Tokyo 2020 organizers have vowed to keep costs below $20 billion ... Koike also unveiled a plan to sell off the operating rights of the arena to a private company after the Games, Kyodo news agency reported. After taking office earlier this year, Koike ... ( read original story ...)
Tsunami alerts canceled following 7.9 earthquake off Papua New Guinea
past Japan, across the Bering Strait and down to the tip of South America. Quake zone Tremors in this part of the world are fairly common, and earlier this month a magnitude 7.8 earthquake also hit close to the Solomon Islands. That December 9 earthquake ... ( read original story ...)
Kansai towns gear up for the ‘Pork Barrel-ympics’
Oh, and of course some worthwhile international cultural exchange … we hope. View from Osaka is a monthly column that examines the latest news from a Kansai perspective. ( read original story ...)
Meeting Between Japan and Russia Ends With Stalemate on Disputed Islands
TOKYO — The Japanese news media gave breathless coverage to President Vladimir V. Putin’s two-day visit to Japan this week, training television cameras on the airport in Yamaguchi Prefecture where the Russian leader arrived more than two hours late. ( read original story ...)
Japan, EU set 2017 as the new deadline for free trade agreement: EU negotiator
as early as possible at the beginning of next year,” Petriccione said at a news conference in Tokyo. Both sides were aiming to broadly agree on the bilateral free trade deal by year-end. Japan is keen to advance its trade talks with the European Union ... ( read original story ...)
Japan's Idemitsu to buy 33 percent of Showa Shell by year-end: Nikkei
TOKYO Japanese refiner Idemitsu Kosan Co (5019.T) will acquire one-third of Showa Shell (5002.T) by the end of the year, and the anti-monopoly watchdog is expected to approve their merger proposal as early as next week, the Nikkei business daily said on ... ( read original story ...)
Japan, Russia Sign Economic Pacts; Stalemate on Territory
Joint economic development "would help foster trust toward a peace treaty," Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe after meetings in Japan over two days. Asked about developments in Syria ... ( read original story ...)