Bawling babies face off in Japan’s ‘crying sumo’

TOKYO: More than 100 Japanese babies faced off Sunday in a traditional “crying sumo” ring, an annual ceremony believed to bring infants good health. In the sumo ring at the precinct of the Kamegaike Hachimangu shrine in Sagamihara west of Tokyo, two ... ( read original story ...)

Mobius says low stock market volatility is tied to social media

“Social media is having a huge impact,” the executive chairman of the Temple Emerging Markets Group said in an interview during a visit to Tokyo. “It’s creating confusion with a lot of false news,” he said. “You’re getting a situation where a ... ( read original story ...)

Workaholic Japan 'Names And Shames' Firms Over Employee Abuses

Tokyo: Japan has released its first nationwide employer blacklist, naming-and-shaming more than 300 companies for breaching labour laws, as Tokyo ramps up efforts to tackle notoriously long work hours blamed for "karoshi", or death from overwork. The ... ( read original story ...)

The Latest: Japan: Dialogue for dialogue's sake meaningless

Japan's Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida says he and his South Korean counterpart have agreed that dialogue for dialogue's sake with North Korea is meaningless in the wake of Pyongyang's latest missile test. Kishida says he and South Korean Foreign Minister ... ( read original story ...)

Duffy wins Yokohama in return to ITU World Triathlon Series

YOKOHAMA, Japan (AP) — Flora Duffy of Bermuda won Saturday's ITU World Triathlon Series race, finishing almost two minutes ahead of series leader Katie Zaferes of the United States. Duffy, the 2016 world champion, clocked 1 hour, 56 minutes, 18 seconds ... ( read original story ...)

Japan's solar reforms cast shadow on renewable energy

TOKYO -- Japan's crackdown on licensed solar power providers who never began operations could set back renewable energy development in the country and put more facilities in the hands of a few major players. Like a number of its peers, Enblue was forced ... ( read original story ...)

BRIEF-Bank of Nagoya names new president

May 12 Bank of Nagoya Ltd: * Says it has named Ichiro Fujiwara as the new President in the bank, to replace Masahiro Nakamura * Effective date June 23 Source text in Japanese: goo.gl/uKkU8O Further company coverage: (Beijing Headline News) Our Standards ... ( read original story ...)

Moritomo Gakuen to lose nursery license, Osaka mayor says

OSAKA – Moritomo Gakuen will now lose its nursery school license because it can’t secure enough qualified child care specialists to staff its Osaka city-based nursery school, Osaka Mayor Hirofumi Yoshimura said Friday. “After an order to suspend ... ( read original story ...)

Japan's Abe ready to go for broke on constitutional changes

TOKYO -- After years of biding his time, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is poised to make a serious attempt at revising the country's constitution. The changes he envisions would bestow constitutional recognition on the Self-Defense Forces, as well as ... ( read original story ...)