Japan, Help Us Wrestle the World's Problems

Leaders also discuss North Korea

(NEWSER) - Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda met with Chinese President Hu Jintao in Beijing today, and emerged with a number of deals—including one that will marginalize the US dollar in Asia. The countries agreed to promote direct yuan-yen trades, the Wall Street Journal reports; until now, the money has usually been converted to dollars first. Japan will also hold yuan in its typically dollar-dominated foreign-exchange reserves. More»

Driver's feces to fuel 600-mile jaunt

(NEWSER) - Calling it “clean” fuel would be a bit of a stretch: Japan’s top toilet maker has built a bike that runs on human excrement. TOTO’s Toilet Bike Neo has a seat that looks like a toilet, and it’s powered by bio-gas from the driver’s own poop, TreeHugger reports. Apparently, feces is pretty powerful stuff: Some have called it the “new coal,” and it will soon fuel a 600-mile Japanese tour. More»

Country's 'economic future' unchanged, says investing guru

(NEWSER) - There’s no need to panic about Japanese markets post-earthquake, says Warren Buffett: Such cataclysmic events often create a “buying opportunity,” he tells Reuters from South Korea. “It will take some time to rebuild,” but the market plunge “will not change the economic future of Japan.” Put it this way: “If I owned Japanese stocks, I would certainly not be selling them.” More»

Seven ways to donate and spread awareness

(NEWSER) - If the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan has you feeling helpless, turn to Mashable . The site rounds up seven ways you can do something—even if you’re broke:

• Like a page: For each person that “likes” the “Dog Bless You” Facebook page for search and rescue dogs, Explore.org will donate $1.
• Use Twitter hashtags: Hashtags to tweet or follow include #Jishin for general information, #Anpi to confirm the safety of people or places, #Hinan for evacuation info, and #311care for medical care info.

Investors cheer, but analysts worry

(NEWSER) - Japan has taken the extraordinary step of intervening in the currency market in an effort to drag down the soaring yen. Japanese monetary authorities bought dollars and sold trillions of yen, driving the yen down from 84.5 yen to the dollar to 82, the New York Times reports. Their goal: to protect Japanese exports, which have taken a beating this year as the yen hit a 15-year-high against the dollar. Japanese investors cheered, sending the Nikkei up 2.3%, according to Bloomberg . More»