Free Republic

The Japanese Bond Market May Really Be Ready To Collapse The Mad Hedge Fund TraderNov. 4, 2009, 5:11 AM Having spent a decade living in Japan sharing shoe box sized apartments, living on fish heads, rice, and instant ramen, I am something of an authority on that enchanting country. I spent the seventies toiling away learning Japanese, shuffling hundreds of flash cards whenever I rode the train or subways. My friends said I was crazy when I learned obscure, seemingly useless terms like hitokabu rieki (earnings per share) and genka shokyaku (depreciation). I even made the ultimate sacrifice to improve...

Japan's latest weapon against terror. . . a fish By Colin Joyce in Tokyo (Filed: 25/07/2006) Japan is to use tiny fish in the battle against terrorism. Ricefish, measuring less than two inches and commonly kept as pets, react rapidly to contaminated water. The fish, which is pale orange, pushes its face close to the surface when it experiences breathing difficulties or simply dies in the manner of canaries in gas-filled mines. Whereas sophisticated and expensive filters may take up to 15 hours to detect a problem, ricefish typically react to contamination within a couple of hours. So far, they...

What secrets did Japan's ancient emperors take to the grave? And will we ever know? 01/05/2006 By HIROSHI MATSUBARA, Staff Writer This is the fourth in a series on issues and topics facing Japan's imperial family. A new challenge is being mounted that may eventually put the Imperial Household Agency in something of a tight corner. Academics have long called on the agency to open imperial tombs to full inspection to resolve riddles of Japan's ancient past and put to rest lingering doubts about the authenticity of some of the final resting places of emperors. All this time, the agency,...

Battleship film revives Japan's pride in wartime generation (Filed: 28/11/2005) Sixty years after the colossal battleship Yamato was sunk, the pride of Japan's wartime navy is once again an object of fascination. Almost 400,000 visitors have flocked to see a full-scale replica of the deck of the Yamato in Onomichi, western Japan. The ship was reconstructed for the shooting of a film, Men of the Yamato, which will be released next month. The £3million replica deck, made for the film Men of the Yamato, has attracted 400,000 Japanese visitors The Yamato, the largest battleship ever built, was considered indestructible by...

Asia rises against 'whitewashing' of Japan's atrocities By Anton La Guardia (Filed: 09/04/2005) The cherry blossom is reaching the peak of its splendour in Tokyo, and the gardens of the Yasukuni shrine have been turned into cheerful festival ground, with a pink stage for musicians and rows of stalls selling anything from food to potted plants. But for millions of people across Asia, Yasukuni stands for something more sinister than love of botany: it is the supreme symbol of Japan's former love of war. Sixty years after the Second World War, the wounds may have healed in Europe, but they...

Japan's PM sees disputed isles By Colin Joyce in Tokyo (Filed: 03/09/2004) Japan's prime minister, Junichiro Koizumi, defied Russian objections yesterday to sail within viewing distance of the disputed Kuril islands, seized by the Red Army at the end of the Second World War. Japan has never renounced its claim to the tiny islands, which it calls the Northern Territories. The dispute over ownership has prevented Tokyo and Moscow from signing a post-war peace treaty. Mr Koizumi viewed the four islands through binoculars from a coastguard vessel in Japanese territorial waters. The visit was opposed by Russia which said: "Such...

Japan's scandals force new look at company loyalty By Colin Joyce in Tokyo (Filed: 02/01/2004) Japan's "corporate samurai", the ultra-loyal employees prepared to fall on their swords rather than betray their masters, will become an endangered species under a new law that will protect workers who expose wrongdoing in their companies. The Japanese workers' famed loyalty to his company has faded in the past decade as the country's system of lifetime employment collapsed amid its economic woes. Legislation due to be presented to the Tokyo parliament will provide immunity from prosecution for whistleblowers and ensure that they cannot be fired,...

Japan's first space shuttle tests well Japan says the first test-flight of its delta-wing space shuttle has been a success. The unmanned vehicle is smaller than the US space shuttle and is a prototype for the larger Hope-X project. The Hope-X was recently shelved because of budget cuts but prototype test-flights are going ahead. On its first test flight, Japan's delta-wing space shuttle successfully lifted off Christmas Island in the South Pacific and soared for about 8 kilometres (5 miles) before landing with only a slight jolt, Japan's space agency announced. The 10-minute flight was the latest success for the...