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Japanese Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa said Monday he would consider guaranteeing all bank deposits if necessary, Jiji Press reported. — AFP

Japan has criticised as "extremely regrettable" Washington's decision to remove North Korea from its list of state sponsors of terrorism. Japanese Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa told Japanese media that "abductions amount to terrorist acts". Japan wants action on people it believes were kidnapped by Pyongyang. The US removed North Korea from its terror list after saying the North had agreed to provide full access to its controversial nuclear programme. Mr Nakagawa objected to the move during a visit to Washington, where he is attending G7 talks. Tokyo argues North Korea should remain on the list because issues related to the...

10% of market is now lost. Struggling. 8:45 p.m. Eastern USA, 9:45 a.m. Friday Tokyo

Japanese stocks slumped Friday as panic-stricken investors dumped shares across the board after Wall Street stocks suffered deep losses overnight. The Nikkei tumbled as much as 11.4% -- touching a low of 8,115,41, a level it hasn't seen since May 2003 -- before recovering slightly. The Average was recently down 9.8% at 8,261.85, while the broader Topix index fell 7.2% to 840.18. "I think people are trying to liquidate positions, but there just aren't any buyers there. It's the nature of the markets that there are very few people willing to buy stocks," said Andrew Sullivan, a sales trader at...

HONG KONG (Reuters) — Asia stocks dropped sharply on Friday, with Japan’s Nikkei index plunging 11 percent, while the yen and gold rose on growing fears that no government effort so far has rejuvenated credit markets or kept the global economy from a path to recession.

Japan rejects N Korea proposal By Demetri Sevastopulo in Washington and David Pilling in Tokyo Published: October 10 2008 02:58 | Last updated: October 10 2008 02:58 Japan has rejected a North Korean proposal on nuclear verification, in a major blow to US efforts to reach a deal with Pyongyang towards removing nuclear weapons from the Korean peninsula. Taro Aso, the Japanese prime minister, has informed the Bush administration that he cannot accept the North Korean offer, which Washington had urged him to support, two sources familiar with the decision told the Financial Times. Washington and Pyongyang have for months...

Shy Japanese Nobel laureate has no passport: wife Wed Oct 8, 3:06 AM ET Japanese Nobel Physics laureate Toshihide Maskawa, an introvert devoted to thinking about the universe, has no passport to go to Stockholm to accept the prize, his wife revealed on Wednesday. Maskawa, 68, was one of three physicists to share the prestigious award announced Tuesday for his groundbreaking work on fundamental particles. But his wife, Akiko, said that Maskawa does not travel overseas and feels "quite allergic to trying to speak English." "And if he needs to go to the award ceremony, he'll need first to apply...

Japanese fighters intercept Russian bombers over Sea of Japan Wednesday 08th October, 10:06 PM JST MOSCOW — Four Japanese F-15 fighter planes intercepted two Russian Tupolev Tu-22M3 bombers over the Sea of Japan on two occasions during a long-range flight drill Wednesday, the Interfax news agency reported. The report quoted a senior official of the Russian air force as saying the planes did not infringe on airspace of other countries and conducted the flight in accordance with international law. Two Russian Sukhoi Su-27 fighter jets were escorting the bombers, it said. The bombers took off from the Russian Far East...

Down 722 - 7% and falling so far. Asian stock markets plunged Wednesday as recent steps by the world's major economies to fortify credit markets failed to stem escalating fears that the spreading financial crisis could spawn a global recession.

Japanese Localities on Verge of Bankruptcy OCTOBER 02, 2008 08:48 The Japanese city of Miki in Hyogo Prefecture declared a financial crisis Monday. The city slashed its payroll and closed railroad routes in the red to save 2.1 billion yen, but has a long way to go. Should it fail to raise an additional five billion yen over the next five years, it will face bankruptcy. Miki was not listed as a financially unhealthy locality Tuesday by the Japanese Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry. In the eye of the ministry, Miki is not in trouble. According to the Asahi Shimbun...

The proposed U.S. financial bailout scheme is a dreadful mistake that could plunge the country into an economic abyss for years and will only reward the people who brought the financial system to the brink of disaster, says famed investor Jim Rogers. "It's the wrong approach," Mr. Rogers said yesterday while huffing through a lengthy morning workout on an exercise bike in a downtown Toronto hotel. "This has never worked in history. Other approaches have worked, which they're ignoring. Part of the problem is these guys don't know any history. "All they know is, Goldman Sachs is on the phone...

