December 2012
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Japan's public museums enjoy a makeover

Dec 27, 2012

Japan's public museums enjoy a makeover

by Edan Corkill

The collapse of the Sasago Tunnel in Yamanashi Prefecture three weeks ago put a spotlight on the state of Japan’s infrastructure, and how many of the bridges and tunnels that were built during the period of rapid economic development in the 1970s and ’80s ...

Okinawa seeks probe of 'illegal' Osprey flights

Dec 27, 2012

Okinawa seeks probe of 'illegal' Osprey flights

Okinawa has formally asked the central government to investigate allegedly unauthorized flights conducted by tilt-rotor MV-22 Ospreys deployed to the U.S. Futenma air base. In a written request filed Tuesday, local authorities in Okinawa claimed that some 318 Osprey flights violated safety rules agreed ...

Best yen analysts join skepticism of Abe

Dec 27, 2012

Best yen analysts join skepticism of Abe

by Monami Yui and Hiroko Komiya

Shinzo Abe’s return to the post of prime minister has fueled speculation his stimulus policies will extend the yen’s biggest drop since 2005. Domestic companies and the best currency forecasters aren’t so sure. The yen is down 9.9 percent this year and on Wednesday ...

Dec 26, 2012

Corporate service prices off 0.4%

Corporate service prices fell 0.4 percent from a year before in November, down for the sixth straight month, the Bank of Japan said Tuesday. The corporate service price index stood at 95.7, against 100 for the base year of 2005. In October, the index ...

Dec 26, 2012

Kansai Electric may skip bonus

Kansai Electric Power Co. is considering offering no bonus to its executives for the second straight year for fiscal 2012 and further trimming their base remuneration, which has been cut by up to 30 percent, sources said Monday. The move is intended to clarify ...

Dec 26, 2012

Mitsubishi Chemical eyes Qualicaps

Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corp. is considering acquiring the world’s second-largest pharmaceutical capsule maker from a U.S. investment fund to bolster its drug business, sources said Tuesday. Mitsubishi Chemical seeks to turn Qualicaps Co. in Nara Prefecture into a subsidiary at a cost of some ...

Dec 26, 2012

Free-agent Hirano returns to Orix

Keiichi Hirano, a 33-year-old free agent who plays both second base and center field, signed with his former club, the Orix Buffaloes, on Tuesday. Hirano, a premium pre-draft signing of the Orix BlueWave in 2002, was traded to the Hanshin Tigers in December 2007. ...

Dec 26, 2012

Japan to help build vast Myanmar industry zone

Myanmar and Japan agreed to start work next year on a huge industrial zone near Yangon, officials from the two countries said, as the impoverished nation hungrily eyes foreign investment. The 2,400-hectare Thilawa project will include a port and industrial park and be up ...

Abe taps two women for key posts in LDP

Dec 26, 2012

Abe taps two women for key posts in LDP

by Reiji Yoshida

Incoming Prime Minister Shinzo Abe tapped two high-profile female lawmakers Tuesday for the top executive posts of the Liberal Democratic Party in an apparent effort to garner the support of female voters ahead of the Upper House election next summer. The LDP named Seiko ...

Dec 26, 2012

Hitachi Zosen touts top tunneler

Hitachi Zosen Corp. showed to the press Tuesday what it claims to be the world’s largest shield tunneling machine at its Sakai plant in the Osaka area. The 110-meter-long machine, with a diameter of 17.45 meters and weighing some 7,000 tons, will be used ...

Inactivity amid nuclear crisis leaving Fukushima children out of shape

Dec 26, 2012

Inactivity amid nuclear crisis leaving Fukushima children out of shape

Children in nuclear disaster-hit Fukushima Prefecture are getting fatter due to lack of outdoor exercise amid daily radiation exposure limitations, the government said Tuesday in its school health report. The preliminary report, released by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, showed ...

| Dec 26, 2012

Bulls keeping pace in East with Rose on mend

by Sam Smith

If the Chicago Bulls are this good without point guard Derrick Rose —not great, but good — then could they really be serious title contenders even this season? You’d, of course, have said no chance coming into the 2012-13 NBA season, and anytime in ...

Dec 26, 2012

Fukudome to join Tigers: Minami

Free agent Kosuke Fukudome will sign a three-year deal with the Hanshin Tigers, according to team president Nobuo Minami, who revealed on Tuesday he had been informed of the outfielder’s intent. The Tigers and the Yokohama BayStars were pursuing the 35-year-old former major leaguer, ...

Fergie praises dynamic RVP

Dec 26, 2012

Fergie praises dynamic RVP

Alex Ferguson has hailed Robin van Persie as the missing piece in Manchester United’s title jigsaw as the Premier League leaders prepare to try and extend their lead at the top against Newcastle on Wednesday. Van Persie has had a superb start to his ...

Dec 26, 2012

Mozambique LNG venture in works

A joint venture involving the U.S. company CB&I and Japan’s Chiyoda Corp. has been picked to participate in a liquefied natural gas project in Mozambique, CB&I said Monday. “CC JV, a joint venture comprising of CB&I and Chiyoda Corporation, has been awarded a contract ...