Japanese public TV says staffer sent missile alert in error

... public broadcaster NHK says its erroneous alert of a North Korean missile fired at Japan was sent by a staff member who meant to file a different news flash. NHK denied any mechanical flaw and said Wednesday it is studying preventive measures. The ... ( read original story ...)

As Japan plans fiscal consolidation, Abe looks for loophole

TOKYO -- Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe plans to use hefty supplementary budgets over the next several years to ramp up economic stimulus even as a fiscal consolidation plan due out in June urges restraint. As the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy ... ( read original story ...)

American contractors swoop in as Japan boosts defense spending

TOKYO -- Japan plans to spend record sums on defense in fiscal 2018, but the gains will flow not to high-tech Japanese manufacturers but to US companies backed strongly by President Donald Trump. This has dismayed Japanese corporates who watched Mr Trump ... ( read original story ...)

Nikkei gains, with real estate shares in spotlight

TOKYO, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Japan’s Nikkei share average pushed higher on Tuesday, reaching for fresh multi-decade highs, with real estate and precision machinery shares gaining. The Nikkei was up 0.9 percent at 24,037.86 at the end of morning trade. ( read original story ...)

Bank of Japan Sticks to View on 2% Inflation

TOKYO—The Bank of Japan stuck to its view that inflation will likely reach 2% in two years and left policy unchanged Tuesday, but offered no new clues on whether it will join other global banks this year in dialing back its support for the economy. ( read original story ...)

Japan: A frontrunner to solve social challenges

Japan, in a sense, is far ahead of the rest of the world in realizing this new society, as it is compelled to do so. About 27.3 percent of Japan’s 127 million people were aged 65 or higher in 2016, with the ratio expected to reach 38.4 percent by 2065 ... ( read original story ...

Focus shifts to executions in Japan’s 1995 sarin gas attack

When they will be sent to the gallows, though, remains a mystery in Japan's highly secretive death penalty system. The Supreme Court rejected an appeal in the final case last week, so the condemned are no longer needed as potential trial witnesses. ( read original story ...)

Hundreds Hurry for Cover During Tokyo’s First Missile Drill

As a siren warned of an approaching North Korean missile, hundreds of people in central Tokyo hurried for cover in buildings ... The budget for the financial year starting in April includes funds for a new land-based missile defense system, which will ... ( read original story ...)

Halep beats pain, Osaka to reach quarter-finals

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - World number one Simona Halep shook off a sleepless night racked with ankle pain to sweep past rising Japanese star Naomi Osaka and into the Australian Open quarter-finals with a 6-3 6-2 victory on Monday. The scoreline did not ... ( read original story ...)