Japan

TOKYO, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- A Japanese astronaut on Thursday apologized for data fabrication and alternation in a research project that he oversaw over a decade ago.

"I keenly feel the responsibility for undermining trust. I sincerely apologize," Satoshi Furukawa, the 58-year-old astronaut, told a press conference.

Furukawa was responsible for an experiment conducted between 2016 and 2017 which aimed to examine how stress accumulates in the human body when ordinary people stay in a confined space for two weeks.

TOKYO, Jan 6 (NNN-NHK) – A 212-kg bluefin tuna was sold for 36.04 million yen (about 271,500 U.S. dollars) in the first auction of the year, at Tokyo’s Toyosu fish market, yesterday.

The most popular tuna at the new year auction, caught, off the northern Japan town of Oma, Aomori Prefecture, cost more than twice the top price at last year’s auction, 16.88 million yen for a 211-kg bluefin, but it came nowhere close to the record 333.6 million yen, fetched by a 278-kg bluefin tuna, in the 2019, first auction.

Jan 2 (Reuters) - World stocks inched higher, European bond yields dropped and the dollar held firm in light trading on Monday following warnings from the International Monetary Fund's managing director that a third of the world will fall into recession in 2023.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) rose 0.04%, just short of an index of global shares, which climbed 0.18%.

TOKYO, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- Two people were confirmed dead Monday after their bodies were found at the site of a landslide in northeastern Japan, local officials said.

Officials of Tsuruoka city in Yamagata prefecture said rescuers have found two victims at the site of the landslide, measuring 20 to 30 meters in height and 100 meters in width, that occurred at a mountain here on Saturday.

A team of about 200 people from police, firefighters and the Ground Self-Defense Force conducted a round-the-clock search, according to the Tsuruoka city office.

TOKYO, Dec 31 (NNN-NHK) – Japan’s benchmark Nikkei stocks index ended essentially flat yesterday, after erasing early gains on concerns something negative might happen in the U.S. and affect global markets during the holidays against a backdrop of global recession worries.

The Nikkei index marked its first decline since 2018, slumping 9.4 percent for the year.

The broader Topix index, meanwhile, lost 3.56 points, or 0.19 percent, to finish at 1,891.71.

TOKYO, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- Japan on Wednesday posted a record 415 COVID-19-related deaths as the country faced the eighth wave of infections during the holiday season.

The number, exceeding 400 for the second successive day, marked the highest daily figure since the pandemic began in Japan, according to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.

Among prefectures, Hokkaido on Wednesday reported the highest number of new COVID-19 deaths with 31, followed by Kanagawa with 28, and Tokyo with 23.

TOKYO, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Wednesday that he has no plans to immediately dissolve the lower house of parliament and call a snap election, although he said the move is "possible", according to local media reports.

Kishida's remarks come amid a slump in approval ratings for his cabinet triggered by a series of scandals and gaffes leading to the sacking of four ministers in two months, and ahead of unpopular planned tax hikes.

TOKYO, Dec 27 (NNN-NHK) – Japanese Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, could be planning to sack his reconstruction minister, over his alleged involvement in political funding scandals, sources close to the matter and local media reported, yesterday.

According to sources within Kishida’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Kenya Akiba, could be ousted from his position by the end of the year, amid mounting calls from the opposition camp for him to step down.

TOKYO (AP) — Heavy snow in large swaths of Japan has killed 17 and injured more than 90 people and left hundreds of homes without power, disaster management officials said Monday.

TOKYO, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- Japan posted a record 371 coronavirus-related deaths on Friday as the country faced an eighth wave of infections ahead of the holiday season.

The number marked the highest daily figure since the pandemic began in Japan, compared to the previous high of 347 reported on Sept. 2 during the seventh wave, according to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.

Among prefectures, Kanagawa on Friday reported the highest number of coronavirus-related deaths with 28, followed by Hokkaido with 25, Tokyo with 24, and Osaka with 19.