Japan

Economy

Kenichiro Yoshida named new Sony chief executive

Yoshida will replace Kazuo Hirai on April 1.

02/02/2018

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Fire kills 11 at a senior citizens facility in Japan

Eleven people have died in a fire at a home for elderly welfare recipients in northern Japan.

01/02/2018

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Geisha girls in Kyoto copy Buddhist sutras

Using a brush and ink, the women wrote the Chinese characters in one of the famous Buddhist scriptures.

31/01/2018

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Japan gets first robotised coffee house

Service with a smile guaranteed at this fully-automated outlet.

30/01/2018

Japan

Japan calls for more cybercurrency rules & security for clients

Government angry at €430 million of cryptocurrency exchange.

29/01/2018

Japan

Company loses €400 million in 'largest ever cryptocurrency theft'

The digital currency exchange Coincheck promised Sunday to refund almost 90 per cent of the virtual money back to investors.

27/01/2018

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Tokoyo snow

The biggest snowfall in four years has blanketed Tokyo and surrounding areas, halting train services and forcing the cancellation of flights.

23/01/2018

Spotlight

Lacking manpower, Japanese firms court women

With Japan's aging population and shrinking workforce, what are companies doing to woo female workers?

23/01/2018

Japan

Japanese marathon runners are geniuses

They can eat unlimited sweet treats whilst doing the marathon.

22/01/2018

Japan

Tokyo holds ‘first-ever’ missile attack drill

Around 350 volunteers worked with authorities in the Japanese capital to simulate reaction to a North Korean nuclear attack.

22/01/2018

Japan

Japan seeks European support over "unprecedented threat" from North Ko

Tokyo wants to strengthen an international alliance against Pyongyang as tensions rise over its nuclear weapons programme

21/01/2018

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Heavy snow strands 430 people overnight on train in Japan

Around 430 passengers in Niigata Prefecture were forced to spend the night on a packed four-car train after it got stranded by heavy snow along the Sea of Japan coast.

12/01/2018

Japan

Sumo scandal threatens new season in Japan

The scandal comes at a time when the sport is regaining lost popularity after cruelty in training schools and mysterious deaths tarnished the ancient tradition.

09/01/2018

Japan

Astronaut worried about transport home after space growth spurt

Norishige Kanai has grown nine centimetres in just three weeks, sparking fears he won’t fit into the vehicle that will take him back to Earth.

09/01/2018

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Sumo champions perform annual ritual in Tokyo

Hundreds gathered at the Meiji Shrine to catch a glimpse of their champions.

09/01/2018

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Tokyo tuna fetches nearly 250,000 at auction

Hundreds of thousands of euros' worth of fish is auctioned off in Tokyo.

05/01/2018

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Elephants show off their calligraphy skills at a zoo near Tokyo

2018 is the Year of the Dog in the Chinese zodiac and one of the elephants wrote the Chinese character for "dog" on a piece of white paper.

03/01/2018

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Discover Japan's Winter purification ceremony in ice-cold water

Before every New Year, this group of women and men step into the river in Takayama to conduct a Shinto ritual

31/12/2017

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Zenkoji year end temple cleaning

Monks at Zenkoji temple in Nagano City, central Japan, brush off the dust accumulated throughout this year in a traditional ritual

29/12/2017

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Japan: 'Miracle Pine' is felled

A symbol of hope and resilience after surviving the 2011 Great East Japan earthquake - but lengthy exposure to sea water has damaged the 25-meter-tall "miracle pine tree."

27/12/2017

Japan

Ex-US Army deserter to North Korea dies

He called his desertion a mistake that led him to spend most of his life captive in the isolated Communist state.

12/12/2017

Japan

An app to help pregnant women find train seats is being trialled in To

Tokyo is trialling an app allowing a pregnant women to send a message when she wants a seat, which will then look for pre-registered users who have said they are willing to give up theirs.

12/12/2017

Global Japan

Promoting reconciliation through sport in Bosnia

Japan participates in the reconciliation process in Bosnia by bringing children together through sport.

11/12/2017

Japan

North Koreans arrested amid mystery boat arrivals off Japan

Some 28 cases of North Korean boats found drifting off Japan or grounded last month raise suspicions about possible infiltration by spies

09/12/2017

Japan

Tokyo's 2020 mascots to be chosen by kids

Elementary school students will vote to select the winning pair of mascots for the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic games.

07/12/2017

Sport

Judo: Japan scores 12 out of 14 medals in Tokyo Grand Slam

The second and final day of the Tokyo Grand Slam saw Mongolia’s Otgonbaatar Lkhagvasuren become our man of the day.

03/12/2017