Sumo wrestling’s grand champion appeared in a Tokyo courtroom yesterday to deny that he bribed opponents to lose matches in a sensational trial that could save or ruin the reputation of the ancient sport. Asashoryu, the 28-year-old Mongolian who is generally believed to be one of the greatest champions yet seen, is one of a group of 33 wrestlers suing a magazine for libel after an article last year that accused them of bribery and match fixing. Asashoryu: "Each match is real. I am very sad" With the Japan Sumo Association, they are demanding a total of 860 million yen...

(image from NHK National News, Japan) I have to say I am rather surprised. Normally liberal, mainstream Japanese press, is in fact really giving a good amount of credit in various top news headlines (at least) to Gov. Sarah Palin and her performance Thursday night (it is Friday afternoon here).I scanned the major Japanese news wires, like JIJI and Kyodo, and TV as well as online newspapers, such as Yomiuri, Nikkei, etc. Things like this appear:JIJI PRESS (wire services similiar to AP) in Japan. Breaking top story: ペイリン��終始攻勢�難関乗り切る�首長経験強調��イデン�挑発も�大統領� "Peirin shi, shushikouseide nankan norikiru = shuchou keiken kyouchou, baiden mo...

MARYVILLE - The Japanese widow of a Maryville Marine killed in Iraq has decided to bear their son in Japan. Hotaru Ferschke, 24, relayed the decision to Sgt. Michael Ferschke's mother, Robin Ferschke, on Thursday after a doctor pronounced her fit and able to make the arduous journey to the U.S. The baby, who will be named Mikey, is due Jan. 9. Hotaru Ferschke, who had come to Maryville in August to bury her husband of one month, ran into bureaucratic problems when she tried to return to the U.S. to have the baby, as she and her husband had...

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The high-net-worth individual is a much sought-after creature in China. The expectation that these individuals will grow in worth and total number is the major reason luxury brands set up shop here. These brands may therefore draw much encouragement from the findings of this year’s Asia-Pacific Wealth Report, released on Thursday by Capgemini and Merrill Lynch. There were 415 high-net-worth individuals (classified as people with more than US$1 million in investible assets) in China at the end of 2007, up from 345 the previous year, the report said. This year-on-year growth rate of 20.3% is topped only by Vietnam and...

Japan holds diaper fashion show -- for adults Friday 26th September, 05:33 AM JST TOKYO — One after the other, the models strutted across the stage to bouncy ‘80s dance tunes, all showing off designs of the same article of clothing—adult diapers. Japan has one of the world’s most rapidly aging societies, and the fashion show Thursday proved the country’s diaper producers are intent on keeping the elderly clean and dry. “Diapers are something that people don’t want to look at,” said Kiyoko Hamada of the Aging Lifestyle Research Center, a leading organizer of the show. “But if you make...

YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — Thousands of people crowded onto Yokosuka Naval Base’s Pier 12 on Thursday to welcome the aircraft carrier USS George Washington to its new home in Japan. The historic significance of the event was repeatedly emphasized by U.S. Navy and Japanese military officials, as the George Washington is the only nuclear-powered ship to be forward deployed to Japan. "I think this is beautiful," said Chief Petty Officer Cleo Bowie, who was among a smaller group of George Washington sailors who arrived ahead of the ceremony. "A lot of people maybe haven’t really taken it in yet,...

TOKYO - The Japanese government's November 30 decision to nationalize the insolvent Ashikaga banking group has surprised investors who had expected a Resona-style bailout - in which shareholders weren't forced to take a haircut for the mess. The move means that Ashikaga shareholders' capital will be wiped out, leaving them with nothing, and the government will take 100 percent of the equity in the regional lender. Since May 17 when the government decided, in bailing out Japan's fifth largest bank, not to compel shareholders to assume responsibility for the Resona debacle, some foreign hedge funds had picked up regional Japanese...

TOKYO — Groups opposed to Thursday’s arrival of the USS George Washington to Yokosuka Naval Base say demonstrations will grow in size and number in upcoming days. "We want to express our opposition to America," Masahiko Goto, a lawyer and leader of a Yokosuka citizen’s group, said Tuesday. "We want a withdrawal of the deployment." On the day of the ship’s arrival to its new forward-deployed base, a rally will be held at 6 a.m. at Kannonzaki Park near Uraga station, where protesters can watch the carrier as it approaches, organizers said. Protesters also will embark on boats to follow...

Taro Aso, a Catholic conservative, takes over as Japan's prime minister with a vow to bolster his country's lackluster economy. The 68-year-old Aso, a former Olympic skeetshooter, is Japan's first Catholic leader.

