Daily Japan Headlines: Wednesday, Jan 11, 2012

Written By: guyjin on January 12, 2012 No Comment

Photo Source: AFP.

Yahoo: Space invaders: seniors take over Japan’s arcades

With plenty of time on their hands and cash in their pockets, well-behaved elderly customers make up a significant and growing number of those prepared to feed coins into machines for a few hours’ entertainment.
The so-called “silver market” is increasingly important for industries in Japan, where a plunging birth rate and a long life expectancy is leaving society increasingly top-heavy.

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Herald Sun: Japan tsunami death toll at 19,300

TEN months after a massive tsunami crashed into Japan following a huge undersea earthquake, police figures show a total of 19,294 people are believed to have died.
Across the disaster zone, 15,844 people have been confirmed dead since the March 11 disaster, the national police agency said.
In addition, the whereabouts of 3450 people are yet to be confirmed, the police said, as the hunt for bodies – many of which are believed to have been washed out to sea – continues.

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CNBC: Japan’s Noda Asks Fiscal Hawk Okada to Be DPM

Japan’s prime minister, faced with sinking popularity rates and hostile opposition, has asked ruling party heavyweight Katsuya Okada, a fiscal hawk, to become his deputy to oversee tax and social security reform, domestic media reported on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda hopes that drafting Okada, who has held key government and party posts in the past, would boost the government’s chances of pushing through an increase in Japan’s 5 percent sales tax to fund swelling social welfare costs.

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Wall Street Journal: Japan Wants to Keep Importing Iranian Crude

“We are concerned about an impact on global energy prices,” an official at Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Wednesday. “We are also worried about how a fuel shortage might impact rebuilding” after the massive earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan in March, added the official, who asked not to be named.

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Washington Post: West Japan Railway president found not guilty of negligence in 2005 crash that killed 107

The former president of a major Japanese railway was found not guilty Wednesday of negligence in a 2005 crash that killed 107 people in western Japan and raised concerns over pressures to sacrifice safety for punctuality.

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Sacramento Bee: Toyota Prius Japan top-selling car for third year

The Prius gas-electric hybrid was Japan’s top-selling vehicle in 2011 for the third straight year, underlining how the ecological car has scored a big hit.
Sales of Toyota Motor Corp.’s Prius totaled 252,528 vehicles in 2011, the Japan Automobile Dealers Association said Wednesday.

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Adelaide Now: Mother Nature finally smiles on Japan, with bumper ski season

“It’s the best start to the season for a long time.
“I think it’s a bit of a payback from Mother Nature for what happened last March.”

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BBC Video: Young Japanese ‘decline to fall in love’

Japan’s population is getting smaller so to try to boost the birth rate, payments have been introduced for parents and steps have been made to improve access to child care.
But a government survey has revealed a big problem: over a third of young men and more young women have no interest in sex.

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NDTV: Japan FIFA hat-trick boosts Olympic dream

“This has marked a great start for the year and I will aim with all members of the team for the top of the London Olympics podium,” added Sawa, who has played for Japan for 18 years and became the top scorer and most valuable player with five goals at the World Cup in Germany.
“I think I could give many children goals and dreams,” she said. “I could prove that nothing is impossible for Japanese or whoever.”

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