Nikkei hits 26-year high; Fast Retailing top contributor

The broader Topix ended 0.5 per cent higher at 1,889.29, its highest closing level since June 1991. TOKYO: Japan's Nikkei share average hit a 26-year high on Tuesday, helped by gains on Wall Street during a Japanese holiday, while index heavyweight Fast ... ( read original story ...)

Work 50 minutes for meal at Tokyo eatery

TOKYO • No money to pay for a meal? No problem - just work for 50 minutes. That is the recipe to combat hunger for Ms Sekai Kobayashi, 33, a former engineer who will not turn away penniless customers at her restaurant Mirai Shokudo (translated as Future ... ( read original story ...)

Tokyo stocks extend gains at open

In Tokyo, exporters were broadly higher, with Sony gaining 0.88 percent to 5,512 yen and Toyota trading up 0.26 percent at 7,572 yen. Banks were also higher, with Mitsubishi UFJ 0.92 percent higher at 43,000 yen and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial rising 1.08 ... ( read original story ...)

Osaka’s funky Ferris wheel reopens for first time in 9 years

(CNN) -- Most visitors to Osaka, Japan, have seen the bright yellow oblong-shaped Ferris wheel next to the famous Glico Man Sign billboard along the Dotonbori River. Few realize it's an actual ride, often mistaking it for just another wild Osaka decoration. ( read original story ...)

Japan Earthquake Today 2018 Strikes South of Tokyo

ST LOUIS (LALATE) – A Japan earthquake today 2018 has struck off the coast south of Tokyo. The Japan earthquake today is the first major quake to strike Japan this year. The Japan earthquake today January 5, 2018 began moments ago. It was a 4.5 magnitude ... ( read original story ...)

Value of Japan’s midcap stocks surged 30% in 2017

TOKYO -- Japan's midcap stocks are catching the eye of investors hoping that emerging companies can turn proprietary technology and unique business models into robust profit growth. Nikkei calculated the aggregate market capitalization of roughly 1,000 ... ( read original story ...)

Japan to set up national supplementary power capacity market

TOKYO -- Four of Japan's biggest utilities plan to jointly establish a nationwide marketplace for supplementary power to do away with the costly and fragmented auctioning system they have been using all these years. The group plans to get other regional ... ( read original story ...)

Nikkei probes 26-year highs, Toshiba gains

Outperforming sectors also included iron and steel , up 2 per cent, non-ferrous metal, up 1.9 per cent,. TOKYO: Japan's Nikkei share average extended the previous session's gains on Friday, probing 26-year highs as banking and brokerage firms rose ... ( read original story ...)

Japan’s love of cash is a costly business

TOKYO -- If you go out for drinks with your colleagues in Japan, chances are that you end up doing warikan at the end of the night. And the warikan, or the splitting of the bill evenly, is most likely done in cash despite almost everyone having plastic and ... ( read original story ...)

30 Osaka University entrance exam takers wrongly failed

Thirty people who would have passed entrance exams to Osaka University in February 2017 were instead considered to have failed due to a mistake in a physics question and how it was marked, the university has announced. Osaka University was later twice told ... ( read original story ...)

Japan succession crisis could rip links out of auto supply chain

TOKYO -- Japanese automakers and major parts manufacturers are dealing with one headache after another. "The chief of a supplier has grown old and is less motivated, leading to product quality problems," one industry insider lamented. Another complained of ... ( read original story ...)