TOKYO -- Japan deployed its first F-35A stealth fighter jet Friday amid rising tension on the Korean peninsula. But the price tag keeps increasing for the cutting-edge aircraft, and the defense industry here is not happy with its diminished participation ... ( read original story ...)
Kansai business lobby calls for new diplomatic initiatives to strengthen ties with other Asian nations
OSAKA – One of the Kansai region’s leading business lobby groups has called for new diplomatic initiatives to strengthen Japan’s relations with other Asian nations, in a bid to reduce regional tensions and consider a defense policy more independent ... ( read original story ...)
Mail, Japan and Canadian-style populism: how politics touched us this week
The Liberals' election platform promises to "save home mail delivery." OF FREE TRADE WITH JAPAN In the wee hours of Tuesday morning, as Trudeau was consorting with the rich and famous in Davos and the bulk of Canada's trade negotiators were holed up in ... ( read original story ...)
Japan’s Coincheck suffers largest virtual currency theft
Such an attack may have been behind Friday's theft, which tops the 2014 disappearance of roughly 47 billion yen in currency from former Japanese bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox as history's largest virtual currency breach. Coincheck "deeply regrets" the incident ... ( read original story ...)
Ando commands the spotlight at Osaka Women’s Marathon | iaaf.org
Maeda, 21, won last year’s Hokkaido Marathon in 2:28:48. She made her debut in Osaka last year, finishing 12 th with 2:32:19. In December she improved her half marathon time by nearly two and a half minutes to 1:10:22; her goal for Sunday is to crack 2:26. ( read original story ...)
Document further erodes ministry claims over land deal
A Finance Ministry document appears to contradict testimony in the Diet from ministry officials who said no pre-arrangements were made for the sale of state-owned land to an Osaka school operator. The document states that the ministry’s Kinki Local ... ( read original story ...)
Japan’s central bank in uneasy spot as inflation lags robust economy
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's inflation in December continued to lag a strong economic revival, leaving the central bank in a dilemma on how to exit crisis-era stimulus policies that even some of its own board members warn will start to hurt more than help if ... ( read original story ...)
Walmart signs Japan online grocery deal with Rakuten
US retail giant Walmart will team up with Japan's Rakuten to launch a new online grocery delivery service. Customers will place orders through Rakuten, which will then be fulfilled by the joint venture. The operation - to launch later this year - will ... ( read original story ...)
Japan is Back — Nikkei Hits 26-Year High, and Yet…
Japanese stocks hit a 26-year high last week to triple in value since hitting bottom in March 2009. See the chart below. But here’s the real story: The Nikkei Index is still 40% below its all-time high of 39,000, which was hit at the end of December 1989. ( read original story ...)
Japan eyes Vietnamese IT startups
Last week, Ono attended Navigate Hanoi, a business-to-business meeting between almost 20 Japanese and Vietnamese technology startups and enterprises. According to Hironobu Kitagawa, chief representative of the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO ... ( read original story ...)
Aichi: Man, 68, arrested over slashing of doctor at Nagoya hospital
reports TBS News (Jan. 26). At just past 2:00 p.m., Hideyoshi Okamura, a resident of Nagoya’s Mizuho Ward, came up from behind the doctor, 42, inside an examination room of a surgical department at the Fujita Health University Banbuntane Hotokukai ... ( read original story ...)
Will Weak Japan Business Hurt Aflac’s (AFL) Q4 Earnings?
Aflac Inc.’s AFL fourth-quarter results, scheduled for Jan 31, are expected to benefit from increased revenues from its U.S. segment. This unit has been performing strongly as evident by increasing revenues since 2010 for the past many years, a trend ... ( read original story ...)
BITCOIN BOOM: Japan steps in as cryptocurrency haven after South Korea and China crackdown
Mr Kiuchi said: “This had led to moves to transfer investment money to Japan, where regulation is relatively slack." Taro Aso, Japanese finance minister said: “I don't think it is good to regulate anything and everything.” South Korea is currently ... ( read original story ...)
Tokyo records lowest temperature in 48 years, Japan
The Japan Meteorological Agency has issued a very rare low temperature advisory for capital Tokyo as cold air started affecting the country on Wednesday, January 24, 2018. This is the first such warning for Tokyo in 33 years, officials said, adding the ... ( read original story ...)
France and Japan to scale up military exercises to deter China
PARIS -- France intends to increase joint military exercises with Japan, French Defense Minister Florence Parly has told the Nikkei Asian Review, showing her aim to deter China in the South China Sea. France's Defense and Foreign Affairs ministers are set ... ( read original story ...)
Freezing Tokyo sees most ambulance calls for 80 years
Tokyo's ambulance service has experienced its busiest day in more than 80 years, officials said Thursday, amid icy conditions as the Japanese capital shivers through its coldest temperatures in decades. The Tokyo fire department, which runs the ambulance ... ( read original story ...)