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Japanese scientists said Friday they had derived stem cells from wisdom teeth, opening another way to study deadly diseases without the ethical controversy of using embryos... (AFP articles cannot be republished)Click here for the article.

Monkey triggers Tokyo subway chaos By Kyung Lah CNN TOKYO, Japan (CNN) -- A monkey stopped morning commuters in their tracks at one of Tokyo's busiest subway stations this week, as it curiously peered down at them from its perch atop the departures and arrivals board. Monday marked the third time a monkey has been spotted in the capital this month -- surprising, because the beasts usually live in the mountains and hills outside Tokyo, more than a two-hour train ride away from the city center.

The athletes of the world might currently be competing for titles in Beijing, but it was in northeast China where the battle for world supremacy was played out one century ago. Manchuria, a strategic region of Asia bordering Mongolia, Russia and Korea, was the site of a war between two fledgling superpowers in 1905, whose outcome set history on a different course. The short, little-known Russo-Japanese War had far-reaching effects, playing a part in turning Russia into a Communist nation and, with its victory, Japan into the decisive leader in the East at the time.

Cuba Says Can't Pay For Japan Imports On Time : Nikkei V. Phani Kumar HONG KONG -- The Central Bank of Cuba informed Japan's Nippon Export and Investment Insurance that it couldn't pay for Japanese imports by the agreed upon dates, the Nikkei business daily reported Monday. "This isn't a problem specific to this bank. Foreign exchange reserves for settling trade accounts are in short supply in Cuba," said an offical at the Cuban central bank, according to the report.

TOKYO - Japanese World War II leader Hideki Tojo wanted to keep fighting even after U.S. atomic bombs destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, accusing surrender proponents of being "frightened," a newly released diary reveals. Excerpts from the approximately 20 pages written by Tojo in the final days of the war and held by the National Archives of Japan were published for the first time in several newspapers Tuesday. "The notes show Tojo kept his died-in-the-wool militarist mentality until the very end," said Kazufumi Takayama, the archives curator, who confirmed the accuracy of the published excerpts. "They are extremely valuable."

CANTON’S TOLL 200 IN 2 DAYS OF RAIDS Japanese Planes Again Cause Havoc – Chinese resisting Bitterly in Yangtze Area REPORT 1,000 FOES SLAIN Tokyo Moves 20,000 Men to Reinforce Drives From the Kiukiang Section By The Associated Press. CANTON, China, Aug. 9.-The Fifth Japanese Naval Squadron, recently assigned to harass the South China coast, today carried out the second installment of its threatened ten-day schedule of aerial offensive on Kwangtung Province. Abut 200 persons were killed in Canton, more than 300 were injured and scores were missing since the attacks started yesterday. The count by days, thus far: Monday...

THE WHITE HOUSE Washington, D.C.IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- August 6, 1945STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES Sixteen hours ago an American airplane dropped one bomb on Hiroshima, an important Japanese Army base. That bomb had more power than 20,000 tons of T.N.T. It had more than two thousand times the blast power of the British "Grand Slam" which is the largest bomb ever yet used in the history of warfare. It is an atomic bomb. It is a harnessing of the basic power of the universe. The force from which the sun draws its power has been loosed against...

TOKYO - JAPANESE Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura berated his subordinates on Saturday for failing to notify him of a radioactive leak from a US nuclear submarine, saying he learnt of the incident on television." The communication glitch came the same day that Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda installed a new cabinet to revive sagging public support for his government. 'This (Saturday) morning I was watching CNN, and even if I don't understand English that well I saw that something strange was going on', Mr Komura, who retained the post in the new cabinet, told a news conference. 'I therefore contacted (his...

Devotees Are Mainly Young Men, Who Dress Like the Characters -- in Miniskirts By HIROKO TABUCHI July 30, 2008; Page A1 WASHIMIYA, Japan -- For many years, Washinomiya Shrine has been a quiet place of worship, attracting just a trickle of sightseers to this sleepy town outside Tokyo. Then last summer, priests started noticing a new kind of visitor. Young men, some clad in miniskirts, stockings and pastel-colored wigs, were lining up for photos at the shrine's vermilion gate. Over the big New Year's holiday in January, nearly 300,000 such visitors -- almost 10 times the town's population -- showed...

There is another reason, however, that Chinese people almost seem to automatically express their hate for the Japanese when the subject is broached. State controlled television in China has for many years now been showing programs that constantly remind the Chinese of the horrors perpetrated upon them by the Japanese. According to some of my Chinese friends, the television channels in China are full of programs and movies that allow the Chinese to at least partly relive the Japanese incursion into China. I have had a chance to watch a few of these programs, and I am always shocked by...

