Japan
Japanese chef meets North Korea's Kim and wife: reports
TOKYO - A Japanese chef for the late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il visited Pyongyang for the first time in 11 years and met the new young leader and his wife Ri Sol-ju, whom he described as "pretty and charming", Japanese media said on Saturday.
Recent Japan News
Japan Airlines expects IPO to raise $8.5 billion
TOKYO - Japan Airlines said on Friday it expected to raise about $8.5 billion in an initial public offering next month, nearly doubling the investment of a state-backed fund that injected capital into the carrier following its bankruptcy in 2010.
Nomura to get light sanction for Japan insider trading
TOKYO - Nomura Holdings will be ordered to bolster internal controls by Japan's financial regulator on Friday, four people with knowledge of the matter said, the lightest possible sanction for its role in three insider trading cases.
JAL gives up on securing stable shareholders before $8 billion IPO
TOKYO - Japan Airlines has given up on the idea of securing stable shareholders to hold at least 10 percent of its stock ahead of its listing because such a move would breach industry rules, Chairman Emeritus Kazuo Inamori said.
Mitsui extends loan period for Codelco's potential purchase of Anglo Sur
TOKYO - Japan's Mitsui & Co has agreed to extend by one month a loan commitment to Codelco to fund the possible purchase of a stake in Anglo American Plc's Chilean copper properties, which are the subject of a legal dispute, a source familiar with the deal said.
Want to beat summer heat? Try cream puff with soy sauce ice cream
TOKYO - Soy sauce isn't just for sushi anymore. At least, that's the thinking of one Japanese confectionary company that has invented the cream puff stuffed with soy sauce flavored ice cream.
Special reports
The nuclear industry's trillion dollar question
Before Fukushima, more than 300 nuclear reactors were planned worldwide, mostly in developing economies. While parts of the developed world may reduce their use of nuclear, China, India, the Middle East and Eastern Europe look set continue their nuclear drive. Full Article
Quake reveals cracks in insurance system
The sophisticated modeling systems the insurance industry uses to predict where disasters will happen and how much they will cost never factored in an earthquake the size of the one that hit northeast Japan. Full Article
Japan engineers knew tsunami could overrun plant
A review of Tokyo Electric Power and regulatory records shows that Japan and its largest utility repeatedly downplayed dangers and ignored warnings -- including a 2007 tsunami study from TEPCO's senior safety engineer. Full Article
Fuel storage, safety issues vexed Japan plant
Tokyo Electric and regulators are certain to face scrutiny on the decision to store most of the Fukushima plant's spent fuel rods inside the reactor buildings rather than invest in other potentially safer storage options. Full Article
Disasters show flaws in just-in-time production
In a globalized economy where manufacturers have moved ever more toward lean inventories, the weakest link in the supply chain is what Japan is best known for: high-end, highly technical parts. Full Article
Radiation fears may be greatly exaggerated
As workers struggle to contain the fallout from a crippled Japanese nuclear plant, people as far away as Illinois are calling public health officials in a state of panic. But the truth is anxiety is largely disproportionate to the actual danger. Full Article
Mistakes, misfortune, meltdown: Japan's quake
An examination of Japan's effort to contain its escalating nuclear disaster reveals a series of missteps, bad luck and desperate improvisation. What also emerges is a country that has begun to question some of its oldest values. Full Article
Why Japan will avert a fiscal meltdown
In these dark hours, Japan would do well to heed former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel's memorable maxim that you never want a serious crisis to go to waste. Full Article
Can Japan find "New Deal" after triple whammy?
The nuclear crisis was a triple whammy for Japan, coming on top of the earthquake -- the fifth strongest ever recorded -- and one of the most powerful tsunami in history, which caused scenes of unimaginable destruction in northeast Japan. Full Article | Related Story
In Chernobyl, a disaster persists
As Japan battles to prevent a meltdown at its earthquake-hit Fukushima Daini nuclear plant, the people of Ukraine are preparing to mark the 25th anniversary of the world's worst nuclear accident. Full Article | Related Story
An interactive guide to how the disaster unfolded. Timeline
Scenes From Japan
Japan disaster: How you can help
If you want to help but are unsure of where to turn here is a comprehensive list of relief organizations that are scrambling to provide aid. Full Article
Fukushima has a hole, leading to leakage
One of the reactors at Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant has a hole in its main vessel following a meltdown of fuel rods, leading to a leakage of radioactive water, its operator said. Video | Full Article
Key external resources
Helpful links to other sites
The story on the devastation throughout Japan is extremely complex and changing by the minute. Here are some external resources that our readers have found useful, starting off with NHK World News. Learn More