The U.S. dollar is "quite unlikely" to strengthen above 100 yen, a former top Japanese currency official said Friday, adding that he thinks the dollar-yen exchange rate has stabilized.
Speaking at a conference in Singapore, Eisuke Sakakibara--dubbed "Mr. Yen" for his influence on Japan's exchange rate as vice finance minister for international affairs from 1997 to 1999--said he believes the depreciation in the Japanese currency has almost ended.
The dollar has risen around 11% against the yen this year, as the Japanese currency has been pushed down by investor expectations of more aggressive monetary easing by the Bank of Japan. New BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda and his two deputies' nominations were sealed by Japan's upper house Thursday.
As of 0400 GMT, the dollar was at Y96.14, not far off the 3.5-year-high of Y96.71 it hit Tuesday.
But Mr. Sakakibara said he didn't expect that move to go much further.
Yahoo Japan Corp said on Friday night it suspected that up to 22 million of its user IDs may have been "leaked" and it detected an unauthorized attempt to access the administrative system of its web portal Yahoo Japan, the Kyodo news agency reported. (Reuters )
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has unveiled more details of his economic growth strategies using "winning the global market" as the key phrase. (NHK )
A government space panel has determined that Japan should begin developing its next-generation mainstay rocket for satellite launches in fiscal 2014. (NHK )
Nippon Ishin No Kai (Japan Restoration Party) will expel House of Representatives lawmaker Shingo Nishimura for his inappropriate comments about so-called "comfort women," or wartime prostitutes for soldiers of the now-defunct Imperial Japanese Army, a party executive said Friday. (Jiji Press )
Japan Atomic Energy Agency President Atsuyuki Suzuki resigned on Friday to take responsibility for a number of inspection flaws at the agency's Monju fast-breeder nuclear reactor in Fukui Prefecture, central Japan. (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 )
Police on Friday said that a real estate company employee was stabbed by an unknown assailant in the lobby of an office building near JR Akihabara station. The man is currently in a serious condition in hospital. (Japan Today )
Yahoo Japan Corp said on Friday night it suspected that up to 22 million of its user IDs may have been "leaked" and it detected an unauthorized attempt to access the administrative system of its web portal Yahoo Japan, the Kyodo news agency reported. (Reuters 
) 
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has unveiled more details of his economic growth strategies using "winning the global market" as the key phrase. (NHK 
A government space panel has determined that Japan should begin developing its next-generation mainstay rocket for satellite launches in fiscal 2014. (NHK 
Nippon Ishin No Kai (Japan Restoration Party) will expel House of Representatives lawmaker Shingo Nishimura for his inappropriate comments about so-called "comfort women," or wartime prostitutes for soldiers of the now-defunct Imperial Japanese Army, a party executive said Friday. (Jiji Press 
Japan Atomic Energy Agency President Atsuyuki Suzuki resigned on Friday to take responsibility for a number of inspection flaws at the agency's Monju fast-breeder nuclear reactor in Fukui Prefecture, central Japan. (Jiji Press 
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 
Police on Friday said that a real estate company employee was stabbed by an unknown assailant in the lobby of an office building near JR Akihabara station. The man is currently in a serious condition in hospital. (Japan Today 