On July 21, 1944 American forces landed on the coral strewn beaches of Guam against fierce Japanese resistance. It was a long awaited and much prayed for day for the suffering Chomorran peoples, who had been brutally repressed by the Japanese occupation forces. It was also poignant due to Guam being the first US territory lost to the Japanese during the dark days of December 1941 to be taken back. The Japanese were known for brutal treatment of conquered peoples, but there was special brutality for the Chamorrans who were American citizens. As many as a dozen Guamanians were beheaded...

FARNBOROUGH 2008: Why the Eagle stays near the top perch More than a quarter-of-a-century after it first flew and 24 years after its first Farnborough appearance, the F-15 Eagle is still sitting near the top of the fighter tree. Still in service with the USAF and continuing to play a vital front-line role with the air forces of Israel, Japan, Saudi Arabia and South Korea, the F-15 is winning orders in competition with newer fighters. Boeing remains confident of future sales and is convinced it can keep its production line open. It says the F-15 offers a range and payload...

<p>A strong earthquake struck off Japan's eastern coast Saturday, shaking buildings and prompting a tsunami warning, witnesses and meteorological agencies said.</p> <p>There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage after the 6.6 magnitude quake, Japan's Meteorological Agency said.</p> <p>The U.S. Geological Survey put the strength of the initial temblor at 7.0 and said it was followed by a 5.3 aftershock.</p>

Seventy-seven percent of people in Japan think that the statute of limitations on murders should be abolished, a Mainichi poll has found.

Kajima's floor-by-floor slow demolition is one of those rare things in life that leaves you truly speechless, mouth wide-open, and pinching yourself to be sure this is real while you mutter "what the frak." After all, seeing the video of a 20-floor building submerging into the asphalt as if it was liquid is something that belongs to a sci-fi movie. The stunning process—called daruma-otoshi—is not only almost surrealistic but it helps to reduce the environmental impact. Seriously, I can watch this for hours: YouTube Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwf9LoS9Xt8 How do they do it? First they replace the support pillars at ground level...

The President is attendig his last G8 meeting of his Presidency which is being held in lakeside resort of Toyako on Japan's northern main island of Hokkaido. Pray for President Bush -- Day 2854

The President delivered his weekly radio address today from Washington. The topic: Independence Day. The President and Mrs. Bush departed D.C. around noon today for Japan. President Bush will attend his final Group of Eight summit (G-8) on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido from July 6-9.

A USB flash drive containing troop deployment maps used in Japan-U.S. military exercises, which had reportedly been lost by a Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) member, was actually stolen and dumped by another member, the force has admitted. The 33-year-old captain stole the memory stick along with 2,000 yen in cash and a 10,000-yen airline coupon for shareholders from a colleague in mid-February last year. The GSDF announced on May 24 last year that it had suspended the captain for 60 days for stealing the money and coupon, although it covered up the theft of the USB flash drive. Defense Minister...

Japan's second most dubiously famous technological predilection (behind panty-vending machines) is its highfalutin' toilets, which warm, wash, blow dry and deodorize your bum, just to cover the basics. Japan is also well regarded for taking the lead on going green—average energy consumption per person is half ours. Tragically, the Japanese desire for a pampered and squeaky clean butthole is killing that ethos—and the planet. Super-deluxe-awesome-o toilets are always on, constantly sipping power—they now make up four percent of household energy consumption, more than dishwashers or clothes dryers. And they're in 68 percent of homes. One expert says it's the Japanese...

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's biggest astronomical observatories are teaming up for an unprecedented quest to find out whether there is life in outer space. The project, led by Japanese astronomers, will bring together a dozen or more observatories from all over the country to study one star that researchers see as a potential home to an extraterrestrial civilization. "Everyone wonders at least once in their lifetime whether space is infinite and whether aliens really do exist," said Shinya Narusawa, chief researcher at Nishi-Harima Astronomical Observatory in western Japan. The search for aliens and UFOs is not new to Japan. Last...

Japanese professionals in their thirties are killing themselves at unprecedented rates, as the nation struggles with a runaway suicide epidemic. Newly published figures show that 30,093 people took their own lives in 2007 — a 2.9 per cent increase in a year — leaving the country as the most suicide-prone anywhere in the developed world and rendering government efforts to combat the problem a failure. Suicide rates remained highest among men — at 71 per cent of the total — and very high among Japan’s rising population of over-60s. Geographically, most suicides took place in the prefecture of Yamanashi, where...

