TOKYO: Acclaimed Japanese conductor Seiji Ozawa has pulled out of a trip to Switzerland that was to mark his return to the podium in Europe after years of poor health, an official told AFP Thursday.The 77-year-old maestro had planned to take part in lessons at the Seiji Ozawa International Academy ...

TOKYO : Japan’s human rights envoy to the United Nations was Wednesday facing calls to quit over a video which showed him shouting at fellow diplomats to “shut up”.YouTube footage of the incident at the UN torture committee in Geneva has provoked a storm of criticism on the ...

TOKYO - France’s Francois Hollande was left red-faced in Tokyo on Friday after a slip of the tongue that saw him confuse his Japanese hosts with the Chinese.During a press conference Hollande, speaking in French, referred to the Algerian hostage crisis in January in which 10 Japanese ...

TOKYO - The dollar fell against the yen in Asia on Wednesday after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's speech on his growth strategy for the economy delivered few surprises. The greenback bought 99.72 yen in Tokyo afternoon trade from 99.98 yen in New York late Tuesday, slipping from earlier on ...

TOKYO : An unexploded World War II shell that was discovered just metres (yards) from a busy rail track halted high speed trains in Japan Tuesday, as bomb disposal experts moved in to detonate it.The travel plans of around 90,000 people were disrupted when an exclusion zone was thrown up around the ...

TOKYO : A billion dollars of public money earmarked to help people hit by Japan's 2011 quake and tsunami was spent in areas unaffected by the natural disaster, the government admitted Monday. Projects ranging from counting sea turtles on semi-tropical beaches, to the promotion of cheese and wine ...

TOKYO  -Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his Indian counterpart agreed on Wednesday to speed up talks on a deal to allow Japan to export nuclear plants and to strengthen security cooperation as both sides keep a wary eye on China’s military clout.The Indo-Japanese summit meeting ...

NAYPYIDAW - Japan on Sunday announced a development aid and loan package for Myanmar worth hundreds of millions of dollars as it boosts trade ties with the fast-changing nation seen as a key regional emerging market.Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who has pledged "all possible assistance" to kick-start ...

TOKYO- Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called for an early accord on civil nuclear cooperation with Tokyo and more Japanese investment ahead of an official visit, reports said Sunday.Singh, who will travel to Japan in the coming week for talks with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, made the ...

YANGON- Japan on Sunday endorsed Myanmar's reform programme by writing off nearly $2 billion (£1.3 billion) in debt and extending new aid, some of which will help support an industrial zone being developed by Japanese firms near the commercial capital, Yangon.Japan agreed a year ago to ...

Yangon - Japan’s premier on Saturday pledged “all possible assistance” to kick-start Myanmar’s ailing economy, hailing a major industrial zone near Yangon as a symbol of development for the impoverished nation.Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is touting the potential of ...

YANGON : Japan’s premier on Saturday pledged “all possible assistance” to kick-start Myanmar’s ailing economy, hailing a major industrial zone near Yangon as a symbol of development for the impoverished nation.Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is touting the potential of ...

TOKYO: A pair of cantaloupe melons sold at auction in Japan on Friday for 1.6 million yen ($15,730), one of the highest prices ever paid for the coveted orange-fleshed fruit.A local fruit wholesaler snapped up the 3.7-kilogramme (8.1-pound) Yubari melons at the high-end fruit and vegetable sale, ...

ISLAMABAD - Japanese Ambassador in Pakistan Hiroshi Oe Friday called on President Asif Ali Zardari at the Aiwan-e-Sadr. Pak-Japan bilateral relations with focus on promoting trade and investment ties between the two countries were discussed during the meeting.

TOKYO  - A Japanese cancer specialist said Wednesday she has started the world’s first clinical trial of a powerful, non-surgical, short-term radiation therapy for breast cancer. The National Institute of Radiological Sciences has begun the trial using “heavy ion ...

TOKYO - Japan’s earnings season has drawn to a close with the sharply weaker yen helping inflate profits at some of the nation’s top exporters, but, warn some commentators, the drop is not all good news.Sony booked its first annual profit in five years, Toyota more than tripled its ...

TOKYO : Yahoo Japan Corp. has said it suspects up to 22 million user IDs may have been stolen during an unauthorised attempt to access the administrative system of its Yahoo! Japan portal. “We don’t know if the file (of 22 million user IDs) was leaked or not, but we can’t deny the ...

A strong 6.1-magnitude earthquake struck off the northern coast of Japan's main Honshu island on Saturday, seismologists said, but no tsunami warning was issued and there were no immediate reports of damage.The quake hit at 2:48 pm (0548 GMT) in the Pacific some 50 kilometres (31 miles) from Namie ...

islamabadThe election observer mission of Japan government Tuesday said as a whole there were improvements in terms of fair elections, although some electoral fraud was reported.A statement issued from the Embassy of Japan in Pakistan said, “As a whole, there were improvements in terms of the ...

  HIGASHIYAMA      In the shadow of a giant Chinese character for "tea" written in live cypress trees, enthusiasts gather once every three years in Japan to talk about one of the world's favourite drinks. The World Tea Festival this month celebrated the liquid in all its forms, ...

AYLESBURY - The United States told Japan it would be watching for any sign it was manipulating its currency downward, but Tokyo said it met no resistance to its policies at a meeting of Group of Seven finance ministers which will conclude on Saturday.As ministers and central bankers met on Friday ...

ANKARA :JapanandTurkeyon Friday signed a long-awaited deal to build a sprawling nuclear power plant onTurkey’sBlack Seacoast, a milestone for the Japanese nuclear industry as it recovers from the 2011Fukushimadisaster. Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan hailed the $22 billion contract as a ...

ABU DHABI : Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said his country will sign a nuclear treaty with the UAE on Thursday as he stressedTokyo’s cooperation with itsMiddle Eastpartners. Abe, making his second visit to the Gulf country as prime minister, arrived late on Wednesday in theUnited Arab ...

TOKYO A bull has gored to death a 40-year-old man in southern Japan just a month after attacking his father and breaking the older man’s ribs, police and a report said Wednesday.Owner Rikiya Tomi was set upon as he tried to show the huge animal to friends on the southern islet of Tokunoshima, ...

islamabad - Japan has agreed to extend two Non-project Grant Aids (NPGAs) for providing Japanese medical equipment, other products made by Japanese Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), worth 800 million Japanese yen (approximately $8 million or Rs 807 million) in total, to Pakistan.Signings for ...

MOSCOWRussian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged Monday to renew efforts to find a solution to a decades-long territorial row that has prevented the two sides from signing a World War II peace treaty.After two hours of talks in the Kremlin, they agreed to order ...

TOKYO : Four climbers died over the weekend and two others are missing on mountains including Mount Fuji in central Japan, police and news reports said Monday. Police said that on Sunday they found the body of a 56-year-old woman who had been missing since an avalanche hit a group of climbers on ...

TOKYO: Nationalist Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Sunday ledJapan’s first state-backed ceremony to mark the return of its sovereignty in 1952 following its defeat in World War II. The move may be regarded warily by neighbouringChinaandSouth Koreawhich are suspicious of signs of rising nationalism ...

TOKYO-Japan's 66-year-old Masashi "Jumbo" Ozaki has shot a nine-under-par 62 to put another feather in his cap as he became the first to finish a round with strokes less than his age on the regular domestic tour. "Shooting my age is not something I try to do, although I want to be able to do ...

islamabad - Pakistan has never defaulted in its international obligations since 1947 and will never default, said Dr. Shahid Amjad Chaudhry, Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance.Pakistan’s economy is strong enough to meet its international obligations. “Japan is very special country for ...