Japanese Stocks Hit 33-Year High

The Nikkei 225 stock average closed at a 33-year high Friday, capping an 18% rise this year. The last time the benchmark was at this level, phones couldn’t send text messages, George H.W. Bush was president and the Soviet Union was still a thing.

How Japan got its swagger back

Helped by an escape from decades of deflation, the stock market is at a 33-year high and the economy rebounding. But can this rally last? ( read original story ...)

How summer became Japan’s ‘spooky season’

For many cultures that celebrate Halloween, costumes and scary stories do not come around until October, when the air becomes cooler to make way for the winter. In Japan, however, these things arrive about three months earlier — and right in the scorching heat of summer. ( read original story ...)