The latest issue of the annual Mercer’s Cost of Living Survey has Tokyo and Osaka as the two most expensive cities to live in within Asia. Topping the 2011 list is the Angolan city of Luanda, which was also the most expensive last year, followed by Tokyo, which is again unchanged at number [...]

Photo Source: LA Times.

LA Times: Japan dominates in 3-1 victory over Sweden in Women’s World Cup

“Everyone could see that Japan was the better side,” Sweden Coach Thomas Dennerby said. “They put in an outstanding tactical display and I think they pose a real threat to the USA.”

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BBC: Japan PM Naoto Kan urges [...]

Japan Times: Computerized composite joins AKB48 lineup

Confectionery company Ezaki Glico Co., which features the character named Aimi Eguchi along with a few other AKB48 members in the commercial for its Ice no Mi (Fruit of Ice) product, confirmed Monday that she is a composite image of six members of the group.

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ABC News: Magnitude-6.7 [...]

Wall Street Journal: Mutant Japanese Bunny Video Goes Viral

So, as a certain cartoon rabbit might say, what’s up doc? The clip doesn’t offer a birth certificate for the rabbit, there’s no evidence of where it was shot, and we have no idea why the rabbit has no ears–so basically take this one with [...]

Ishikawa Ryo. Photo Source: Wall Street Journal.

Wall Street Journal: Ryo Ishikawa, the Recovery Golfer

“In the sport of golf, in general as you know, all players make mistakes,” said Mr. Ishikawa, currently number 53 in world golf rankings and the youngest money title winner in Japanese golf history at the age of 18, who [...]

Photo Source: Digital Trends.

Digital Trends: Panasonic developing an eco-harmonious Japan ‘Smart Town’ for 2014

The plan is to turn a piece of Fujisawa city into a “sustainable smart town” of 1000 houses all built to be energy-conscious and eco-harmonious. Each of the nine companies has their own responsibility from creating the town concept and [...]

Major restaurants always covet Michelin stars, one of the food industry’s premiere signs of success. The latest edition of the Michelin Guide shows that Tokyo restaurants now have a total of 261 stars for 197 different restaurants. Eleven of these restaurants have three stars, and the Tokyo total is triple that of nearest competitor Paris, making the [...]