Japan and China have agreed to jointly develop part of the gas deposits in the East China Sea, a major breakthrough in a long-standing dispute between the two countries, the Japanese government announced Wednesday. Tokyo and Beijing will jointly explore undersea gas deposits at two of the main potential sites in disputed areas of the East China Sea, their first concrete agreement on the ownership and exploration rights to the undersea resources, the Foreign Ministry said. The agreement is part of recent efforts by the two countries to boost relations, which have warmed considerably in the past two years. Control...

She's big-busted, petite, very friendly and she runs on batteries.

Japan hangs 3 convicted murderers By MARI YAMAGUCHI, Associated Press writer 9 minutes ago A serial killer who mutilated the bodies of four young girls and reportedly drank the blood of one of his victims was among three convicted murderers executed in Japan on Tuesday for crimes an official called indescribably cruel. Tsutomu Miyazaki, 45, whose rash of grisly killings in the late 1980s triggered calls for tighter restrictions on violent pornographic videos, was hanged at a detention center in Tokyo, Justice Minister Kunio Hatoyama said. Miyazaki burned the body of one 4-year-old and left her bones on her parents'...

TOKYO (AFP) — Japan on Tuesday executed three people including notorious serial killer Tsutomu Miyazaki, a fetishist convicted of murdering four little girls and eating some of their bodies, officials said. Miyazaki, 45, was nicknamed the "killer nerd" for his obsession with sexual cartoons and pornography. But defence lawyers contended he was mentally ill and could not be held fully responsible for his actions. Japan is the only major industrialised nation other than the United States to apply the death penalty and has been stepping up the pace of executions, which enjoy wide public support. "We are carrying out executions...

The burst of the bubble in 1990 shook up Japan's confidence in the efficacy of its old ways. Western ideas and brands have flowed into the breach, profoundly altering the Japanese society. The bad has come with the good. Freedom to compete has, for the first time since the 1930s, created winners and losers. More personal freedom has given young Japanese options of living as para (2) in a make-believe world of manga and anime comics, or raising $2000 designer chihuahuas instead of children. Consumerism has replaced citizenism. Standards have been lowered in areas ranging from public education to manners...

We just had a very strong earthquake which fiercely rocked and rolled the main Island of Honshu in Japan. TV broke with news on all channels IN ADVANCE OF EARTHQUAKE, warning people to "get ready". 8:43 a.m. local time Saturday (just about 10 minutes ago). 7:43 p.m. Friday Eastern Time. Then, sure enough, the long, rolling shaking began, and increased in intensity. I estimate the shaking to have gone on for at least 45 seconds. It hit here at 8:45 a.m. It literally gave us 2 minutes to prepare. I have never experienced an advance earthquake warning. The epicenter is...

Jun. 13 - Japanese company Genepax presents its eco-friendly car that runs on nothing but water. The car has an energy generator that extracts hydrogen from water that is poured into the car's tank. The generator then releases electrons that produce electric power to run the car. Genepax, the company that invented the technology, aims to collaborate with Japanese manufacturers to mass produce it.

Police are considering outlawing the possession of daggers after one was used in a deadly stabbing spree in the Akihabara district of Tokyo on Sunday, officials said. The National Police Agency (NPA) is set to draft a bill to amend the Firearms and Swords Control Law to recognize daggers as illegal swords. The current law restricts the possession of swords with a blade 15 centimeters or longer. However, the dagger that Tomohiro Kato, 25, used in the stabbing rampage had a 13-centimeter blade and is not subject to restrictions under the law. NPA officials said daggers are highly lethal weapons...

At the link is a translated copy of the comic book the US Navy is using to sell the Japanese on stationing the nuclear powered USS Washington in Japan. It is a Pdf document for those that do not like those.

A jumbo black watermelon auctioned in Japan on Friday fetched a record $6,100, making it one of the most expensive watermelons ever sold in the country. In a society where melons are a luxury item commonly given as gifts, the watermelon's hefty price tag followed another jaw-dropping auction last month, when a pair of "Yubari" cantaloupe melons sold for a record $23,500.

TOKYO - A man who police said "was tired of life" drove into a crowd of pedestrians Sunday and then went on a stabbing rampage in Tokyo's top electronics and video game district, killing seven people and wounding 10, authorities said. The deadly lunchtime assault paralyzed the Akihabara neighborhood, which is wildly popular among the country's youth. The killings were the latest in a series of grisly knife attacks that have stoked fears of rising crime in Japan. A 25-year-old man, Tomohiro Kato, was apprehended in the attack, authorities said. "The suspect told police that he came to Akihabara to...

