up to the hype last night, holding the Kansas City Royals to just one run on six hits in his Major League debut. In front of 200 Japanese media members, Matsuzaka dazzled the Royals hitters with a power fastball and his famed...

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