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TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A Japanese zoo celebrated the first birth of a baby panda in five years Monday, with the tiny cub small enough to fit in the palm of a human hand. Eleven-year-old mum Shin Shin gave birth just before noon, officials at Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo said in a statement. Pandas are born pink, hairless and weigh around 100 grams — so small it can be difficult to determine their sex. “There have […]
by Kyoko Hasegawa Agence France-Presse TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s parliament passed a law Friday that clears the way for its ageing Emperor Akihito to step down, in what would be the first imperial abdication in more than two centuries. The popular 83-year-old monarch shocked the country last summer when he signalled his desire to take a back seat after nearly three decades on the Chrysanthemum Throne, citing his age and health problems. The unexpected move […]
TOKYO, Japan (Reuters) – Japan’s parliament on Friday (June 9) passed a law allowing Emperor Akihito to abdicate, clearing the way for the first abdication by a Japanese monarch in nearly two centuries, and for the accession of his son, Crown Prince Naruhito, probably late next year. In a vote televised live on NHK public television, the upper house of parliament passed the bill 235 to zero opposed, though a handful of lawmakers sat out […]
TSURUOKA, Japan (Reuters) — With 60 different varieties of jellyfish, Kamo aquarium in Japan’s Yamagata Prefecture houses one of the largest collection of jellyfish species in the world. Holding two percent of the global 3000 jellyfish varieties, the aquarium receives more than two million visitors every year. A prominent feature of the exhibit is the Jellyfish Dream Theater, or the Kurage Dream Theater, measuring five meters in diameter, where about 2000 Moon Jellies float. Many […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s economy grew less than initially thought in the first quarter, revised government data showed Thursday, but the weaker-than-expected numbers still confirmed the longest expansion in over a decade. The world’s number three economy posted 0.3 percent growth between January and March — or 1.0 percent at an annualized rate — which was down from a preliminary 0.5 percent growth estimate. The unexpected downgrade was also below market expectations for an […]
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has reiterated his commitment to cooperate with Indonesia on counter-terrorism efforts, said Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla. Kalla, who met with Abe, said part of the commitment was the exchange of notes on the face and motion detection system signed by Japan with Indonesia at the end of May. Aside from counter-terrorism, the Indonesian vice-president and the Japanese prime minister discussed the acceleration of Japan investment in Indonesia, particularly in the Jakarta-Surabaya […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Tokyo stocks opened slightly lower on Tuesday with energy-linked firms slipping on lower oil prices as a stronger yen put the brakes on automaker shares. The Japanese market has slipped from nearly two-year highs this week while Wall Street retreated from records on Monday. Investors were cautious ahead of the British general election on Thursday, after deadly terror attacks in London. A European Central Bank meeting and testimony by ex-FBI director […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Hundreds of residents of a small Japanese coastal town took part in an evacuation drill Sunday as fears grow that a North Korean missile could hit the country. The drill in the town of Abu, about 800 kilometers (500 miles) west of Tokyo facing the Sea of Japan, simulated a ballistic missile attack in the surrounding mountains in Yamaguchi prefecture which hosts a major United States Marine Corps air station, a […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A pair of US aircraft carriers and Japanese naval vessels conducted a joint drill in waters off the Korean peninsula Thursday, in an apparent show of force days after the latest North Korean ballistic missile test. The strike groups of USS Carl Vinson and USS Ronald Reagan joined Japanese destroyers Hyuga and Ashigara for the exercise in the Sea of Japan (East Sea), where Monday’s missile landed. The drills came as […]
by Natsuko FUKUE Agence France Presse KAWASAKI, Japan (AFP) — Kanemasa Ito compares caring for his wife Kimiko to waging a daily war with the devil. The woman he loved has all but disappeared — lost to dementia, she can no longer eat, bathe, or go to the toilet alone. “There is a demon inside her head,” Ito told AFP, articulating the dramatic change in the person he’d built a life with, while she babbles […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan on Thursday launched a satellite to help build a high-precision geolocation system that will complement the United States-operated Global Positioning System. A H-IIA rocket blasted off at 9:17am (0017 GMT) from the Tanegashima space center in southern Japan carrying the “Michibiki” No.2 satellite, footage by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency showed. Satellite geolocation systems, initially designed for the US […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japanese factory output rose 4.0 percent in April from the previous month, official figures showed Wednesday, bolstering data indicating the world’s third-largest economy is finally seeing moderate expansion. However, the figure was slightly down on market expectations of a 4.2 percent rise and came a day after data showed consumer demand remains weak despite years of government efforts to boost spending. The positive reading comes after it factory output fell 1.9 percent […]