Excerpt - TOKYO, June 8 (AP) - (Kyodo)—(EDS: UPDATING WITH RISE IN DEATH TOLL) Seven people died and 11 others were injured after a man hit pedestrians with a truck and then stabbed people Sunday in broad daylight on a street in Tokyo's busy Akihabara district, a popular electronics area and a magnet for comic and animation fans. Police arrested the man, 25-year-old Tomohiro Kato from Susono, Shizuoka Prefecture, and seized a survival knife he was carrying. He admitted to stabbing all the people with the knife from around 12:30 p.m., the police said. The truck was rented in Shizuoka...

TOKYO (Reuters) - As many as five people might have died and at least 10 more were wounded after a man went on a knife rampage through Tokyo's popular electronics district on Sunday, a fire department official said. The man, identified as a 25-year-old member of one of Japan's yakuza crime syndicates, began shouting and stabbing passers-by in the Akihabara area, NHK television reported, showing footage of several ambulances stopped in the district's crowded streets. At least 15 people were stabbed and as many as five might have died, an official for the Tokyo Fire Department said. Local media reported...

AOMORI, Japan, June 7 (Xinhua) -- Japan and the United States agreed on Saturday to conduct cooperation on joint development of methane hydrates, a promising alternative energy. The agreement was signed by Japanese Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Akira Amari and U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman during their bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the five-party meeting of energy ministers of China, Japan, India, South Korea and the United States. According to the agreement effective for three years, Japan and the United States will enhance the understanding of, and accelerate research into, the geologic occurrence, distribution, exploration and production of...

Bear-worshipping Ainu to flourish again By Julian Ryall in Tokyo Last Updated: 4:20AM BST 07/06/2008 A bear-worshipping indigenous minority of northern Japan are to receive official recognition, a move that will end 140 years of enforced assimilation and discrimination. Representatives from Japan's minority Ainu people bow their heads after the Japanese parliament recognised their indigenous status The Ainu, the original inhabitants of Hokkaido island, were conquered by Japan in the mid-1800s and forcibly assimilated into Japanese culture. The Meiji government in Tokyo declared the Ainu language illegal, forced them to adopt Japanese names, redistributed their land to mainland settlers and...

The stage was set, the lights went down and in a suburban Japanese primary school everyone prepared to enjoy a performance of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The only snag was that the entire cast was playing the part of Snow White. For the audience of menacing mothers and feisty fathers, though, the sight of 25 Snow Whites, no dwarfs and no wicked witch was a triumph: a clear victory for Japan's emerging new class of “Monster Parents”. For they had taken on the system and won. After a relentless campaign of bullying, hectoring and nuisance phone calls, the...

The stage was set, the lights went down and in a suburban Japanese primary school everyone prepared to enjoy a performance of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The only snag was that the entire cast was playing the part of Snow White. For the audience of menacing mothers and feisty fathers, though, the sight of 25 Snow Whites, no dwarfs and no wicked witch was a triumph: a clear victory for Japan's emerging new class of “Monster Parents�. For they had taken on the system and won. After a relentless campaign of bullying, hectoring and nuisance phone calls, the...

Asia's navies Into the wide blue yonder Jun 5th 2008 | SINGAPORE From The Economist print edition Asia's main powers are building up their navies. Is this the start of an arms race? IN THE 15th century China possessed a mighty navy of “treasure fleets”. They sailed as far as Africa and the Persian Gulf, spreading China's economic and political influence across several continents. Had this naval expansion continued, some scholars say, China could have dominated the world. But successive emperors turned the nation inwards on itself, seafaring was banned and the country's great shipyards were closed. In Asia as...

Every nation could be described as a manifestation of a unique trait of character and most countries furthermore nurture, give emphasize to and celebrate this national identity of theirs. Some examples of such key national characters (please DO comment if you feel inclined to); USA: Liberty Italy: Creativity France: Refinement India: Spirituality Germany: Self-discipline Finland: "Sisu" (a Finnish term meaning "To have guts") Britain: Elevatedness Denmark: "Hygge" (a Danish word meaning "Good-naturedness", of mind as well as of deed) Spain: Passion China: Cultivation Russia: Chaos - just joking, I would actually say "Heart" (in the sense of having a big...

TOKYO — A black jumbo watermelon auctioned in northern Japan fetched a record $6,100 Friday, making it the most expensive watermelon ever sold in the country — and possibly the world. The 17-pound premium Densuke watermelon, one of only 65 from the first harvest of the season, was purchased by a marine products dealer who said he wanted to support local agriculture, according to Kyodo News agency. The fruit is grown only on the northern island of Hokkaido. In a country where melons are a luxury item commonly given as gifts, the watermelon's hefty price tag follows another jaw-dropping auction...

