Japan to carry out simulated China-Taiwan military drills

The Self-Defence Forces will conduct drills from Monday through Friday with the US military participating as an observer, a Japanese government source told Kyodo News. The exercises, which do not involve actual troop deployments, assume that the US and ... ( read original story ...)

In uncertain times, Japan opts to save

By the early ’80s some 90 percent of Japanese felt they’d arrived. Frenzied, frivolous consumption characterized the “bubble” years that followed. The bubble burst in the early ’90s. The “lost decade” became lost decades. Today economists ... ( read original story ...)

Record 9.4 million foreign tourists visited Osaka in 2016

OSAKA – Over 9.4 million foreign tourists visited Osaka last year, the largest number ever, Osaka tourism authorities announced earlier this week. The figure represents a 31 percent increase on 2015, and is more than triple the number of foreign ... ( read original story ...)

Watching the inauguration in the divided states of America

Adam Walsh is a reporter for the St. John's Morning Show, currently working in Tokyo on a partnership with the Japanese public broadcaster NHK. The noose of security is gradually tightening as the week progresses. Everywhere you look, there are police ... ( read original story ...)

Japan says isle name on 2018 Olympic website 'unacceptable."

TOKYO - Japan's Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida says it is "unacceptable" that the official website for the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics refers to disputed isles in the Sea of Japan under the South Korean name "Dokdo." The website introduces the islets by ... ( read original story ...)

Tokyo shares close higher ahead of Trump's inauguration

TOKYO, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo shares closed higher Friday on hopes for U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's fiscal stimulus plans as he is to take office later in the day. The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended up 65.66 points, or 0.34 percent, from ... ( read original story ...)

How “Tokyo Rose” Became WWII’s Most Notorious Propagandist

During World War II, American servicemen regularly huddled around radios to listen to the “Zero Hour,” an English-language news and music program that ... exotic backstories for the woman they called “Tokyo Rose,” but few were stranger than the ... ( read original story ...)

Japan hotelier's Nanjing massacre denial angers China

A Japanese hotel chain has come under fire for its owner's claims that a World War Two massacre in the Chinese city of Nanjing did not take place. A book by Toshio Motoya, who owns APA Hotels, was found this week to be widely distributed in his outlets. ( read original story ...)

Forget World Cup heroics, says Japan coach Jamie Joseph

Japan coach Jamie Joseph wants to forget the country's astonishing 2015 World Cup run as he looks to create his own blueprint for the future. The former All Black had a baptism of fire after taking over the 'Brave Blossoms' last November and is under no ... ( read original story ...)

High-tech Japanese toilets to be more foreigner friendly

TOKYO - As more foreigners choose Japan as a holiday destination, the country's toilet manufacturers have joined forces to simplify the sometimes complicated business of washing and drying Japanese style. A 2014 survey found many foreigners have difficulty ... ( read original story ...)

Konta Passes Osaka Test In Melbourne

MELBOURNE, Australia - No.9 seed and Apia International Sydney champion Johanna Konta kept up her hopes of another deep run in Melbourne with a decisive 6-4, 6-2 win over Japan's Naomi Osaka to reach the third round of the Australian Open. Konta opened Day ... ( read original story ...)

2016 Yokohama Hot-Rod and Custom Show

Each December at the annual Yokohama Hot Rod & Custom Show. That it’s in Yokohama not Yorba Linda perhaps should not be surprising. For when Japanese wax nostalgic their imaginations often head out on a desert highway, into a mythical land they first ... ( read original story ...)