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News On Japan
  • Japan's population falls for 1st time in 3 yrs
    Japan's population fell to 127,057,860 in the year to March 31, down for the first time in three years, largely because of an increase in the number of deaths amid the aging of the population, data released by the internal affairs ministry showed Saturday. The population was down 18,323, with the number of deaths exceeding births, translating into a record net drop, or natural decline, of 73,024, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications based on basic resident registers nationwide. (AP)

  • Mother arrested over dead toddlers says she wanted time for self
    A 23-year-old mother who was arrested Friday over the death of her two toddlers at their apartment in the city of Osaka after apparently neglecting them has told investigators that she wanted time for herself, police sources said Saturday. Sanae Shimomura was quoted as saying she had "got sick of feeding them and giving them a bath" since moving to the apartment in around January when she began working at a sex parlor after getting divorced in May last year. She was arrested on suspicion of abandoning the bodies of her 3-year- old daughter Sakurako and 1-year-old son Kaede in late June....

  • Tokyo death chamber to be opened to media
    The Justice Ministry will open the execution chamber at the Tokyo Detention House to the media as early as August, Justice Minister Keiko Chiba said Friday. Secretive practices surrounding the capital punishment system, including executions without prior notice to death-row inmates, their relatives and lawyers, have drawn criticism. Execution chambers have been closed to the public, including the media, but Chiba has ordered the Tokyo facility to allow media access to stir debate over the death penalty. (Japan Times)

  • 2 children found dead at Osaka apartment, mother arrested
    A 23-year-old woman was arrested Friday on suspicion of abandoning the bodies of her two children at her apartment in the city of Osaka, police said. Sanae Shimomura, who works at an adult entertainment shop, was quoted as telling investigators, "I got sick of feeding them and giving them a bath." She is suspected of leaving the bodies of her 3-year-old daughter and 1-year-old son late June, although she was aware that they were dead, according to the police. While there were no wounds on their bodies, they were thin, indicating they may have died of starvation,...

  • Truth Is out there in Japan's odd properties
    Ever wanted to live in an egg-shaped spaceship? How about an old Japanese thatched-roof house or a Beatles-themed apartment? You're not alone. In Japan, real estate agencies specializing in 'kawatta bukken' - or 'odd properties' - are emerging to meet demand for something different to the modern, cramped apartments usually found in Tokyo and Osaka. One such agency, B-Mania, is advertising an 87m2 house for rent in Tokyo's trendy Shibuya district that looks more suited to deep space travel than life in the city. The smooth, white, egg-shaped house ("from another dimension," the company says)...

  • Japan pursues moon station by 2020
    Japan is looking at sending a wheeled robot to the moon in five years and building a lunar base by 2020. The robots would set up solar panels to generate energy and have an observation device to gather geological samples. The materials would then be sent back to Earth by rocket. The robots would work from the lunar base at the moon's south pole from 2020. The plans are part of a year-long study backed by a panel of experts yesterday that will be recommended to Japan's Government. But it has been estimated the unmanned mission would cost...

  • 2 Japanese films nominated for Venice Film Festival's Golden Lion
    Two Japanese movies have been nominated for the 67th Venice Film Festival's Golden Lion award, organizers of the festival beginning Sept. 1 said Thursday. One is "Norwegian Wood" directed by Vietnamese-born French director Tran Anh Hung, based on Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami's bestseller of the same title. The other is "Ju-san nin no shikaku" (13 Assassins) directed by Japanese director Takashi Miike. The Venice Film Festival is regarded as one of the world's three major film festivals, and the winners of its main prizes are scheduled to be announced on Sept. 11, the closing day of...

  • Is this Japan's most influential person?
    The most influential person in Japan is filmmaker Takeshi Kitano, well-known abroad for his bleak gangster films and at home for his deadpan television personality, according to an Internet survey released by Sankei news Thursday. Mr. Kitano's crowning is representative of the rest of the top 100 ranking where entertainers overshadowed the country's political and business leaders. Naoto Kan didn't even play second fiddle to the movie director, maker of Zatoichi and Fireworks, or "Hana-bi" in Japanese, who also answers to nickname "Beat Takeshi". (Wall Street Journal)

  • Tokyo's 'oldest man' had been dead for 30 years
    He was thought to be the oldest man in Tokyo - but when officials went to congratulate Sogen Kato on his 111th birthday, they uncovered mummified skeletal remains lying in his bed. Mr Kato may have been dead for 30 years according to Japanese authorities. They grew suspicious when they went to honour Mr Kato at his address in Adachi ward, but his granddaughter told them he "doesn't want to see anybody". Police are now investigating the family on possible fraud charges. (BBC)

  • Does Japan still need 23-yr-old exchange program?
    Every year for the past two decades, legions of young Americans have descended upon Japan to teach English. This government-sponsored charm offensive was launched to counter anti-Japan sentiment in the United States and has since grown into one of the country's most successful displays of soft power. But faced with stagnant growth and a massive public debt, lawmakers are aggressively looking for ways to rein in spending. One of their targets is the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program, or JET. Versions of the JET program can be found in other countries. French Embassies around the world...




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Sunday, 01 August 2010