Spring comes to Tokyo with first cherry blossoms

"Warm temperatures in late February and early March hastened the growth of buds," an agency official told reporters to the cheers of visitors at the shrine in central Tokyo. The story hit the headlines with Jiji Press reporting it as breaking news ... ( read original story ...)

Kasatkina beats Williams; Osaka ousts Halep at Indian Wells

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. (AP) — The future is now at the BNP Paribas Open. Daria Kasatkina upset Venus Williams 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 in a nearly three-hour baseline struggle and Naomi Osaka routed top-ranked Simona Halep 6-3, 6-0 in 64 minutes on Friday night to ... ( read original story ...)

Kasatkina beats Williams; Osaka upends Halep at Indian Wells

Naomi Osaka made much quicker work of top-ranked Simona Halep, routing her 6-3, 6-0 in 64 minutes to set up a final between two 20-year-olds on Sunday. Kasatkina was two points from defeat, trailing 4-5 and 0-30 in the third set when Williams committed ... ( read original story ...)

Japanese sensation Osaka blitzes Halep en route to decider

It will be a battle of the 20-year-olds in the Indian Wells Masters final after Japanese sensation Naomi Osaka crushed world number one Simona Halep in straight sets. Halep was the overwhelming favourite but the three-time grand slam finalist was ... ( read original story ...)

Japan theme park to replace a third of staff with robots

TOKYO -- Japanese travel agency and resort operator H.I.S. plans ... Chairman and CEO Hideo Sawada said in an interview with Nikkei that he plans to reduce that number to about 800 by around 2021. The displaced workers "will be reassigned to growing ... ( read original story ...)

Tokyo: Man swindled women with ‘mistress contract’ scams

TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a 24-year-old man who is suspected of swindling multiple women by posing as the son of the president of a talent agency, reports Nippon News Network (Mar. 16). In December of last year, Akira Baba ... ( read original story ...)

Japan finance minister to skip G20 as cronyism scandal balloons

Japan's finance minister will skip a G20 meeting next week, officials said Friday, to address parliament as pressure mounts over a cronyism scandal and alleged cover-up dogging the prime minister. Taro Aso "will concentrate on" dealing with parliament, and ... ( read original story ...)

Amazon Japan probe tests antitrust doctrine in new era

TOKYO -- Antitrust investigators raided Amazon Japan's offices Thursday over suspicions that the online retailer is muscling suppliers into subsidizing discounts on its platform, but determining whether the new-economy heavyweight truly engaged in unfair ... ( read original story ...)

Japan’s home-sharing registrations off to a rocky start

One in three municipalities in Japan plans to introduce restrictions on top of the ... 62.7% of respondents said in a Nikkei poll of around 100 home-sharers. Some 72.5% said they have no permit, and 27.5% said they will stop renting out their properties ... ( read original story ...)

How to play Japan’s demographic decline

Assuming the Japanese government are successful areas that are likely do well include hotels that are funded through private equity and property development, notes Perdon. -Calling time on Baillie Gifford Shin Nippon’s big premium The tourism boom has ... ( read original story ...)

Japan Went to Jared

The Japanese firm owns 23 percent of the building through limited ... The Real Deal has learned. The 204,000-square-foot property, which has remained vacant for over a year, is part of the complex being developed by Kushner Companies, RFR Realty and ... ( read original story ...)