BBC – February 16, 2016 – Japan’s telecoms giant Softbank Group has announced its biggest share buyback to-date, sending its shares up more than 14% in early trade on Tuesday. 

Guardian News – February 15, 2016 – Japan’s economy shrank at an annualised rate of 1.4% in the last quarter of 2015, new figures showed on Monday, dealing a further blow to attempts by the prime minister, Shinzo Abe, to lift the country out of stagnation.

Chicago Tribune – February 12, 2016 – TOKYO – Overworked or too sick to travel? Some people in Japan find solace in sending stuffed animals on trips in their place.

Jiji Press – February 9, 2016 – TOKYO — Japan posted a current account surplus of ¥16.64 trillion in 2015, up about 6.3-fold from the previous year, scoring the first growth in five years on the back of slumps on global crude oil markets, a Finance Ministry report showed Monday.

Chicago Tribune – February 4, 2016 – TOKYO – Two young Japanese knitwear designers have created original works with wonderful textures and great individuality, with one including elements from a brand-name towel in some of her pieces and the other pursuing three-dimensional expressions inspired by a “killer technique” from a manga.

TTG Media – February 3, 2016 – Japan, Burma and Kenya are set to be the rising travel stars of 2016, according to Kuoni’s latest travel trends report.

The Australian – February 2, 2016 –  Robots hold a unique place in the human imagination. We are fascinated by the prospect of interacting with automatons, yet they also inspire apocalyptic visions of humanity subjugated by robotic overlords. 

The Japan Times – February 1, 2016 – OSAKA – ‘Cool Japan Heats Up” declares a sign welcoming visitors to an area of Universal Studios Japan (USJ) devoted to the country’s hottest pop culture exports.

The Baltic Times – January 28, 2016 – Chiune Sugihara may not be a widely recognised global name, but during the early days of World War Two, this Japanese diplomat served as his country’s vice-consul in Lithuania’s interwar capital, Kaunas.

Nikkei Asian Review – January 26, 2016 – TOKYO – The Nippon Telegraph and Telephone group will go nationwide with a project that aims to lift tourism and other industries by tracking users of its smartphone app and free public Wi-Fi networks.