Japan

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Japanese PM Hospitalized as Party Scrambles for Successor

Abe suffers 'exhaustion' after resigning

(Newser) - Japanese PM Shinzo Abe is in a Tokyo hospital battling stress and exhaustion a day after announcing his resignation. Abe is expected to be hospitalized for at least three or four days, while his scandal-plagued party fields a replacement and calls for a general election escalate. In his surprise announcement,...

Same Party, New Face: Aso Likely to Step in as Japanese PM

Political 'blueblood' faces scandals, debt

(Newser) - Fellow party member  and Foreign Minister Taro Aso is emerging as the favored successor of resigned Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. If elected, Aso would face an economy saddled with the world's largest public debt, the stagnation of his own Liberal Democratic Party and the enmity of the main opposition...

Nikkei Falls After Abe Steps Down
Nikkei Falls After Abe
Steps Down
Sep 12, 2007 7:21 AM CDT

Nikkei Falls After Abe Steps Down

Mining and energy stocks rise but can't stem tide

(Newser) - A jump in the price of copper boosted mining and energy stocks in Asia, but Japan's Nikkei index fell nonetheless after news hit of PM Shinzo Abe's resignation. Some investors say the change will be good for Japanese markets in the longer term, however. "Abe was an ineffective prime...

Japanese Prime Minister Resigns
Japanese Prime Minister Resigns
Sep 12, 2007 1:48 AM CDT

Japanese Prime Minister Resigns

Scandals shatter public support for controversial leader

(Newser) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has announced he'll resign today in the wake of several cabinet-level scandals and the suicide of  a top official that has destroyed public confidence in his administration. After taking power just last year, Abe's nationalist Liberal Democratic Party lost the upper house of parliament to...

Japan Fights Heat Tooth and Nail—But Not With A/C

Tokyo cooks up stigma against energy waste

(Newser) - The Japanese are waging a painful war against energy consumption, meeting summer needs not with air-conditioning but with business casual clothing and a good dose of grinning and bearing it. The 2-year-old Cool Biz movement, which aims to keep office temperatures at 82 degrees, took off in earnest this summer,...

Oil, Steel Fuel Surge in Asian Markets

Near-record crude prices outweigh fears of US skid

(Newser) - Crude climbed within 50 cents of a record today, and that meant Asian stock indexes were climbing as well with the Nikkei rising 0.3% and the Asia-Pacific index up 0.1% after big losses Friday. Steel joined oil as a big mover when South Korean producers announced a price...

Japanese PM Backtracks From Hints He'll Quit

Abe ignores calls for resignation, says he'll stay to enact reforms

(Newser) - Shinzo Abe has backed off his threat to quit if Japan yanks aid to US-led troops in Afghanistan. Many clamored for the beleaguered PM to step down after his party’s defeat in July elections, and Abe hinted yesterday that he'd walk away—a possible indication that he was looking...

APEC Leaders Agree to Take on Global Warming

But pact isn't ambitious enough, critics say

(Newser) - Leaders of 21 Pacific Rim nations yesterday pledged to “slow, stop, and then reverse” greenhouse emissions, at the annual APEC summit. The group—which includes developing nations and top emitters Russia, China, Japan, and the US—could influence UN climate change negotiations. But critics call the pact unambitious, citing...

Foreclosures Trigger Asian Drop
Foreclosures Trigger Asian Drop
Sep 7, 2007 4:07 AM CDT

Foreclosures Trigger Asian Drop

Fear of brake on US consumer spending

(Newser) - Asian stocks are falling again, reflecting worry the growing credit crisis in the US will puncture the economy and slash consumer spending. Mizuho Financial Group, Japan's second largest lender, dropped to a two-week low after an increase in home foreclosures in the US —and many other Asian financial stocks...

Asian Markets Stumble on Political News

Subprime turmoil now a given; traders await central banks' moves

(Newser) - In the wake of the Japanese agriculture minister's resignation, Asian markets stumbled today ahead of uncertain US economic data. For a change, analysts didn't point to the subprime crisis to account for the Nikkei's 0.5% slide: "After all, investors have got used to news on subprime issues,"...

