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Started by S Goldstein; Last updated Feb 27, 08 3:39 AM CST by Imperator | View history

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Japan

News from the land that got lost in translation

Stories

Stories 41 - 60 of 176

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May 2008
- Polly Wanna Get Home: Here's My Address
  
  BBC | May 23, 08 4:11 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A vet in Japan was stumped on how to reunite a lost parrot with its owners—until the brainy bird told him his address and his owner's name. The well-trained African gray has been safely reunited with his human family, the BBC reports. The bird kept mum in police custody but got chatty when it was sent to an animal clinic, calling out greetings and even belting out a few hit tunes. More »
- Hello, China: Meet Japan's New Envoy
  
  Associated Press | May 19, 08 8:00 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Hello Kitty has been tapped as Japan’s cultural envoy to China, the AP reports. Japan’s ministry of tourism chose the über-popular icon to represent the country in its drive to attract 10 million annual visitors to the islands. Last year, tourists from China and Hong Kong made up 16.5% of Japan's 8.35 million overseas visitors. More »
- Japan's Arcades Fall Before Mighty Wii
  
  Reuters | May 19, 08 4:00 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Japan’s arcades are in trouble, Reuters reports. For years, they’ve been immune to the ravages plaguing arcades elsewhere, but the $6.9 billion industry has met its match in the Nintendo Wii. A new generation of game consoles, coupled with an explosion of high-end TVs, has made the arcade experience easy to recreate at home—leading to big store closings at major chains. More »
- Okinawa Marine Gets 4 Years for Teen Sex Abuse
  
  Reuters | May 16, 08 8:40 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The US marine accused of raping a 14-year-old Japanese girl was sentenced by court martial today to four years in prison, after pleading guilty to abusive sexual conduct, Reuters reports. The other charges against 38-year-old Sgt. Tyrone Hadnott, including rape and kidnapping, were dropped. With his plea deal, Hadnott will serve only three of the four years. He was dishonorably discharged. More »
- Is This Man the Next Dice-K?
  
  ESPN | May 14, 08 12:52 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Japan's best pitcher is a towering 21-year-old named Yu Darvish, and the biggest question about his career is not if he will come to the US, but when, writes ESPN. With Japanese baseball strides ahead of the American institution in terms of commercialism, his team may well offer him up before his free agency—but is that good for Japan? More »
- Forget US Tourists: Hawaii Lures Euros
  
  Wall Street Journal | May 13, 08 9:08 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Domestic tourism is slowing down in the US as economic worries mount, but Hawaii appears to be surfing a wave of diversification through the downturn, the Wall Street Journal reports. Numbers of visitors from Canada, Europe, and some East Asian countries are picking up and offsetting a drop in tourists from Japan and the eastern US. More »
- Machines Join Japanese Anti-Smoking Effort
  
  Reuters | May 12, 08 4:25 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - New face-scanning software may help Japanese vending machines decide who can buy cigarettes and who can't, Reuters reports. The system would look for wrinkles and saggy skin to identify customers over the legal smoking age of 20. As of July, vendors are on the hook for checking ID, and the new technology may stop teen smokers from using friends' proof of age. More »
- Japan Balks at $1M Panda Price Tag
  
  Wall Street Journal | May 9, 08 9:40 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Hu Jintao is making the first visit to Japan by a Chinese president in 10 years, and he's looking to solidify the newly amicable relationship with an offering of two giant pandas. But the rare animals aren't a gift, exactly: they're a loan, and they come at a yearly cost of $1 million apiece. The high price has forced the panda-loving Japanese to rethink the offer, writes the Wall Street Journal . More »
- Marine Guilty of Sex 'Misconduct' in Hiroshima
  
  CNN | May 9, 08 5:23 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A US Marine was convicted of "wrongful sexual misconduct" with a 19-year-old Japanese woman, but was acquitted of the more serious charge of rape, reports CNN. The Marine, 20, is one of four accused of attacking the woman in Hiroshima. The case was heard by an American military court amid mounting anger over the US military presence in Japan after Japanese authorities decided not to press charges. More »
- Chinese Prez Back in Tokyo After Decade Without Visit
  
  BBC | May 6, 08 2:46 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Chinese President Hu Jintao today began a five-day trip to Japan, where he is expected to discuss a new panda for a popular zoo—and play ping-pong with Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, the BBC reports. The visit is the first by a Chinese president in a decade, and patching up relations after a rocky period will be the main theme. More »
- In Japan, Elders Outnumber Kids
  
  Washington Post | May 6, 08 1:16 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Monday was Children’s Day in Japan, but the holiday has a bitter irony in a land where the number of children has been waning for 27 years. Kids account for only 13.5% of Japan’s population, while the elderly make up 22%, the Washington Post reports. More »
- Japanese Fight Over Detoxed Delicacy
  
  New York Times | May 4, 08 7:14 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - One of Japan's prized delicacies is having an identity crisis: fugu, the pricey puffer fish that's poisonous unless prepared correctly, now has a farmed cousin that's harmless, the New York Times reports. But gourmands looking forward to eating fugu liver—the most delicious and potentially deadly part of the fish—are being thwarted by the fugu industry, which is fighting to keep a ban on the livers, even from detoxed variety. More »
- World's Best Whiskey Comes From... Japan?
  
  Times (UK) | May 2, 08 8:56 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - For years, Japanese whiskey has struggled for respect and praise; now, it’s on top of the world. A brand called "Yoichi 20 years old" has been voted the best whiskey in the world by Whiskey Magazine , the industry’s main publication. No non-Scottish spirit has ever won before, the Times of London reports, but judges fell for Yoichi’s “explosive aroma” and “amazing mix of big smoke and sweet blackcurrant.” More »
April 2008
- Japan Rebuilds Economic Walls
  
  Wall Street Journal | Apr 30, 08 1:30 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Once, Japan was one of the world’s most closed economies, with near-impregnable barriers guarding against foreign investors. It's moving back in that direction, the Wall Street Journal reports. Companies are buying stakes in each other to complicate international takeover bids, and resurrecting the “poison pill” strategy America pioneered in the 1980s. The government, meanwhile, is barring foreign investment in key industries. More »
- Japan's Oldest Giant Panda Dies
  
  Associated Press | Apr 30, 08 9:00 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Ling Ling, the undisputed star of the Tokyo Zoo and a symbol of friendship between Japan and China, died today of heart failure, the AP reports. At 22—the equivalent of 70 human years—the giant panda was Japan’s oldest, and the fifth-oldest in the world. Ling Ling had been eating poorly since August, suffering from kidney and heart problems. He'd been withdrawn from public view just one day when he was found dead. More »
- Broken Tech Becomes Gold Mine, Literally
  
  Reuters | Apr 28, 08 2:03 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - No matter how broken it is, your old cell phone is still valuable to some people. That’s because it, like most electronics, is loaded with copper, iridium, gold, and other commodities that are becoming more expensive by the day. “To some it's just a mountain of garbage, but for others it's a gold mine," one recycling-plant manager tells Reuters. More »