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Japan women step up to make big purchases in slow economy

After 25 years working as an accounting assistant in a leading construction company, Asako Nakano decided two summers ago that she needed to stabilize her retirement plans. So she took the plunge and bought a condominium. "The decision to put almost all my savings into a home for myself was a bit daunting, but I never hesitated," said the friendly, confident single woman. "I thought to myself, I am never going to get married, so why not invest in my future? It made sense to me." With a little assistance from her mother, the 52-year-old paid almost $100,000 as a 40% down payment for her apartment in a leafy residential area of Tokyo. Japan's effort to dig itself out of its economic malaise is getting a boost from an unlikely source - the nation's female workforce. (Los Angeles Times)

Historic 'pink' theater hopes to put ladies on seats, not just screens

The Kabuki-za theater in Ginza is not the only notable Tokyo structure dating back to the 1950s that has shut its doors this year. With large illuminated lettering affixed to its pasty white facade proclaiming "Adult movies," the all-night Ueno Okura Theater, located in Taito Ward close to Shinobazu Pond and at the edge of Ueno Park, has been entertaining fans of erotic cinema for nearly five decades. The two-screen building, however, closed Saturday due to safety concerns and aesthetic problems resulting from its aged interiors. (Japan Times)

Tokyo Sky Tree is tallest building

The Tokyo Sky Tree tower, under construction in central Tokyo and already the tallest building in Japan, topped the 400-meter mark Friday, reaching 408 meters in height in the afternoon, its operator said. The new communications tower in Sumida Ward is scheduled to be 634 meters high, possibly next spring, after extending its antenna. It will be used mainly for terrestrial digital broadcasting. (Japan Times)

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. (AP)

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, the police said. (AP)

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) has two bedrooms and will set you back 350,000 yen per month. B-Mania promotes its listing for the house with the phrase (in English) 'The Truth Is Out There', and also suggests the futuristic kitchen is 'where experiments take place'. (Wall Street Journal)

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 $2.57 billion over the next 10 years, which could be a problem given government efforts to cut expenditure. (Herald Sun)

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 the festival. American film director Quentin Tarantino chairs the awards committee. (AP)

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 help to recruit young people to teach their languages in France for a year. (AP)

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 an explosion in the incident shortly after midnight local time on Wednesday in the waterway between Iran and Oman. The Japan-bound vessel -- crewed by 16 Filipinos and 15 Indians -- was carrying 270,000 tonnes of crude oil but did not suffer a spill. One of the crew saw a flash on the horizon at the time, while several other sailors heard an explosion, Hibino said, adding that the weather was fine and there were no reports of high waves in the region. (AFP)

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 by the Tokyo police for allegedly stealing jewels, including a diamond tiara worth 200 million yen, from the upscale Ginza shop in 2007. Spain has held his custody for an alleged involvement in a separate robbery case, according to the Metropolitan Police Department. (AP)

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 Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said in a preliminary report. During the reporting year, which ended in March, there was only one case requiring counselors to visit a household where child abuse was suspected, after the family had rejected the investigation, down from two cases in fiscal 2008 when such measures became possible under the revised child abuse prevention law. (Japan Times)

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 store, and Hidenori Ogata, 33, convicted of killing a man and a woman and seriously injuring two others. Keiko Chiba, the first justice minister to personally watch a government execution, carried out at the Tokyo Detention House, afterwards told media she wanted a ministry study group to review the practice. (Sydney Morning Herald)

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 Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture, and Hidenori Ogata, who was involved in a double murder case in 2003, according to the Justice Ministry. Chiba said she herself attended the execution. (AP)

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 several varieties planted here, each with different colored leaves. Combine them together and an enormous 15,000 square foot image is revealed. Every year, a local art teacher produces a computerized sketch. It's transferred onto a grid, and mapped with thousands of dots. It's then painstakingly recreated - point by point onto the rice field. Then, it's a family affair as villagers of all generations join in to hand-plant each rice shoot. Three months later, the rice field of dreams comes alive in sweeping images. (CBS)

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 on the war and the prefecture's reversion campaign afterward. (Japan Times)

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 Japan after taking a monthlong Japanese-language and culture-acclimatization program at the Mera refugee camp in northeastern Thailand near the Myanmar border. (Japan Times)

'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 an estimated 1.55 million potential so-called 'hikikomori' who have felt like shutting themselves in their own rooms. Most of them are young people. As the population of young people declines due to falling birthrates, the statistics have raised questions about the future of Japan. Hikikomori are defined as those who shut themselves in their homes for at least six months but are not involved in child care or housework even though they are not sick. (Mainichi)

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's head. She's 18, can't speak more than a few words of English, can't throw over the top and her best pitch comes in at the speed of slow-motion. Little wonder baseball purists, even some in the independent Golden League, have dismissed the Japanese side-armed Knuckle Princess as nothing more than a novelty act, a gimmick to invite people into the park so they can gawk at the first woman to pitch professionally in three countries (Japan, the United States, and now Canada). (Globe & Mail)

Japan lifts foot-and-mouth state of emergency

Japan lifted a state of emergency Tuesday in a southern region known for its prized and pampered cattle, after a three-month foot-and-mouth outbreak forced the slaughter of almost 300,000 farm animals. The highly contagious virus, which rarely affects humans but sickens cloven-hoofed animals, had forced the suspension of meat sales from Miyazaki prefecture. "Wagyu" cattle -- from both Miyazaki on Kyushu island and Kobe on Honshu island -- are famed for being pampered, fed beer and massaged daily, sometimes with sake, and some are even played classical music for relaxation. (AFP)

Yahoo Japan picks Google as partner for search, ad delivery

Yahoo Japan said Tuesday morning that it will use Google's search engine and ad delivery system and provide Google with its data, according to a Reuters report out of Tokyo. Yahoo Japan, the country's biggest Internet portal, is owned in part by Yahoo Inc. in the U.S. The news is especially noteworthy because U.S.-based Yahoo Inc. has partnered with Microsoft for search. Yahoo Japan said its deal with Google will not impact the partnership it has with its U.S. counterpart or the investment that Yahoo U.S. has in Yahoo Japan. If you read Japanese, check the blog post on Google's Japan blog. (ZDNet)

Things to see and do

Art Tower Mito; Kairaku-en Park near Mito for plum blossom in February-March; hiking on Mount Tsukuba; ancient Kashima Jingu Shinto shrine near the center of Kashima. Kashima Stadium - more stadium info - home of the Kashima Antlers. Train from Kashima Jingu Station to the stadium.

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