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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 ...

Posted on July 31, 2010 at 4:48 AM

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 ...

Posted on July 30, 2010 at 11:02 PM

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 ...

Posted on July 30, 2010 at 10:50 PM

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 ...

Posted on July 30, 2010 at 5:47 AM

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 ...

Posted on July 30, 2010 at 5:47 AM

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 ...

Posted on July 29, 2010 at 11:06 PM

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 ...

Posted on July 29, 2010 at 4:02 PM

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 ...

Posted on July 29, 2010 at 3:58 PM

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 ...

Posted on July 29, 2010 at 3:52 PM

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 ...

Posted on July 29, 2010 at 3:31 AM

Mitsui maintains oil tanker was likely attacked

A Japanese shipping company maintained Thursday that its oil tanker was likely attacked in the Strait of Hormuz a day earlier, dismissing reports it may have been hit by a freak wave. Mitsui OSK Lines officials reiterated at a Tokyo press conference that crew members saw a flash and heard ...

Posted on July 29, 2010 at 3:31 AM

Spain likely to extradite 2007 Ginza robbery suspect: sources

The Spanish government will likely agree to transfer the custody of a Montenegrin member of the "Pink Panther" ring of thieves to Japan over a 2007 robbery case at a jewelry shop in Tokyo's Ginza district, government sources said Wednesday. Rifat Hadziahmetovic, 42, had been put on Interpol's wanted list ...

Posted on July 28, 2010 at 7:08 PM

Record 44,210 child abuse cases logged in '09

Child abuse cases handled by consultation offices hit a record 44,210 in fiscal 2009, rising for 19 straight years since statistics were first compiled in fiscal 1990, a government survey showed Wednesday. The figure reflects an increase of 1,546 cases from fiscal 2008, when the previous record was set, the ...

Posted on July 28, 2010 at 2:46 PM

Japan to review death penalty

Japan's justice minister, a foe of capital punishment, has announced a review of the death penalty after witnessing the first executions since her centre-left government took power in 2009. The two male convicts hanged on Wednesday were Kazuo Shinozawa, 59, who killed six people by setting fire to a jewellery ...

Posted on July 28, 2010 at 2:06 AM

Japan hangs 2 death row inmates, 1st execution in 1 year

Japan hanged two death row inmates in the first execution under the Democratic Party of Japan government launched last September, Justice Minister Keiko Chiba told a press conference Wednesday. The two are Kazuo Shinozawa, who was accused of murder in 2000 involving six female clerks at a jewelry store in ...

Posted on July 27, 2010 at 8:14 PM

Japan's rice field of dreams

Rice farming has sustained the people of northern Japan's Inakadate village for two thousand years. Today, the ancient rice fields are the source of food and art. Up close, the stalks of rice look like any other found in a rice paddy. CBS News correspondent Celia Hatton reports there are ...

Posted on July 27, 2010 at 4:19 PM

Crown Prince visits war cemetery

Crown Prince Naruhito offered flowers Tuesday at the national cemetery for people who died in the Battle of Okinawa in the city of Itoman. On the first day of a three-day visit to Okinawa, the Crown Prince also visited the Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum, where he viewed an exhibition ...

Posted on July 27, 2010 at 3:16 PM

Japan to take 32 Myanmar refugees

Japan will allow the settlement of 32 ethnic minority Myanmar refugees now living in Thailand, sources said. The 32 people, consisting of six ethnic Karen families, will be the first refugees allowed in under the "third country" refugee resettlement program. The sources said the refugees are due to travel to ...

Posted on July 27, 2010 at 3:16 PM

'Hikikomori' bedroom hermits should be regarded as national crisis

There are approximately 230,000 people who almost constantly shut themselves in their rooms except to go to nearby convenience stores, according to a survey conducted by the Cabinet Office. The number increases to about 700,000 if those who only go out to do something hobby-related are included. Moreover, there are ...

Posted on July 27, 2010 at 4:58 AM

Baseball: Knuckle Princess

Some have looked at Eri Yoshida in cleats and cap and held their nose in contempt. What in the world is she doing out there on the mound? She stands 5 foot 1 and weighs less than Barry Bonds

Posted on July 27, 2010 at 2:04 AM