US Laborers Work Hard for the Money

New UN report says Americans more productive than peers

(Newser) - Labor Day is a well-deserved rest for Americans, as a new UN report shows US laborers work longer, harder, and get more done than their counterparts worldwide. The average US worker produces the most wealth, raking in $63,885 yearly, followed by Irish laborers at $55,986. Only Norway beat...

N. Korea Agrees to Ban Nukes
N. Korea Agrees to Ban Nukes
Sep 2, 2007 1:49 PM CDT

N. Korea Agrees to Ban Nukes

Move could lead to friendlier relations with US

(Newser) - North Korea has promised to disable all of its nuclear facilities by the end of this year, the BBC reports, possibly paving the way for warmer relations between the US and a country it now lists as a supporter of terror. After meeting with representatives from the North, US negotiator...

Georgia Rules Little League
Georgia Rules Little League
Aug 26, 2007 6:55 PM CDT

Georgia Rules Little League

Series victory gives USA third straight title

(Newser) - After a tough week for Georgia sports fans, a team of preteens from Warner Robins gave them something big to cheer about today, capturing the Little League World Series title with an extra-innings triumph over Japan in Williamsport, Pa. Dalton Carriker smacked a walkoff homer in the bottom of the...

Lay Judges to Join Bench in Japan
Lay Judges
to Join Bench
in Japan
Aug 25, 2007 8:38 AM CDT

Lay Judges to Join Bench in Japan

Will citizens temper Japan's courts, where 99.9% are found guilty?

(Newser) - Japan will give citizens the gavel in an effort to counteract its judicial system’s prejudice for presuming guilt. Six citizens and three trained jurists will sit on criminal cases, and the majority will rule, Bloomberg reports. The new system follows a clamor of criticism about forced confessions, inhumane treatment...

Historian Begs to Differ With the Decider

Says Bush keeps misquoting him on post-war Japan

(Newser) - A historian quoted by President Bush yesterday said his words were misused in a “perverse” attempt to defend the Iraq War, Politico reports. At issue is John Dower's statement in a 1999 book that if naysayers had had their way, the fledgling democracy in Japan after WWII “would...

Arm Wrestling Game Breaks Japanese Arms

After three fractures, company blames "overexcited" players

(Newser) - Atlus Co. will remove all 150 of its "Arm Spirit" arm wrestling games from Japanese arcades after three broken arms have been reported. The company claims the recall is only a precaution, insisting that the machine isn't really that strong. "Even women should be able to beat it,...

Jet Catches Fire in Japan; Passengers, Crew Escape

Plane's engine exploded; cause unknown

(Newser) - A jet burst into flames after landing in Okinawa today, moments after all 165 people onboard escaped. The China Airlines plane skidded while landing on arrival from Taipei, and its left engine exploded shortly afterward. The cause of the fire is unknown, the AP reports. Firefighters took an hour to...

Asian Markets Soar After Fed's Rate Cut

Stocks see biggest jump in 5 years as panic gives way to optimism

(Newser) - The global equities sell-off ground to a halt today as Asian stocks had their biggest gains in five years. Responding to Friday’s cut in the US Federal Reserve’s discount rate, Japan’s Nikkei 225, Hong Kong's Hang Seng and South Korea's Kospi indexes all saw huge gains as...

Credit Fears Sink Asian Markets
Credit Fears Sink Asian Markets
Aug 15, 2007 3:08 AM CDT

Credit Fears Sink Asian Markets

Nikkei drops as subprime crisis rocks world

(Newser) - Global credit turmoil rocked Asian markets today, pushing Japan’s Nikkei to 2007 lows, as US and Canadian firms struggled to meet payments and Wal-Mart and Swiss Bank UBS released disappointing forecasts. Through it all the Yen rose, as risk-averse investors turned to some safe havens in Japan, Reuters reports.

Japan Pumps Cash Into Market
Japan Pumps Cash Into Market
Aug 13, 2007 12:16 AM CDT

Japan Pumps Cash Into Market

Interest rate hikes unlikely

(Newser) - The Bank of Japan pumped $5.1 billion into the Japanese financial system today as the  global credit crunch continued to ripple through the Asian markets, Bloomberg reports. Adding to the jitters, Japan's growth is slowing more markedly than economists predicted; the world's second-largest economy expanded by only 0.5%...

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