Japan News

Japan to fund infrastructure in Afghanistan: report

AFP - Saturday, October 31

TOKYO (AFP) - - Japan will fund a programme costing up to five billion dollars to help build roads and boost agriculture in conflict-torn Afghanistan, a newspaper reported on Saturday. More »

  • Dalai Lama says China overpoliticizing his travels

    AP - Saturday, October 31

    TOKYO - The Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual leader, said Saturday that China was overpoliticizing his travels and claimed his decisions on where to go were spiritual in nature, not political.

  • Sony stays in the red, trims annual loss forecast

    AP - Saturday, October 31

    TOKYO - Sony reported a smaller-than-expected 26.3 billion yen ($289 million) quarterly loss as cost cuts combined with healthy sales of PlayStation 3 game consoles and Michael Jackson hits helped it inch toward recovery.

  • Japan eyes new law to allow NKorea cargo inspections

    Japan eyes new law to allow NKorea cargo inspections

    AFP - Friday, October 30

    TOKYO (AFP) - - Japan's government submitted a bill Friday to allow its coastguard and customs officers to inspect North Korean shipments suspected of including nuclear and missile-related materials.

  • Japan shoots down missile in test off Hawaii: US

    Japan shoots down missile in test off Hawaii: US

    AFP - Thursday, October 29

    WASHINGTON (AFP) - - Japanese naval forces successfully shot down a medium-range missile off Hawaii in a test of Tokyo's missile defense weaponry, the US military said on Wednesday.

  • Japan's new govt may 'fracture' US alliance: opposition

    Japan's new govt may 'fracture' US alliance: opposition

    AFP - Thursday, October 29

    TOKYO (AFP) - - Japan's conservative opposition leader warned on Wednesday that a six-week-old centre left government had harmed the traditional US alliance over a lingering dispute centred on a US military base.

  • Former sex slaves urge Japan PM to resolve issue

    AP - Thursday, October 29

    TOKYO - Japan's new prime minister should keep his word and give official apology and compensation to women across Asia who were forced into sex slavery during World War II, a South Korean victim said Wednesday, representing dozens of others.

  • Japan's top securities firm Nomura has declared its purchase of large parts of failed US bank Lehman Brothers

    Japan's Nomura reaps rewards of Lehman deal

    AFP - Thursday, October 29

    TOKYO (AFP) - - Japan's top securities firm Nomura declared its purchase of large parts of failed US bank Lehman Brothers "a resounding success" Wednesday as it announced a second straight quarterly profit.

  • McDonald's worker dies of 'overwork': officials

    McDonald's worker dies of 'overwork': officials

    AFP - Wednesday, October 28

    TOKYO (AFP) - - A store manager with hamburger chain McDonald's in Japan who died of a brain haemorrhage was a victim of "karoshi" or death by overwork, a regional labour office said Wednesday.

  • Japan probes collision between navy, SKorean ships

    Japan probes collision between navy, SKorean ships

    AFP - Wednesday, October 28

    TOKYO (AFP) - - Japan on Wednesday launched an on-site investigation into a collision between a naval destroyer and a South Korean container vessel the previous evening, officials said.

  • Japanese hope Obama will visit A-bomb cities soon

    AP - Wednesday, October 28

    TOKYO - A speech and a Nobel prize have raised hopes in Japan that Barack Obama will become the first sitting American president to visit Hiroshima or Nagasaki, the two cities devastated by U.S. atomic bombs in World War II.

  • Japanese destroyer collides with South Korean ship

    AP - Wednesday, October 28

    TOKYO - A Japanese navy destroyer and a South Korean container ship collided Tuesday off southern Japan, sparking fires on both ships and injuring three crew members, officials said.

  • Japanese, S.Korean ships 'collide in Japan'

    Japanese, S.Korean ships 'collide in Japan'

    AFP - Wednesday, October 28

    TOKYO (AFP) - - A Japanese naval escort ship and a South Korean container ship collided late Tuesday between two islands in southern Japan, the Defence Ministry said.

  • Mayors ask Obama to visit Japanese A-bomb cities

    AP - Wednesday, October 28

    TOKYO - Japanese newspapers and activists are calling for Barack Obama to become the first sitting U.S. president to visit Hiroshima or Nagasaki, the only two cities ever devastated by atomic bombs, ahead of his visit to Japan next month.

  • Japan eyes naval refueling for anti-piracy mission

    AP - Wednesday, October 28

    TOKYO - Japan is considering sending warships to help refuel vessels combating piracy off Somalia after its current refueling mission in support of the U.S.-led operations in Afghanistan ends early next year, officials said Tuesday.

  • Honda Motor said Tuesday its latest quarterly earnings plunged by more than half due to weak demand, but Japan's number two automaker upgraded its outlook for the rest of the year.

    Honda profit halves, outlook brighter

    AFP - Wednesday, October 28

    TOKYO (AFP) - - Honda Motor said Tuesday its latest quarterly earnings plunged by more than half due to weak demand, but Japan's number two automaker upgraded its outlook for the rest of the year.

  • Japan mulls anti-piracy naval plan: minister

    Japan mulls anti-piracy naval plan: minister

    AFP - Tuesday, October 27

    TOKYO (AFP) - - Japan may send a naval refuelling mission now backing the NATO-led Afghan campaign to support anti-piracy efforts off Somalia next year, the defence minister said Tuesday.

  • Japanese pop star Sakai pleads guilty to drug charges

    Japanese pop star Sakai pleads guilty to drug charges

    AFP - Tuesday, October 27

    TOKYO (AFP) - - Japanese pop star Noriko Sakai pleaded guilty Monday to illegal drugs charges and prosecutors demanded 18 months' jail in a trial that has sparked intense public interest and frenzied media coverage.

  • Peoples line up in the rain to participate in a lottery for spectators seats for Japanese actress Noriko Sakai's trial in Tokyo, Monday morning, Oct. 26, 2009. Tokyo District Court schedules to open the first trial Monday afternoon of Sakai who was charged with possessing and using illegal stimulant drugs. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)

    Japanese actress drug trial draws crowd of 6,000

    AP - Tuesday, October 27

    TOKYO - More than 6,000 people crowded outside a Tokyo courthouse Monday as Japanese actress Noriko Sakai pleaded guilty to drug use and prosecutors sought a prison sentence in a trial that has caused a media frenzy.

  • Japan PM: Reviving weak economy top priority

    AP - Monday, October 26

    TOKYO - Japan's new prime minister declared Monday that reviving the nation's sluggish economy is top priority for his government and stressed seeking "close and equal" ties with the U.S. in a speech outlining his main policy goals to parliament.