A light earthquake with magnitude 4.4 (ml/mb) was detected on Wednesday, 57 kilometers (35 miles) from Namie in Japan. The 4.4-magnitude earthquake has occurred at 23:46:58 / 11:46 pm (local time epicenter). The earthquake was roughly at a depth of 35.9 km ... ( read original story ...)
Japanese banks grapple with ultra-low interest rates
BANKS the world over are wrestling with low interest rates. Nowhere have they grappled for longer than in Japan. Although the Bank of Japan (BoJ) introduced negative rates only in January, almost 20 months after the European Central Bank, its rates have ... ( read original story ...)
Tokyo Olympics estimated to cost up to $15 billion
TOKYO — Organizers of the Tokyo Olympics estimate the total cost of hosting the 2020 Games will be between 1.6 and 1.8 trillion yen ($13 to $15 billion). The official cost estimate announced Dec. 21 was below the promised 2 trillion ($17 billion) cap ... ( read original story ...)
Japan's huge sex problem just hit a 117-year low
Ever since 1899 when Japan began collecting data on how many babies are born each year, the total has never fallen below 1 million. Until 2016. With a week left in the year, officials predict only 981,000 babies will have been born — a dip of 25,000 from ... ( read original story ...)
BRIEF-Toyobo to merge finance unit in Osaka
Dec 22 Toyobo Co Ltd : * Says it plans to merge its wholly owned finance unit, based in Osaka * Says effective April 1, 2017 Source text in Japanese:goo.gl/JiApRA Further company coverage: (Beijing Headline News) Next In Consumer Goods and Retail ( read original story ...)
Japan in record military spending amid Chinese tensions
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has signed off a record defence budget in the face of territorial disputes with China and North Korea's nuclear and missile threats. Spending on fighter jets and submarines are partly behind the increase of 1.4% to 5.13tn ... ( read original story ...)
Fire that spread to 140 buildings under control in Japan
The ramen shop was in a shopping arcade northwest of the city's main train station, the area crowded with old wooden houses, according to Kyodo News. Itoigawa is on the Japan Sea coast in Niigata prefecture, about 260 kilometres northwest of Tokyo. ( read original story ...)
Sapporo to join other cities in recognizing same-sex partnerships as marriages
SAPPORP – Sapporo aims to become the latest city in Japan to recognize same-sex partnerships as equivalent to marriage to address discrimination against sexual minorities, local officials said Thursday. The capital of Hokkaido plans to draw up guidelines ... ( read original story ...)
Thirty Australians selected for Sapporo 2017 Asian Winter Games
AOC: A team of thirty athletes have been selected to become Australia’s first event competitors at an Asian Winter Games when they hit the ice and snow in Sapporo in February. The team, which features some of the nation’s brightest winter prospects ... ( read original story ...)
Fire engulfs 140 houses on Japan's west coast
A fire engulfed about 140 houses, shops and other buildings in a Japanese coastal city northwest of Tokyo on Thursday, with early reports of just two people suffering injuries. The military was called in to help battle the blaze which started mid-morning ... ( read original story ...)
At least 140 buildings on fire in wind-swept blaze in Japan
TOKYO -- A restaurant fire whipped by high winds spread to at least 140 buildings Thursday in a small Japanese city on the Japan Sea coast. The blaze started in the morning at a ramen shop in Itoigawa city, Japan's Fire and Disaster Management Agency said. ( read original story ...)
Japan, US mark the return of military-used land to Okinawa
TOKYO — Japan and the U.S. marked a partial return of the land used by American troops to Okinawa in a ceremony Thursday on the southern island, but there was no sign the move was helping to lessen protests against the island's heavy U.S. military presence. ( read original story ...)
Japan approves record $1.1 trillion budget
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's cabinet has approved a ... promoting reform of medical and elderly care," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a news conference. A total of 5.98 trillion yen is earmarked for public and other works, such as ... ( read original story ...)
Fire engulfs 140 buildings in Niigata Prefecture, Japan
A fire whipped up by strong winds has burnt about 140 buildings in Niigata Prefecture on the Sea of Japan. Police said one person was taken to hospital after inhaling smoke. ( read original story ...)
Japan's 2016 births likely fell below 1 million for 1st time – media
Japanese media reported on Thursday. The total number of births is expected to be between 980,000 and 990,000 this year, reports in the Nikkei business daily and the Kyodo news agency said, down from slightly more than 1 million last year. Kyodo cited ... ( read original story ...)
Japan’s newborns projected to fall below 1 million for first time in 2016
The annual number of babies born in Japan slipped below 1 million in 2016 for the first time since records began, with the estimated figure for the year coming in at 981,000, according to government figures released Thursday. The number dropped an ... ( read original story ...)