Japan's parliament OKs nominations for new BOJ leadership
Kyodo -- Mar 15
Japan's parliament approved on Friday the nominations of Haruhiko Kuroda for Bank of Japan governor and Kikuo Iwata and Hiroshi Nakaso for deputy chiefs, paving the way for further monetary easing to invigorate the deflation-beset economy.
The House of Councillors, the upper house, voted for the government's selection of Asian Development Bank President Kuroda, 68, Gakushuin University professor Iwata, 70, and BOJ Executive Director Nakaso, 59, despite the ruling coalition's lack of a majority in the chamber.
As Kuroda and Iwata, strong proponents of bold credit easing, have pledged to achieve a 2 percent inflation target within two years, criticizing the monetary policy under the present BOJ regime, they are expected to act swiftly after taking office next Wednesday, analysts said.
Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera said Monday the government has identified the country whose submarine was detected while submerged the previous day near Okinawa and will call for such encroachments to cease. (Japan Times )
North Korea has fired its fourth missile in two days despite international condemnation against the tests. Meanwhile, UN chief Ban Ki-moon urged a return to talks on the Korean peninsula to mitigate tensions. (Deutsche Welle )
The number of visitors to the observation deck of Tokyo Skytree, the world's tallest broadcasting tower at 634 meters, reached 6.34 million on Monday, matching the numerals of its height two days before the first anniversary of its opening, according to the operator. (Kyodo )
Toru Hashimoto, co-head of Nippon Ishin No Kai (Japan Restoration Party), told Shintaro Ishihara, the other co-leader of the Japanese opposition party, on Sunday that he has no intention to withdraw his recent remarks that have triggered outrage both at home and abroad. (Jiji Press )
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Sunday underscored his government's intention to help promote the state-of-the-art medical technologies. (Jiji Press )
A 24-year-old woman was in a serious condition Friday after being stabbed by a man whom she reported to police for stalking her in Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture. (Japan Today )
China's television regulator has ordered a crackdown on dramas about the country's battles with Japan during and before World War Two and demanded they be more serious, state media said on Friday, following viewer complaints about ludicrous storylines. (Reuters )
Police said Friday they have found four dead bodies in an apartment in Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture, in what is believed to have been a family murder-suicide. (Japan Today )
Shukan Post (May 24) conveys the difficulties experienced by other parts of the adult-entertainment biz in servicing customers from the communist nation.
A deri heru (“delivery health”) call-girl tells the tabloid that she is often requested to arrive at major hotels in the Shinjuku and Ikebukuro entertainment areas of Tokyo by Chinese visitors. (Tokyo Reporter)
Six sailors were found dead after a fire on a foreign freighter docked at a port in Hokkaido, northern Japan.
The sailors are presumed to be Russians. (NHK )
Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera said Monday the government has identified the country whose submarine was detected while submerged the previous day near Okinawa and will call for such encroachments to cease. (Japan Times 
) 
North Korea has fired its fourth missile in two days despite international condemnation against the tests. Meanwhile, UN chief Ban Ki-moon urged a return to talks on the Korean peninsula to mitigate tensions. (Deutsche Welle 
The number of visitors to the observation deck of Tokyo Skytree, the world's tallest broadcasting tower at 634 meters, reached 6.34 million on Monday, matching the numerals of its height two days before the first anniversary of its opening, according to the operator. (Kyodo 
Toru Hashimoto, co-head of Nippon Ishin No Kai (Japan Restoration Party), told Shintaro Ishihara, the other co-leader of the Japanese opposition party, on Sunday that he has no intention to withdraw his recent remarks that have triggered outrage both at home and abroad. (Jiji Press 
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Sunday underscored his government's intention to help promote the state-of-the-art medical technologies. (Jiji Press 
Dozens of American children are abducted to Japan every year-not by strangers, but by parents after messy divorces. (thedailybeast.com 
A 5-year-old boy sustained an injury at a shopping mall in Nagoya on Friday after his hand became trapped in an escalator. (Japan Today 
A 24-year-old woman was in a serious condition Friday after being stabbed by a man whom she reported to police for stalking her in Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture. (Japan Today 
A 70-year-old woman has been rescued from a toilet in which she had been waiting for help for three days, Hiroshima police said Friday. (Japan Today 
A traditional dance was performed on Friday at an ancient temple in Nikko City, northeast of Tokyo. (NHK 
China's television regulator has ordered a crackdown on dramas about the country's battles with Japan during and before World War Two and demanded they be more serious, state media said on Friday, following viewer complaints about ludicrous storylines. (Reuters 
A bear was shot dead after it wandered into a school in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Thursday. (Japan Today 
Police said Friday they have found four dead bodies in an apartment in Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture, in what is believed to have been a family murder-suicide. (Japan Today 
Shukan Post (May 24) conveys the difficulties experienced by other parts of the adult-entertainment biz in servicing customers from the communist nation.
A deri heru (“delivery health”) call-girl tells the tabloid that she is often requested to arrive at major hotels in the Shinjuku and Ikebukuro entertainment areas of Tokyo by Chinese visitors. (Tokyo Reporter) 
Six sailors were found dead after a fire on a foreign freighter docked at a port in Hokkaido, northern Japan.
The sailors are presumed to be Russians. (NHK 