Japan’s monetary policy is becoming even more unorthodox on the path to normality. Governor Kazuo Ueda on Friday shocked global markets by pledging more flexibility in the Bank of Japan’s yield curve control scheme, ( read original story ...)
Cosplay, tattoo photos during sick leave get Osaka Pref. city worker suspended
A city employee in Osaka Prefecture has been suspended from work for two months after posting photos on Twitter showing her cosplaying at eve ... ( read original story ...)
Japan sends yen soaring and stocks tumbling with hint it could join rate-hiking party
Japan's central bank kept interest rates unchanged Friday despite rising inflation but hinted that it could gradually abandon years of ultra-cheap money, sending the yen soaring and stocks tumbling. ( read original story ...)
Japan raises alarm over China’s military, Russia ties and Taiwan tensions in new defense paper
The Japanese government stepped up its alarm over China's assertiveness, warning in a report issued Friday that the country faces its worst security threats since World War II as it plans to implement ... ( read original story ...)
Japan yields hit 9-year high, yen gains after BOJ delivers ‘stealth’ policy shift
Japan's benchmark bond yield soared to a nine-year high and the yen rallied after the Bank of Japan's decision on Friday to conduct its yield curve control (YCC) policy more flexibly. The BOJ ... ( read original story ...)
Tokyo markets see volatile day after BOJ tweaks ultraeasy policy
Tokyo's financial markets saw a volatile day Friday as investors digested the Bank of Japan's decision to tweak its ultraloose moneta ( read original story ...)
Sapporo victim had history of violence, mother of suspect says
Hiroko Tamura, 60, the mother of Runa Tamura, was arrested on a charge of collusion and told investigators her 29-year-old daughter had been victimized by the murdered man, identified as Hitoshi Ura, ... ( read original story ...)
Man found beheaded inside Japanese ‘love hotel’ in red light district, doctor and family arrested
A Japanese doctor was arrested along with his wife and daughter this week in connection with the grisly discovery of a decapitated body at a love hotel. Psychiatrist Osamu Tamura, 59, and his daughter ... ( read original story ...)
Japan Photo Journal: Fireworks fly for Osaka’s Tenjin Matsuri, wowing festivalgoers
Fireworks light up the sky and the Okawa River during the climactic "motomiya" celebration of the Tenjin Matsuri -- one of the country's three biggest festivals -- in Osaka's Miyakojima Ward on July ... ( read original story ...)
E. coli found in soybeans from China; Osaka issues sales ban, recall
The city health center here on July 25 imposed a sales ban and recall of products from a local food trading company after E. coli bacteria wa ... ( read original story ...)
Stock market today: Asian shares mixed, Tokyo falls as Bank of Japan adjusts bond purchase policy
Asian shares are mixed after the Bank of Japan adjusted its bond purchase policy but kept its negative benchmark interest rate unchanged. Tokyo and Sydney fell while Hong Kong and Shanghai ( read original story ...)
A massive Pokémon art event has taken over Yokohama this summer
Check out thousands of Pokémon cards and artworks scattered across Yokohama’s shopping centres for free ... ( read original story ...)
Japan raises alarm over China’s military, its Russia ties and Taiwan tensions in new defense paper
Japan has stepped up its alarm over China’s assertiveness in the region, its growing military ties to Russia and its claims on Taiwan in a defense paper that is the first under Tokyo’s new security strategy calling for a major military buildup. ( read original story ...)
Japan says North Korea threat more serious than ‘ever’
Japan said Friday that North Korea posed a more serious threat to its national security than "ever before", as nuclear-armed Pyongyang rattles its neighbours with repeated missile tests and belligerent rhetoric. ( read original story ...)
Japan welcomes thaw with South Korea in gloomy annual security assessment
Japan welcomed a thaw in relations with South Korea in its annual defence paper on Friday but otherwise offered a gloomy assessment of the threat of China's territorial ambitions, its security partnership with Russia and a belligerent North Korea. ( read original story ...)
Osaka on a Budget: 5 Cheap Eats in Dotonbori
Takoyaki (fried octopus balls) are possibly the most famous of Osaka’s many signature dishes. Dotonbori hosts dozens, perhaps hundreds, of stalls for the snack—often distinguished by their giant 3D ... ( read original story ...)