Japan

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Four Japanese Busted for Copycat Stabbing Threats

Warnings followed stabbings by crazed attacker

(Newser) - Threats of copycat violence posted on Japanese websites have led to four arrests in the wake of seven fatal stabbings in Tokyo this month by a crazed attacker, AP reports. “I'm going to do it, too. I’m going to kill 100 people,” wrote one man. Last week's...

7.2-Mag Quake Kills 6 in Northern Japan
7.2-Mag Quake Kills 6 in Northern Japan
UPDATED
Jun 14, 2008 7:21 AM CDT

7.2-Mag Quake Kills 6 in Northern Japan

(Newser) - A 7.2-magnitude earthquake jolted northern Japan today, killing at least 6 people and injuring more than 140 others, the AP reports. Landslides trapped another 100 bathers at a hot springs resort, but no tsunami warning was issued. At a nuclear power plant, 5 gallons of radioactive water splashed from...

Japan Wages War on Waists
 Japan Wages War on Waists 
Jun 13, 2008 6:48 AM CDT

Japan Wages War on Waists

Japanese workers told to tighten belts

(Newser) - Japan has launched an unprecedented national campaign to help its residents lose their love handles. The nation now requires local governments and corporations to annually measure the waistline of everyone age 40 to 74, the New York Times reports. Women over 35.4 inches and men over 33.5 inches—...

Under Fire, Japan's PM Won't Bow to Election Calls

Body's censure of Fukuda a post-war first

(Newser) - Japan's prime minister suffered a humiliating blow today in a no-confidence motion passed by the upper house of the country's legislature—a post-war first, the BBC reports. Although the measure isn't politically binding, it's the latest step by the opposition to force Yasuo Fukuda to call new elections, a call...

Astronaut Waves Robot Arm
 Astronaut Waves Robot Arm 

 
Jun 9, 2008 3:25 PM CDT

Astronaut Waves Robot Arm

Japanese-built device will service equipment from Kibo laboratory

(Newser) - A Japanese astronaut on board the International Space Station successfully unfolded a massive robotic arm from the newly installed Kibo laboratory today, Reuters reports. The arm moved slightly on Saturday, but today’s extension of the 33-foot device was the first full test, Space.com reports. The Japanese-built robot had...

Tokyo Killer Warned of Slaughter Online

Posted 'It's time' 20 minutes before rampage that killed 7

(Newser) - The young man accused of killing 7 people in a knife rampage in downtown Tokyo warned of the attacks in a series of messages to an Internet bulletin board, reports the AP. Tomohiro Kato, who rammed his truck into pedestrians before stabbing 17 of them, posted warnings from his cell...

7 Killed in Tokyo Stabbing Spree
7 Killed in Tokyo
Stabbing Spree
Jun 8, 2008 7:36 AM CDT

7 Killed in Tokyo Stabbing Spree

10 more wounded after man drove truck into pedestrians in electronics district

(Newser) - A Japanese man plowed his truck into Tokyo pedestrians before jumping out and stabbing them, killing at least 7 and wounding 10 more, the AP reports. Police nabbed a 25-year-old man in the attack, which occurred in the city’s leading electronics district, a hotspot for young people. The suspect...

iPhone May Be Too Low-Tech for Japan

Consumers love their gizmos, and Apple has relatively few

(Newser) - The new iPhone will be in Japan at the end of the year, but it may not be souped up enough for consumers there, Wired reports. Japanese phones tend to have an endless array of cool features such as live TV and Wii-style games. Even though most people hardly ever...

Japanese Melon Sells for $6K
 Japanese Melon Sells for $6K 
Jun 6, 2008 10:05 AM CDT

Japanese Melon Sells for $6K

Black delicacy is the first of the season

(Newser) - A rare black watermelon, one of 65 from Japan's first harvest of the year, sold for more than $6,000 at auction today, the AP reports. The Densuke melon has the distinction of being the most expensive of its kind in Japan, and probably the world, though the Guinness World...

Degrees at Last for WWII Internment-Camp Detainees

Oregon State to honor Japanese Americans taken from campus in 1941

(Newser) - Oregon State University will honor 42 Japanese-American students who were forced to leave school for a government internment camp in 1941, the Daily Barometer reports. OSU will give 22 honorary degrees to the surviving individuals and family members representing others at its commencement ceremony June 15.

Radiohead Inspires Short-Lived Museum

Tower Records outlet in Tokyo displays rarities from act—but only until tomorrow

(Newser) - A Tokyo music store is turning itself into a Radiohead museum, notes newyork-tokyo.com blogger Taeko Saito—but fans have only another day to get there. The Tower Records outlet in Shibuya has rare records and footage on display, and even towels used to wipe the sweat off frontman Thom...

Japanese Mob Boss Gave $100K to UCLA

Goto rewards hospital after controversial kidney transplant

(Newser) - Suspected Japanese mob boss Tadmasa Goto donated $100,000 to UCLA just months after getting a liver transplant there, the Los Angeles Times reports. Goto was treated in 2001, a year when 186 people died waiting for livers in the LA area alone. The school has confirmed Goto’s donation,...

Man Discovers Woman Living in His Closet

Hidden camera in kitchen captures squatter

(Newser) - A Japanese man was living with a woman—but he didn't know it. The Fukuoka, Japan, resident busted the squatter after noticing food disappearing from his kitchen and setting up a hidden camera, Reuters reports. He called police after the camera sent his phone pictures of the woman eating. Cops...

4 Japanese Gangsters Get UCLA Liver Transplants

FBI helped one crime boss with his visa

(Newser) - Four Yakuza gangsters, including one of Japan's most powerful crime bosses, had liver transplants at UCLA Medical Center between 2000 and 2004, the Los Angeles Times reports. Organs were particularly scarce in those years, with over 100 people on the waiting list dying each year. There is no indication that...

Newest MLB Division: AL Pacific?

The time may be right for Japanese expansion teams

(Newser) - With the help of modern air travel, Major League Baseball should seriously consider expanding across the Pacific, writes Jim Caple for ESPN. Such a move could be both profitable and intriguing, and keep Japan from hemorrhaging its best talent. Though, as Red Sox manager Terry Francona points out, "Saying...

Honda Sells 60 Millionth Super Cub

Little cycle the best-selling motorized vehicle ever

(Newser) - Honda’s Super Cub motorcycle may look mundane, but it's also the best-selling motorized vehicle in history, Wired reports. In fact, Honda recently sold its 60 millionth. The Cub first put Honda on the map by making motorcycles safe for suburbanites. But the ultra-dependable little bike isn’t available in...

Polly Wanna Get Home: Here's My Address

Lost Japanese parrot tells vet how to find his home

(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...

Hello, China: Meet Japan's New Envoy

Japan tabs pop icon to bring in visitors from China

(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...

Japan's Arcades Fall Before Mighty Wii

Kids can easily replicate atmosphere at home—and portable players have role, too

(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...

Okinawa Marine Gets 4 Years for Teen Sex Abuse

US court martial accepts his plea to lesser charges

(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...

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