Mr Bush wrote that the July 7-9 summit of the Group of Eight major industrial powers, to be held in Japan, needed to take concrete action to tackle AIDS and other scourges afflicting Africa. "My message to my fellow leaders will be that our past promises are just empty words unless we provide meaningful follow-through," Mr Bush wrote. "And if we do, we can continue to help save lives and spread hope across the continent of Africa." Mr Bush said the US was doubling aid to Africa by 2010 and highlighted a $US15 billion ($A15.7 billion) AIDS relief fund launched...

The searchers dug for days, ignoring blisters and sore muscles to look for remains of Japanese soldiers buried in mass graves on the Aleutian island of Attu following one of the bloodiest battles of World War II. But old bullets and bits of barbed wire were all that emerged from beneath the grassy tundra - until the end of the two-week mission by U.S. and Japanese representatives who traveled to the remote resting place of nearly 2,500 soldiers. On May 23, searchers struck their shovels on decaying wood boxes and found the well-preserved bones of two Japanese soldiers likely buried...

President George W. Bush will leave a "strong and positive legacy" in Asia and his successor will maintain engagement in the region, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said Saturday. Gates told a high-level security forum here that any speculation that the United States was losing interest in the region was "preposterous." "Actually I think this will be an area where there will be a strong and positive legacy in the future," he told the forum, six months before the US presidential elections. "Any speculation in the region about the United States losing interest in Asia strikes me as either preposterous,...

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates issued a set of thinly veiled warnings to China on Saturday, cautioning that it could risk its share of further gains in Asia’s economic prosperity if it bullied its neighbors over natural resources in contested areas like the South China Sea. Three years ago at the same lectern here, Mr. Gates’s predecessor, Donald H. Rumsfeld, bluntly criticized China’s swift military buildup. Last year Mr. Gates struck a more conciliatory tone, saying Beijing and Washington had a chance to “build trust over time.� Mr. Gates seemed to take a third approach in his remarks to a...

TOKYO: A homeless woman who sneaked into a man's house and lived undetected in his closet for a year was arrested in Japan after he became suspicious when food mysteriously began disappearing. Police found the 58-year-old woman on Thursday hiding in the top compartment of the man's closet and arrested her for trespassing, police spokesman Hiroki Itakura from southern Kasuya town said on Friday. The resident of the home installed security cameras that transmitted images to his mobile phone after becoming puzzled by food disappearing from his kitchen over the past several months. One of the cameras captured someone moving...

The U.S.-Japan alliance has been the indispensable anchor of peace, prosperity and freedom in the Asia-Pacific for more than 60 years, and its importance will only grow in the years ahead. Deepening cooperation, consultation and coordination between Washington and Tokyo is the key to meeting the collective challenges that both of our nations face--from nuclear proliferation to climate change--and to advancing our common interest in building a safer, better world for all of our citizens. In many respects, the U.S.-Japan alliance has never been stronger. Polls consistently show deep support for the alliance among Americans and Japanese alike. Our security...

TOKYO — A money-losing Japanese train company has found the purr-fect pet mascot to draw crowds and bring back business — tabby Tama. All the 9-year-old female cat does is sit by the entrance of Kishi Station in western Japan, wearing a black uniform cap and posing for photos for the tourists who are now flocking in droves from across the nation. Tama has been doing such a good job of raising revenue for the troubled Kishikawa train line that she was recently promoted to "super-station-master." "She never complains, even though passengers touch her all over the place. She is...

Excerpt - A 60-year-old gangster was sentenced to death Monday for fatally shooting Nagasaki Mayor Itcho Ito during his election campaign in April last year. Tetsuya Shiroo shot Ito, 61, twice with a pistol on the evening of April 17 near the mayor's election campaign office in front of JR Nagasaki station, according to prosecutors' closing argument at the Nagasaki District Court. Ito died six and a half hours later in hospital. The crime ''was extremely outrageous and heinous,'' Presiding Judge Yoshimichi Matsuo said. ''It infringed people's right to vote and destabilized democracy from its roots.'' ~ snip ~

Ancient poem found on wood strip The Yomiuri Shimbun NARA--A wooden strip unearthed in fiscal 1997 from remains of the eighth-century Shigarakinomiya palace in Koka, Shiga Prefecture, was found to be inscribed with a pair of waka poems, one of which is included in "Manyoshu" (The Collection of Ten Thousand Leaves), Japan's oldest existing collection of poems, a board of education announced Thursday. It is the first time that a wooden strip inscribed with a poem from the collection has been found. On one side of the strip is a poem about Mt. Asaka, in present-day Fukushima Prefecture, while the...