Japan - Latest Stories

Japan marks second tsunami anniversary

ISHINOMAKI, Japan, March 11, 2013 (AFP) - Japan on Monday marked the second anniversary of a ferocious tsunami that claimed nearly 19,000 lives and sparked the worst nuclear accident in a generation.

March 11, 2013
Japan PM says to change post-war constitution

TOKYO, Jan 31, 2013 (AFP) - Japan's hawkish Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told parliament Thursday that he intends to change the country's post-World War II constitution, lowering the bar for further amendments.

January 31, 2013
Boeing crisis deepens as Dreamliners grounded

TOKYO, Jan 17, 2013 (AFP) - Aviation regulators on Thursday grounded most of the world's 787 Dreamliner fleet until a fire risk linked to the plane's batteries can been fixed, deepening a crisis for its US manufacturer Boeing.

January 17, 2013
Nepalese demands compensation

TOKYO, Dec 30, 2012 (AFP) - A Nepalese man acquitted last month of murdering a prostitute after serving 15 years in a Japanese jail is seeking $790,000 in compensation for his time behind bars, according to a press report Sunday.

December 30, 2012
Abe to be named Japan's next prime minister

TOKYO, Dec 26, 2012 (AFP) - Japan's conservative leader Shinzo Abe is to be named as the country's new prime minister Wednesday, after he swept to power on a hawkish platform of getting tough on diplomacy while fixing the economy.

December 26, 2012
Japan moves right as conservatives win big

TOKYO, Dec 17, 2012 (AFP) - Japan's conservative opposition swept to victory in national polls on Sunday, giving former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe a second chance to push his hawkish security agenda and reflate the economy.

December 17, 2012
Japan votes likely to eject ruling party

TOKYO, Dec 16, 2012 (AFP) - Voters in Japan went to the polls Sunday in an election likely to return conservatives to power at a time of growing tension with China and as the nation seeks to arrest economic decline.

December 16, 2012
North Korea successfully launches rocket

SEOUL, Dec 12, 2012 (AFP) - North Korea successfully launched a long-range rocket on Wednesday, in defiance of UN sanctions threats over what Pyongyang's critics have condemned as a disguised ballistic missile test.

December 12, 2012
N. Korea completes installing rocket: report

SEOUL, Dec 5, 2012 (AFP) - North Korea has completed installing a long-range rocket on its launch pad, ahead of its planned launch this month in defiance of widespread international condemnation, a report said Wednesday.

December 05, 2012
Police raid firm over Japan tunnel collapse

TOKYO, Dec 4, 2012 (AFP) - Japanese police Tuesday raided the offices of a highway company in a negligence probe over a deadly weekend tunnel collapse that raised questions over the safety of the nation's ageing infrastructure.

December 04, 2012