Ruling party leader Taro Aso was elected Japan's next prime minister Wednesday. Aso, who was chosen president of the long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Monday, had already begun piecing together a Cabinet expected to include a fellow outspoken hawk as finance chief. The opposition-controlled upper house voted for Ichiro Ozawa, head of the Democratic Party of Japan, as prime minister. But the more powerful lower chamber voted to override that ballot in favor of Aso. The right-leaning former foreign minister will confront a country wracked by political divisions and concerns over the economy, which has stalled in recent months amid...

Taro Aso, Japan’s former foreign minister, was on Monday night poised to become the country’s fourth prime minister in just over two years after easily winning an election to head the ruling Liberal Democratic party. Mr Aso, 68, beat Kaoru Yosano, the fiscally conservative economics minister, by 351 votes to 66, while Yuriko Koike, the first woman to compete for the job, was a distant third with 46. As leader of the biggest party, Mr Aso will be named prime minister in an extraordinary Diet session on Wednesday. He will succeed Yasuo Fukuda, who abruptly resigned after less than a...

From cyborg housemaids and waterpowered cars to dog translators and rocket boots, Japanese boffins have racked up plenty of near-misses in the quest to turn science fiction into reality. Now the finest scientific minds of Japan are devoting themselves to cracking the greatest sci-fi vision of all: the space elevator. Man has so far conquered space by painfully and inefficiently blasting himself out of the atmosphere but the 21st century should bring a more leisurely ride to the final frontier.

BBC News: "Members of Japan's ruling party have selected a bluff conservative, Taro Aso, as their new leader, meaning he is almost certain to become the next PM." He would be the first Catholic PM in Japan's history. More about Taro Aso on his Wikipedia page. He also loves comics, was quickly profiled by Time, faces a tough future, is a very big departure from previous PMs, and appears to be quite the renaissance man. Now, here's my question: presuming he wasn't born Catholic (which would surprise me), when/how did he convert? Can anyone find out?

During the crisis, Japan feels like an island of calm By Martin Fackler Sunday, September 21, 2008 TOKYO: Wall Street may be suffering the worst financial storm since the Great Depression, but Japan has felt like an island of Zen-like calm. The world's second-largest economy after the United States has often seemed to be marching to its own drummer, sometimes to disastrous effect. But rarely has the disconnect been as stark as during the current crisis. While European and American financial titans have teetered and collapsed, giant Japanese banking groups have stood relatively unscathed. The growing global credit crisis, which...

Two fall sick after eating Chinese bean paste in Japan Sat Sep 20, 1:26 AM ET Two employees of a Japanese confectionery company fell sick after eating China-made bean paste in the latest apparent food scare here, police and the firm said Saturday. The workers at Marusei Honten confectionery in central Nagano prefecture noticed a strange smell like petroleum oil when they opened the five-kilogram (11-pound) package of red-bean paste on Friday, police said. They tasted it to check on the quality and felt sick soon afterwards, police said.

Today, the Bank of Canada, the Bank of England, the European Central Bank (ECB), the Federal Reserve, the Bank of Japan and the Swiss National Bank are announcing coordinated measures designed to address the continued elevated pressures in US dollar short-term funding markets. These measures, together with other actions taken in the last few days by individual central banks, are designed to improve the liquidity conditions in global financial markets. The central banks will continue to work together closely and will take appropriate steps to address the ongoing pressures. Bank of England action The Bank of England will offer...

Japan shoots down 'ballistic' missile in interceptor test WHITE SANDS, New Mexico, Sept. 17 KYODO Japan's Air Self-Defense Force successfully shot down a mock ballistic missile Wednesday in Japan's first test of a U.S.-developed land-to-air missile interception system since the country started deploying it late last year, ASDF officials said. The firing of two Patriot Advanced Capability-3 interceptors the ASDF said was a success marked the end of a series of tests on key capabilities of a nearly 1 trillion yen missile shield Japan is trying to complete by around fiscal 2010. The ASDF conducted the test at the White...

Japanese stocks fell more than 2 percent on Tuesday on heightened credit concerns following the collapse of Lehman Brothers, with sell orders overwhelming financial shares such as top lender Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (8306.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz). Lehman Brothers (LEH.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) filed for bankruptcy protection after trying to finance too many risky assets with too little capital, becoming the largest U.S. bankruptcy and the highest-profile casualty so far of the global credit crisis. [ID:nN13574113] The Nikkei average opened 1.6 percent lower, and as of 0008 GMT was down 344.92 points or 2.8 percent at...

The Bushido Code: The Eight Virtues of the Samurai Posted By Brett & Kate McKay On September 14, 2008 @ 8:03 pm “So, boy. You wish to serve me?” Silhouetted against the blue-black sky, the horse-mounted samurai with the horned helmet towered over me like a demon as I knelt in the dirt before him. I could not see his face but there was no mistaking the authority in his growling tone, nor the hint of mockery in his question. I tried to speak and managed only a faint croak. My mouth had gone dry, as parched as a man...

