Tokyo cuts estimated tab for 2020 Olympics to $12 billion

The latest price tag for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics has been trimmed slightly, but is still nearly twice the initial estimate even after a major cost-cutting effort. The organizers said Friday that the event will cost a total 1.35 trillion yen ($11.9 billion). ( read original story ...)

Tokyo 2020 unveils budget cuts

Tokyo 2020 organisers Friday unveiled a "significant" cut in their budget for hosting the games, as the city comes under pressure to keep a lid on spiralling costs. The overall games budget now stands at a total of 1.35 trillion yen ($12.6 billion ... ( read original story ...)

Ando leads Osaka Marathon entries | iaaf.org

PDF En Anti-Doping Therapeutic Use Exemptions IAAF Position Statement of Platelet-Derived Preparation PDF En Organisers of the Osaka Women’s Marathon have announced their elite field for the IAAF Gold Label road race on 28 January. Yuka Ando leads a ... ( read original story ...)

Tokyo stocks open flat ahead of holidays

who account for a large portion of Tokyo trade, are absent from trade ahead of the Christmas holidays," said SBI Securities in a commentary. The news that Catalan separatists won a snap regional poll Thursday in Spain did not immediately upset the foreign ... ( read original story ...)

Japan Cabinet OKs record $46 bln defense budget

(Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP, File) Abe has called North Korean missile threat a "national crisis" for Japan, luring public support for greater military roles and equipment that used to be taboo under Japan's strictly self-defense ... ( read original story ...)

Japan Cabinet OKs record US$46 billion defence budget

TOKYO -- Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Cabinet on Friday approved Japan's biggest 5.19 trillion yen (US$46 billion) defence budget to bolster ballistic missile defence capability amid escalating threats from North Korea. Under the plan endorsed Friday ... ( read original story ...)

Japan unveils record defence budget against N. Korea threat

Japan's defence budget will swell to a record $46 billion for the next fiscal year, the government said Friday, as the nation shores up its missile shield against the threat posed by North Korea. The defence spending was part of a $860-billion national ... ( read original story ...)

Osaka Gas : Considering Electricity Price Cut

Osaka Gas Co. President Takehiro Honjo said his company is considering lowering retail electricity prices as early as next spring to counter a planned markdown by Kansai Electric Power Co. We constantly consider diversifying our price plans and revise the ... ( read original story ...)

AP PHOTOS: Tokyo baby panda melts hearts of fans in debut

TOKYO (AP) — Tokyo's new baby panda debuted formally Tuesday, immediately melting the hearts of hundreds of lucky fans who managed to obtain zoo tickets, many wearing panda-themed clothes. Xiang Xiang, which means fragrance in Chinese, was born in June ... ( read original story ...)

Japan approves missile defence system amid North Korean threat

TOKYO — Japan’s Cabinet on Tuesday approved a plan to purchase a set of costly land-based U.S. missile combat systems to increase the country’s defence capabilities amid escalating threats from North Korea. The approval will allow the Defence ... ( read original story ...)