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NEWS ABOUT: Japan

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Japanese PM Definitely Not Afraid of Ghosts

Cabinet says mansion not haunted ... but he still hasn't moved in

(Newser) - Here's a press release you don't have to issue every day. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe still hasn't moved into his official residence in Tokyo, and his Cabinet today released a formal statement assuring the public that it wasn't because the place is haunted, the AFP... More »

Japanese Politician: WWII Sex Slaves Were 'Necessary'

Says soldiers needed them to rest

(Newser) - Controversial Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto has defended Japan's World War II policy of forcing women to have sex with troops as a necessity of war, the BBC reports. "In the circumstances in which bullets are flying like rain and wind, the soldiers are running around at the risk... More »

Have Scientists Just Found the 'Brazilian Atlantis'?

They detect what could be lost part of continent off Brazil

(Newser) - It's hard not to take notice when the word "Atlantis" is uttered, and though the storied island hasn't yet been found, researchers now say they may have discovered what could be the "Brazilian Atlantis." A manned Japanese submersible has taken video of a huge granite... More »

Okinawa Dragged Into China-Japan Island Battle

Newspaper calls for 'reconsideration' of Ryukyu islands' ownership

(Newser) - China and Japan are already locked in a territorial dispute over one group of Japanese-controlled islands—the Senkakus—and now the Middle Kingdom appears to be eying another. An editorial published today in the People's Daily newspaper, widely considered a Chinese government mouthpiece, calls for a "reconsideration" of... More »

Japan, Russia Move to ... End WWII

Putin, Abe say it's time to finally settle Kuril Islands dispute

(Newser) - Japan and Russia have decided to have another stab at forging a peace treaty that will bring World War II to an official end. Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Japanese PM Shinzo Abe at the Kremlin yesterday, and the first top-level summit between the countries in about a decade... More »

Fukushima Workers Battle Radioactive Flood

Experts warn plant is still accident-prone

(Newser) - More than two years after a quake and tsunami crippled Japan's Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, workers are battling yet another crisis, the New York Times finds. Huge amounts of groundwater have been pouring into the plant, leaving workers struggling to contain a flood of 75 gallons of radioactive water... More »

Kerry Wants Korea Talks; North Disses 'Crafty Trick'

US vows to defend Japan, says Pyongyang must abide by previous nuke deals

(Newser) - John Kerry is on the ground today in Japan, continuing his Asian tour and vowing that North Korea will find "ready partners" in new talks with the United States, even as Pyongyang continues to seethe. Kerry and Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida called on the North to first honor its... More »

North Korea to Japan: You're First

Pyongyang warns it could nuke Tokyo over the 'slightest move'

(Newser) - After threatening the United States and South Korea with nuclear strikes, North Korea nearly forgot its other favorite target—Japan. That oversight has been corrected now, though, as the Korean Central News Agency today warned that Tokyo will be its first target if Japan keeps up its "hostile posture"... More »

Japan Deploys Defenses Amid Korea Missile Fears

N. Koreans fail to show up at Kaesong complex

(Newser) - Japan, fearing a possible North Korean missile launch, has set up missile defense batteries at several sites in Tokyo. The deployment comes amid warnings that Pyongyang may be preparing to launch missiles as soon as Wednesday , the New York Times reports. North Korea has threatened to attack American military bases... More »

Fukushima Watchdog Doing Crummy Job: Experts

Regulators routinely approve TEPCO plans: investigators

(Newser) - Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority was launched in September to keep a closer watch on the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi plant and TEPCO's work there—but what was supposed to be a more independent, tougher regulator is simply running "the same old routine," says an investigator. The NRA... More »

Fukushima Plant's Cooling System Fails—Again

Second cooling glitch in a month

(AP) - Japanese nuclear regulators say the cooling system has failed for a storage pool for fuel at one of the reactors at the tsunami-damaged nuclear plant in the northeast. There was no immediate danger from the failure, the second at the plant in a month. A spokesman for the Nuclear Regulation... More »

New Ambassador to Japan: Caroline Kennedy

She was big Obama backer in 2008

(Newser) - Japan is getting another big-name ambassador from the US. Caroline Kennedy's name had been floated for the post; now she's got the job, the Washington Post reports. She follows in a line of famous ambassadors to the island nation, including former VP Walter Mondale and former Senate majority... More »

Washington Starts Dismantling Tsunami Dock

185-ton structures washed ashore from Japan

(Newser) - The 2011 Japanese tsunami washed an estimated 5 million tons of debris into the ocean, and two years later, one small chunk of that is being dismantled in Washington state. Workers have begun taking apart a 185-ton, 65-foot-long dock that washed ashore in a hard-to-reach area of Olympic National Park,... More »

North Korea Threatens US Bases in Guam, Japan

They're within 'striking range,' says the North

(Newser) - After the US announced it's flying B-52 bombers over South Korea, the North is issuing its latest warning: US military bases in Guam and Japan are in its "striking range." Said the country's military: "The US should not forget that the Andersen Air Force Base... More »

In a First, Japan Turns 'Fire Ice' Into Natural Gas

Underwater methane hydrates could be a huge energy find

(Newser) - The quest to mine frozen methane has taken a big step forward—Japanese officials say their researchers have, for the first time anywhere, extracted gas from an underwater deposit of methane hydrate, reports the BBC . (Methane hydrates are also known as "fire ice," notes the Washington Post .)... More »

Japan Marks 2 Years Since Quake, Tsunami

300K still displaced as recovery continues

(Newser) - Japan fell silent today to mark the second anniversary of the country's worst natural disaster in living memory, an earthquake and subsequent tsunami that left 19,000 people dead or missing and devastated large areas along its northeast coast. "I pray that the peaceful lives of those affected... More »

US Can Fend Off N. Korea Attack: White House

But South Korea, Japan may have more to worry about

(Newser) - The White House's take on North Korea's threats against the US? Pshaw. The US is "fully capable of defending against" a North Korean ballistic missile attack, said press secretary Jay Carney yesterday. Though it's still in development, a US missile defense system known as the Ground-Based... More »

This Giant Isopod Hasn't Eaten in More Than 4 Years

Keepers are concerned about 'No. 1'

(Newser) - A giant isopod at Japan's Toba Aquarium apparently enjoyed the horse mackerel he was fed on Jan. 2, 2009—he downed it in just five minutes and hasn't taken another bite since. Feb. 10 marked 1,500 days since the creature, known simply as No. 1, ingested any... More »

2 US Sailors Found Guilty in Japan Rape

Christopher Browning sentenced to decade in prison

(Newser) - A Japanese court today convicted a pair of US Navy sailors in the rape and robbery of a young woman in an Okinawa parking lot, the AP reports. Seaman Christopher Browning, 24, accused of robbery after the rape, was sentenced to 10 years in prison, while Petty Officer 3rd Class... More »

Japan to Fire Back Up Its Nuclear Plants

PM says new standards could come as soon as July

(Newser) - Japan isn't going to let one catastrophic meltdown scare it off of nuclear power forever. The country will restart its idled reactors later this year after implementing new safety guidelines, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told parliament today. Abe didn't say when the first reactor would come online, but... More »

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