Japan stands by Myanmar, lest China gain favor

TOKYO -- Japan has continued plying Myanmar with economic aid even as the Southeast Asian nation's treatment of its Rohingya Muslim minority has stirred international backlash, choosing the threat of condemnation over the risk of China taking over as the ... ( read original story ...)

Australia and Japan reverse tourism relationship

Back in 1998, at the height of our summer, Australian beaches were populated with Japanese tourists escaping the cold of the northern hemisphere winter. Now, hundreds of thousands of Australians escape the humidity of the southern hemisphere summer in ... ( read original story ...)

Softbank plans $18bn share sale of its mobile business

Japanese giant Softbank is planning to list its mobile phone business in Tokyo and overseas, according to the Nikkei newspaper. The listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and possibly in London aims to raise 2 trillion yen ($18bn; £13.1bn). Softbank ... ( read original story ...)

Japanese city on alert for deadly fugu blowfish

A Japanese city has broadcast emergency warnings to prevent people consuming blowfish, after potentially deadly portions were mistakenly sold. A local supermarket in Gamagori city sold five packets of fugu fish without removing the livers, which contain ... ( read original story ...)

Japan’s Abe seeking to strengthen Western Balkan ties

BELGRADE, Serbia – Japan's prime minister says his country is seeking to strengthen relations with Serbia and other Balkan countries. Shinzo Abe visited Belgrade Monday as part of a six-country European tour. He has already visited Estonia, Latvia ... ( read original story ...)

Japanese PM pays tribute to ‘Japanese Schindler’

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Sunday visited a memorial to a Japanese diplomat who saved 6,000 European Jews from the Holocaust by issuing visas from war-torn Lithuania, in defiance of Tokyo. Abe visited the two-story building, now a museum, which ... ( read original story ...)

Let’s discuss the big earthquake that never came

But the jolt never came to the region. The agency had estimated that a magnitude 6.4 earthquake would hit off the coast of Ibaraki Prefecture. In fact, that quake was magnitude 4.4 and 3 on the Japanese intensity scale. But at the same time, a second quake ... ( read original story ...)

Japan’s startup index extends winning streak to hit record

TOKYO -- The Nikkei Jasdaq Stock Average ... The stock has the Jasdaq's highest market capitalization. Japan's markets for startups are typically dominated by retail investors. But now "money from institutional and overseas investors is pouring into ... ( read original story ...)

Moderate earthquake 5 mag, 92 km E of Nishinoomote, Japan

A moderate earthquake with magnitude 5 (ml/mb) was detected on Tuesday, 92 kilometers (57 miles) from Nishinoomote in Japan. The 5-magnitude earthquake has occurred at 05:41:37 / 5:41 am (local time epicenter). Exact location of event, depth 8.09 km, 131 ... ( read original story ...)