Tokyo City

Tokyo stocks finish down 0.78%

musiclover — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 22:17:26 +0000

Tokyo shares closed 0.78 per cent lower on Tuesday following losses on Wall Street stoked by political and economic uncertainty in Europe and softer Chinese manufacturing figures. The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange fell 74.13 points to close at 9,468.04. The broader Topix index of all first-section issues slipped 0.69 per cent, More >

Tokyo’s intentions for Senkaku islets

musiclover — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 01:01:02 +0000

Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara’s plan to have the metropolitan government purchase the Senkaku Islands continued to cause ripples Wednesday, with both China and Taiwan quickly issuing statements criticizing the move.

Following are questions and answers regarding the controversy and ownership of the islands:

What is the current status of the islands?

Located approximately 400 km from both Okinawa Island and the city of Fuzhou in China’s Fujian Province, they consist of three reefs and five islands, the largest of which, Uotsuri, measures 3.82 sq. km. The other four islands are Kuba, Taisho, Minami Kojima and Kita Kojima. The islets are known as Diaoyu in China.

Since 2002, the internal affairs ministry has paid approximately ¥24 million a year to rent Uotsuri, Minami Kojima and Kita Kojima from their owner, who resides in Saitama Prefecture.

Kuba, a property held by a relative of the Saitama owner, is being rented by the Defense Ministry for an undisclosed amount. Taisho is already owned by the government.

Ishihara is contemplating the purchase of Uotsuri, Minami Kojima and Kita Kojima.

Tokyo stocks weaken after BoJ meeting

musiclover — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 22:44:31 +0000

Japan has agreed to funnel billions of pounds into British infrastructure, including wind power, in a fillip for government efforts to attract more foreign investment into big strategic projects. The deal with the state-backed Japanese Bank for International Cooperation came during a visit to Tokyo by David Cameron, prime minister, on the first day of More >

Tokyo chefs angry over new blowfish laws

musiclover — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 00:34:25 +0000

With a scoop of a net Tokyo chef Naohito Hashimoto selects a poisonous blowfish, considered a delicacy in Japan, and with a few deft strokes of his gleaming knife starts the delicate process of preparing it for a customer.

In moments, Hashimoto has separated the edible parts of the fish from organs filled with a poison more deadly than cyanide. For more than six decades, dicing blowfish in Tokyo has been the preserve of a small band of strictly regulated and licensed chefs, usually in exclusive restaurants.

Tokyo stocks close down 0.71%

musiclover — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 22:58:09 +0000

Tokyo stocks fell 0.71 percent on Wednesday following a weak performance on Wall Street, despite a surge from electronics maker Sharp on a capital deal with Taiwan’s Hon Hai. The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange, which rose 2.36 percent Tuesday to its highest point since Japan was devastated by a massive earthquake More >

Tepco Chairman’s Power Poses Test for Tokyo

musiclover — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 21:55:22 +0000

As Japan’s government attempts to reshape the power industry following last year’s nuclear accident, the influence of the chairman of the utility Tokyo is trying to restructure shows how hard that task will be.

Tsunehisa Katsumata, chairman of Tokyo Electric Power Co., 9501.TO -1.38% is among the most powerful and well-connected businessmen in Japan. A former Tepco president, he essentially took control of the company last March, after dealing with the crisis at its Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant proved too much for then-President Masataka Shimizu.

Japan finishes 634m Tokyo Sky Tree

musiclover — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 23:09:59 +0000

Construction of the Tokyo Sky Tree, the world’s tallest communications tower and second-highest building, finished yesterday, two months late because of the quake and tsunami that struck Japan last March. Tourist bosses in the country hope the 634-metre tower will be a big draw for foreign visitors, whose numbers have plummeted in the aftermath of More >

Tokyo stocks see highest finish since August

musiclover — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:41:43 +0000

Tokyo stocks rose almost one percent to close Wednesday at their highest level in six-and-a-half months as exporters were boosted by a sliding yen. The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange rose 0.96 percent or 90.98 points to 9,554.00, its strongest finish since August 4, while the Topix index of all first-section issues was up 1.12 percent, or 9.11 points, at 825.40.

Exporters were the main beneficiaries of the yen’s slide. The dollar strengthened to 80.04 yen from 79.69 yen in New York late Tuesday, breaking through the psychological 80.00 yen level against the Japanese unit.

Tokyo stocks open down 0.30 per cent

musiclover — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 01:10:39 +0000

Tokyo shares opened 0.30 per cent lower on Thursday after New York stocks sank amid worries over a Greek debt deal. The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange, which closed at its highest point since August 5 on Wednesday thanks to a weaker yen, opened down 27.96 points at 9,232.38.

“The market may take a break after reaching the psychologically important 9,250 mark (on Wednesday),” said Daiwa Securities senior market analyst Yumi Nishimura.

Life-size papier mâché rhino captured by Tokyo zoo

musiclover — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:27:28 +0000

A Tokyo zoo ran an emergency drill for staff on how to respond if large animals should escape. The video above shows two staff members of the Ueno Zoological Gardens clad in a papier mâché rhinoceros costume.

Staff and police surround the “rhino” with a net and pretend to tranquilize and capture it.

Zoo officials are concerned about the real possibility of animals escaping from enclosures in a country like Japan that is prone to earthquakes. These annual drills prepare the staff for such an event but without any real danger.