JapanBiZZ

Some 600 students, teachers and others at a high school in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, set a Guinness World Record on Saturday by creating a 10.48-sq.-meter mosaic made of incense sticks, a local signature item. The mosaic, which depicts an ancient Japanese ... ( read original story ...)

Tokyo: Japan has begun slaughtering about 210,000 farm birds in northern Hokkaido to contain another outbreak of a highly contagious strain of avian flu, an official said Sunday. It is the fifth mass cull this winter in Japan with hundreds of officials ... ( read original story ...)

The islands in the Western Pacific, called the Northern Territories in Japan and the Southern Kuriles in Russia ... "The issue won’t be solved if each of us just make their own case," Abe said at a news conference with Putin. "We need to make efforts ... ( read original story ...)

Putin dismissed the notion that he was only interested in getting economic benefits from Japan. "If anyone thinks we're interested only in developing economic links and a peace deal is of secondary importance, that's not the case," he told the same news ... ( read original story ...)

TOKYO - The recent outbreak of a highly virulent strain of bird flu in Japan has taken a toll on bird exhibits and events at zoos nationwide ahead of the Chinese zodiac Year of the Rooster in 2017, a survey by Kyodo News showed Sunday. According to the ... ( read original story ...)

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 ...)

This past August it was announced that for the first time ever surfing would be classed as an Olympic sport after being added to the Tokyo 2020 sports program. The news was celebrated by many surfers around the world who were thrilled that their favorite ... ( read original story ...)

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 ...)

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 ...)

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 ...)

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 ...)

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 ...)

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Russian President Vladimir ... “The issue won’t be solved if each of us just make their own case,” Abe told a joint news conference with Putin. “We need to make efforts toward a breakthrough so that we don ... ( read original story ...)

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says the business community ... of peace talks between the Syrian government and the opposition. Putin said Friday at a news conference in Tokyo that the negotiations would take place in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. ( read original story ...)