◆ Unidentified sub enters deep into western Japan territorial waters  TOKYO, Sept. 14 KYODO     An unidentified foreign submarine temporarily entered deep into Japanese territorial waters between Shikoku and Kyushu islands, western Japan, on Sunday morning, Japanese Defense Ministry officials said.     The submarine which was detected at 6:56 a.m. south of the Bungo Strait had already left the region, they said. The nationality of the submarine is still unknown but Japan judged it did not belong to the United States, Japan's closest security ally, they said.     The last time such an incident occurred was in November 2004 when a Chinese submarine...

TOKYO (Reuters) - No injuries had been reported after two explosions were heard late on Friday near a U.S. naval base where a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier will soon dock south of Tokyo, Japanese police said on Saturday. Police said investigations were underway and that rocket fragments had been found near the controversial naval base at Yokosuka, but few other details were available. Residents had reported that the roof of one nearby home had been damaged by the blasts, police said. The blasts occurred about two weeks before the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS George Washington is scheduled to arrive at the...

Northern Japan quake has magnitude 7 - govt agency 11 Sep 2008 00:36:51 GMT Source: Reuters TOKYO, Sept 11 (Reuters) - An earthquake that struck off the coast of Japan's northernmost main island of Hokkaido on Thursday had a preliminary magnitude of 7, the meteorological agency said on Thursday.

Nobuteru Ishihara, former policy chief for the Liberal Democratic Party, and Minister of Economic and Fiscal Policy Kaoru Yosano both announced they would be standing, joining party Secretary General Taro Aso. Yuriko Koike, Japan's first female minister of defence, is expected to announce her candidacy before Monday's deadline, although Mr Aso remains the favourite to take over from Yasuo Fukuda. Mr Fukuda shocked the country by announcing his resignation on Monday evening, citing his administration's inability to pass legislation since the opposition Democratic Party of Japan won control of the Upper House of the parliament in June 2007. Already out...

TOKYO (AFP)--An increasingly assertive Russia is holding more frequent military drills near Japan, some with nuclear submarines, the Japanese defense ministry warned in a report Friday. Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda's cabinet approved the annual white paper on defense policy, which also reiterated Japan's long-standing unease about China's rapid military buildup and the threat of North Korea. The report came as tensions rise between Russia and the West over the conflict in Georgia, which some pundits fear could open the door to a new cold war. Japan, a close U.S. ally, has never formally ended World War II with Russia due...

Japanese TV is already running nationwide news bulletins and news updates featuring Sarah Palin's earth-shattering speech just a few moments ago.Here is one clip (just hit the orange arrow, a short lead in by the announcer in Japanese, then most of it is in English with Japanese subtitles). The Japanese people, millions of them, are getting their first look, and the reporting so far is fairly dramatic here.FNN-TV Reporters live at Minneapolis said she really walloped into Obama as being an elitist and her being from Small Town America.

This woman leads a double life. Her boyfriend thinks she’s a secretary. In fact she is one of Japan’s new breed of professional seducers, hired by embittered spouses to entrap their straying partners. And she’ll stop at nothing to get the desired results.Case 1: Mr A and Kyoko 3.30pm. Mr A is outside a bank in a busy part of Ikebukuro, a faintly seedy area of Tokyo, waiting for his date. He beams as she teeters across the road on high heels. Kyoko, 20, is half his age. She has a mane of black hair, sloe eyes, a fetching smile...

Taiwan's relations with Japan will remain stable despite the sudden resignation of Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda. That's the word from Taiwan's foreign ministry on Monday. Fukuda abruptly announced his resignation after less than a year in office. The ministry said that Taiwan appreciates Fukuda's efforts to promote ties with Taiwan. It said Japan's Taiwan policy is not expected to be affected by a leadership change. Taro Aso, secretary-general of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, is reported to be a likely successor to Fukuda. Taiwan's Legislative President Wang Jin-pyng said Aso has always been friendly to Taiwan. Wang said Taiwan...

China traces dumpling poisoning to factory Sat Aug 30, 2:22 AM ET A row over pesticide-laced Chinese dumplings has moved a step closer to a settlement after China told Japan that a factory worker was probably to blame, NHK public television said on Saturday. Ten Japanese became sick after eating pesticide-contaminated dumplings which had been imported from China, stirring intense media coverage earlier this year. Japan and China have long been at odds over where the dumplings were contaminated, with both denying sabotage in their home countries. Earlier this month, the Japanese government said China had told Japan in July...

