Tight Japanese labor market constricting growth

TOKYO -- Despite a tightening job market that is putting upward pressure on wages, growth in Japan remains stubbornly slow as a labor shortage constrains business activity while part-timers and temps hesitate to loosen their purse strings. The unemployment ... ( read original story ...)

JAPAN: Nikkei corrects -0.8% overnight as USD backs off vs Yen

10:33a APAC Closing Prices: #ASX 5864.90 -0.53% #NIKKEI 18909.26 -0.81% #HSI 24111.5.. 10:13a Toshiba offered $17.9 billion for chip unit by Silver Lake and Broadcom: Nikk.. 09:59a Asian Market Update: #Nikkei drops to over 7-week closing low as investors lo. ( read original story ...)

Japanese fleet returns from Antarctic hunt with 333 whales

Japan's whaling fleet returned home Friday after killing 333 whales in the Antarctic, achieving its goal for the second year under a revised research whaling program. The Fisheries Agency said the five-ship fleet finished its four-month expedition without ... ( read original story ...)

Understanding Japan's unique 'scrap and build' design culture

Sarah Ichioka, a Japanese-American urbanist currently based in Singapore and former director of the Architecture Foundation in London, explains how earthquakes and tsunamis forge a unique context: "This unstable environment has created a culture that ... ( read original story ...)

UPDATE 1-Japan Post Bank seeks approval to sell retail loans

TOKYO, March 31 Japan Post Bank Co Ltd, the country's biggest bank by assets, on Friday said it will seek regulatory permission to sell unsecured retail loans, as it hunts for higher returns in an environment of ultra-low interest rates. The bank aims to ... ( read original story ...)

BANK OF JAPAN : Main events scheduled for April 3-9

-- Japan Automobile Dealers Association to release new motor vehicle sales figures for fiscal 2016 and for March on car-model basis. -- Cabinet Office to release survey on consumer trends for March. -- Japan Automobile Importers Association to release ... ( read original story ...)

Things are looking up for Tokyo property

Sigrid Zialcita, Cushman & Wakefield, says low mortgage rates and a weak Japanese yen make the housing market in Japan attractive. Valuations are high. Here's what you can do ( read original story ...)

Why Is Japan Prone To Earthquakes And Tsunamis?

Japan is extremely vulnerable to earthquakes and tsunamis due to its location in the Pacific Ring of Fire. The “ring” is a horse-shoe shaped basin along the Pacific Ocean. About 90 percent of all seismic activity in the world takes place in this region. ( read original story ...)