Servicemembers sculpted a replica of the Navy’s iconic “Lone Sailor” statue out of snow for this year’s Sapporo Snow Festival in Hokkaido, Japan. An 11-person team from Naval Air Facility Misawa began the sculpture on Jan. 29 by chipping away at a ... ( read original story ...)
SoftBank prepares for telecoms IPO, CEO aims for this year
TOKYO (Reuters) - SoftBank Group Corp said on Wednesday that it wants to list its Japanese telecoms unit this year, a move towards completing its transformation from a domestic telecoms upstart into one of the world’s biggest technology investors. ( read original story ...)
Pence views Japan’s missile defense with North Korea on agenda for talks
TOKYO (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Mike Pence visited a Japanese Patriot PAC-3 missile battery, Japan's last line of defense against any possible North Korean missile strike, in Tokyo on Wednesday on his way to the Winter Olympics in South Korea. ( read original story ...)
Japanese Princess Mako’s wedding postponed until 2020
TOKYO — Japan's imperial palace says Princess Mako's wedding will be postponed two years because of insufficient preparations. Mako and her college classmate Kei Komuro announced their engagement last September and were to wed in November. The delay had ... ( read original story ...)
Fevered speculation as Japan princess postpones engagement
which was leading Wednesday's television news programmes. For weeks, gossip magazines have been delving into the finances of Komuro's mother, who is widowed. In late January, Japan's two biggest weeklies, each quoting an acquaintance of "a former fiance ... ( read original story ...)
Japan offers to buy 100,517 tonnes of food wheat via tender
TOKYO, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Japan's Ministry of Agriculture seeks to buy 100,517 tonnes of food-quality wheat from the United States, Canada and Australia in a regular tender that will close late on Thursday. Japan, the world's sixth-biggest wheat importer ... ( read original story ...)
Japan’s Princess Mako postpones wedding to commoner Kei Komuro
Japan's Princess Mako is postponing her wedding to her college ... "I am very sorry for causing a big trouble and extra burden to those who have sincerely helped our wedding," AFP news agency quoted the princess as saying. She will lose her title when ... ( read original story ...)
Stock market: Japan’s Nikkei 225 closes down almost 5% after huge losses on Dow Jones
Japan’s Nikkei 225 tumbled 4.7 per cent, marking its worst fall since November 2016 and taking it down to a four-month low. The US benchmark S&P 500 fell by more than 4 per cent while the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 4.6 per cent on Monday. ( read original story ...)
Feature: This Ain’t A Scene It’s An ARMS Race (At EVO Japan 2018)
Before fighting game regulars Tekken, Street Fighter and Smash Bros took to the stage at EVO Japan last weekend, a select group of a strong, committed and vocal community came together to advocate the inclusion of the newest title on the roster - Nintendo ... ( read original story ...)
Japan Leading Index On Tap For Wednesday
CANBERA (Alliance News) - Japan will on Wednesday see preliminary December results for its leading and coincident indexes, highlighting a light day for Asia-Pacific economic activity. The leading index is expected to show a score of 108.1, down from 108.3 ... ( read original story ...)
Frasers Hospitality invests US$250m to develop Tokyo serviced residence
SINGAPORE - Frasers Hospitality, part of Frasers Property Group, is investing US$250 million to develop a new serviced residence in the Ginza district in Tokyo. The property, to be launched under its millennial-focused hotel residence brand Capri by Fraser ... ( read original story ...)
The Bank of Japan Is Missing a Big Opportunity: Daniel Moss
(Bloomberg View) -- It’s almost as though there’s too much good news in Japan. So much that some investors are starting to expect the Bank of Japan to lay groundwork for easing off its stimulus – and the central bank is falling over itself to ... ( read original story ...)
The Latest: Local Tokyo 2020 organizers raise $2.9 billion
Organizers of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics say they're having no problems raising cash. International Olympic Committee member John Coates, head of the IOC coordination commission for Tokyo, says local organizers have raised $2.9 billion in national sponsorship ... ( read original story ...)
‘Extraordinary’ Tokyo sponsorship deals near $3 billion: IOC
PYEONGCHANG, Reuters (Reuters) - Record revenues from the Tokyo 2020 Olympics sponsorship program have edged closer to $3.0 billion with more partners expected, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on Wednesday. Tokyo has eclipsed all of its ... ( read original story ...)
Will Japan’s Open For Business Strategy Work?
Amid the buzz which surrounded the kick-off of the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, you would have been forgiven if you had missed Japanese Economy Minister Toshimitsu Motegi announcing on 23 January that the 11 remaining parties to the ... ( read original story ...)
Japan Net Bank tests blockchain with mijin and Hyperledger
Japan Net Bank, the country's first online bank, is using the mijin and Hyperledger blockchains to streamline its processes and make them more resilient. Fintech and cryptocurrency company Tech Bureau, which developed mijin blockchain announced the pilot ... ( read original story ...)