TOKYO, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Unpopular Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda said on Monday that he had decided to resign in an effort to break a political deadlock. Fukuda has been struggling to cope with a divided parliament where the opposition parties control the upper house and can delay legislation. "If we are to prioritise the people's livelihoods, there cannot be a political vacuum from political bargaining, or a lapse in policies. We need a new team to carry out policies," Fukuda said.

Japanese scientists said Friday they had derived stem cells from wisdom teeth, opening another way to study deadly diseases without the ethical controversy of using embryos... (AFP articles cannot be republished)Click here for the article.

Monkey triggers Tokyo subway chaos By Kyung Lah CNN TOKYO, Japan (CNN) -- A monkey stopped morning commuters in their tracks at one of Tokyo's busiest subway stations this week, as it curiously peered down at them from its perch atop the departures and arrivals board. Monday marked the third time a monkey has been spotted in the capital this month -- surprising, because the beasts usually live in the mountains and hills outside Tokyo, more than a two-hour train ride away from the city center.

The athletes of the world might currently be competing for titles in Beijing, but it was in northeast China where the battle for world supremacy was played out one century ago. Manchuria, a strategic region of Asia bordering Mongolia, Russia and Korea, was the site of a war between two fledgling superpowers in 1905, whose outcome set history on a different course. The short, little-known Russo-Japanese War had far-reaching effects, playing a part in turning Russia into a Communist nation and, with its victory, Japan into the decisive leader in the East at the time.

Cuba Says Can't Pay For Japan Imports On Time : Nikkei V. Phani Kumar HONG KONG -- The Central Bank of Cuba informed Japan's Nippon Export and Investment Insurance that it couldn't pay for Japanese imports by the agreed upon dates, the Nikkei business daily reported Monday. "This isn't a problem specific to this bank. Foreign exchange reserves for settling trade accounts are in short supply in Cuba," said an offical at the Cuban central bank, according to the report.

TOKYO - Japanese World War II leader Hideki Tojo wanted to keep fighting even after U.S. atomic bombs destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, accusing surrender proponents of being "frightened," a newly released diary reveals. Excerpts from the approximately 20 pages written by Tojo in the final days of the war and held by the National Archives of Japan were published for the first time in several newspapers Tuesday. "The notes show Tojo kept his died-in-the-wool militarist mentality until the very end," said Kazufumi Takayama, the archives curator, who confirmed the accuracy of the published excerpts. "They are extremely valuable."

CANTON’S TOLL 200 IN 2 DAYS OF RAIDS Japanese Planes Again Cause Havoc – Chinese resisting Bitterly in Yangtze Area REPORT 1,000 FOES SLAIN Tokyo Moves 20,000 Men to Reinforce Drives From the Kiukiang Section By The Associated Press. CANTON, China, Aug. 9.-The Fifth Japanese Naval Squadron, recently assigned to harass the South China coast, today carried out the second installment of its threatened ten-day schedule of aerial offensive on Kwangtung Province. Abut 200 persons were killed in Canton, more than 300 were injured and scores were missing since the attacks started yesterday. The count by days, thus far: Monday...

THE WHITE HOUSE Washington, D.C.IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- August 6, 1945STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES Sixteen hours ago an American airplane dropped one bomb on Hiroshima, an important Japanese Army base. That bomb had more power than 20,000 tons of T.N.T. It had more than two thousand times the blast power of the British "Grand Slam" which is the largest bomb ever yet used in the history of warfare. It is an atomic bomb. It is a harnessing of the basic power of the universe. The force from which the sun draws its power has been loosed against...

TOKYO - JAPANESE Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura berated his subordinates on Saturday for failing to notify him of a radioactive leak from a US nuclear submarine, saying he learnt of the incident on television." The communication glitch came the same day that Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda installed a new cabinet to revive sagging public support for his government. 'This (Saturday) morning I was watching CNN, and even if I don't understand English that well I saw that something strange was going on', Mr Komura, who retained the post in the new cabinet, told a news conference. 'I therefore contacted (his...

Devotees Are Mainly Young Men, Who Dress Like the Characters -- in Miniskirts By HIROKO TABUCHI July 30, 2008; Page A1 WASHIMIYA, Japan -- For many years, Washinomiya Shrine has been a quiet place of worship, attracting just a trickle of sightseers to this sleepy town outside Tokyo. Then last summer, priests started noticing a new kind of visitor. Young men, some clad in miniskirts, stockings and pastel-colored wigs, were lining up for photos at the shrine's vermilion gate. Over the big New Year's holiday in January, nearly 300,000 such visitors -- almost 10 times the town's population -- showed...