The 4.9 magnitude quake struck 83 miles (135km) east-southeast from Shizuani district in Hidaka Subprefecture, Hokkaido, at 7.57am GMT (4.35pm local time) on Thursday. The large tremor struck in the N... ( read original story ...)
Thai team again win Sapporo snow sculpture contest
SAPPORO, Japan: After 44 hours labouring outside in sub-zero temperatures, the Thai team of snow sculptors has taken the top prize once again at the Sapporo Snow Festival. Their winning "Betta Brillia... ( read original story ...)
Japan’s services PMI shows stronger growth in January
TOKYO -- Japan's service sector growth improved in January, supported by domestic demands for new businesses. The Nikkei Japan Services Purchasing Manager's Index, or PMI, increased to 51.6 in ... ( read original story ...)
Japan’s one-time tech unicorn Mercari warns of more losses
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese e-commerce start-up Mercari, which went public last year with great fanfare, booked a quarterly loss of 1.1 billion yen ($10 million) and warned of more losses ahead as ... ( read original story ...)
Japan’s 20-year experiment offers lessons for Federal Reserve and ECB
Tokyo | Long before the United States and Europe embraced radical monetary policies last decade during the global financial crisis, there was the Bank of Japan. Twenty years ago this month - back when ... ( read original story ...)
Japan bank and China unicorn to offer Southeast Asia loans
TOKYO -- Japan's Aozora Bank will partner with a Chinese financial technology unicorn to develop online loan services in Southeast Asia. Beijing Zhongguancun Kejin Technology, also known as ... ( read original story ...)
27 fast-food menu items from US chains that you find in Japan
While Japan has its own great fast-food options, American travelers may also come across US fast-food brands like Domino's, McDonald's, Wendy's, and more. But the menus may look different to a US tour... ( read original story ...)
Japan court issues fine for hate speech targeting ethnic Korean
The Ishigaki Summary Court in Okinawa Prefecture fined the two men about $900 each on charges of defamation, NHK and Kyodo News reported Wednesday. The defendants were fined last month for damaging co... ( read original story ...)
Japan’s Docomo invests in Finnish Rovio spin-off Hatch
HELSINKI (Reuters) - Japan's leading mobile operator Docomo has invested in Hatch, a spin-off of Angry Birds game maker Rovio, to bring 5G gaming to Japanese consumers, Rovio said on Wednesday. Hatch ... ( read original story ...)
Japan may have to kill up to 15,000 pigs amid ‘extremely serious’ swine fever epidemic
Five central and western prefectures in Japan have reported cases of the highly contagious virus at farms since January, Kyodo News reported. "We are facing an extremely serious situation," Agricultur... ( read original story ...)
Tokyo: Nikkei index closes higher after Trump speech
Mr Trump was giving his annual State of the Union speech during Tokyo trading hours, vowing again to build a wall on the Mexican border. This topic has rattled investors in the past as controversy ove... ( read original story ...)
Nikkei ends firmer but gains capped after Trump’s speech; Toyota dips
TOKYO, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Japan’s Nikkei edged up on Wednesday with markets barely reacting to U.S. President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address, while attention remained on corporate earnings. ... ( read original story ...)
Dissecting the Bank of Japan’s zero-rate policy 20 years on
Long before the U.S. and Europe embraced radical monetary policies last decade during the global financial crisis there was the Bank of Japan. Twenty years ago this month — back when the American econ... ( read original story ...)
Japan, Germany want to curb Brexit’s global economic impact
Abe said Japan and Germany would work together to keep the global economy growing. "In order to do so, we need to minimize the impact on the global economy from Brexit," Abe said at a joint news confe... ( read original story ...)
Ariana Grande responds to accusations of cultural appropriation over Japanese tattoo
My Japanese fans were always excited when i wrote ... Pete Davidson shares struggle with borderline personality disorder In other Grande news, a Las Vegas artist is suing the pop star, alleging ... ( read original story ...)
Japan PM Abe defends BOJ’s policy despite inflation woes
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe praised the Bank of Japan's ultra-loose monetary policy for helping create jobs, suggesting the government wasn't unduly worried that inflation rem... ( read original story ...)