The $3million vessel was destroyed in the collision and Mr Bethune was delivering a bill for its replacement to the Shonan Maru 2 captain. A Tokyo court on Wednesday convicted a New Zealand activist of assault and obstructing Japanese whaling ships in the Antarctic Ocean, and sentenced him to a suspended prison term. Peter Bethune was also found guilty on three other charges: trespassing, vandalism... 

Toyota Motor Corp. said Thursday about 270,000 cars sold worldwide, including luxury Lexus sedans — have potentially faulty engines, the latest quality lapse to hit the automaker following massive global recalls of top-selling models. Japan’s top-selling daily Yomiuri said in its evening edition that Toyota will inform the transport ministry of a recall on Monday. The paper cited no sources. Toyota... 

The Japanese government has blocked legal efforts to clamp down on child pornography, with the country becoming the world's "kiddie porn superpower," according to a pressure group. The ruling Democratic Party of Japan has refused to support legislation that would outlaw the possession of child pornography on the grounds that it would infringe individuals’ freedom of expression –... 

A Korean man living in Japan has reportedly adopted 554 children in order to claim 86 million yen in annual child support payments. The man, said to be a Korean in his fifties, approached the benefits office at the city of Amagasaki in Hyogo prefecture, where he enquired about the possibility of claiming child support for his children. He introduced his Thai wife and explained that the couple, in... 

Japanese Whaling Australia’s prime minister threatened legal action against Japan on Friday if it does not stop its research whaling program that kills up to 1,000 whales a year. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s comments came as the Australian Broadcasting Corp. quoted Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada as saying in an interview that Japan has no plans to halt its killing of whales in the... 

Danish police on Sunday released hundreds of activists who were detained during a mass rally demanding strong action from delegates at the U.N. climate conference. Police said only 13 of the 968 people detained during and after the demonstration in Copenhagen remained in custody Sunday. Of those, three — two Danes and a Frenchman — were set to be arraigned in court on preliminary charges of fighting... 

Here’s another recent bow to the Japanese Emperor. This very low degree bow makes Obama look like he is a slave of the emperor or a servant. Notice that the emperor doesn’t bow back. Obama is the first “American president” to ever bow before someone and practically to embarrass the American nation.  Read More »

For over 50 years, one party ruled Japan virtually uninterrupted. During that time, Japan remained a loyal ally and supporter of U.S. policy. This month, a historic event took place. Japan has new leadership. In a landslide victory, a new party has done the seemingly impossible. A new freshman class of leaders now governs the Land of the Rising Sun. The effects are already rippling across the... 

Is Japan panicking about hyper-inflation of US currency? by James Buchanan An article on a financial website notes “We’ve heard a lot of big numbers over the past year. A $700 billion bank rescue. A trillion-dollar deficit. A $50 billion Ponzi scheme. A quadrillion-dollar Zimbabwean personal check. But this story might top them all, if only for sheer originality. Details are extremely vague, but... 

A Japanese court sentenced an Israeli to eight years in prison on Friday after convicting him of attempting to smuggle Ecstasy into the country, according to friends of his family. The Israeli, who was a minor at the time of the crime, is the youngest of three yeshiva students arrested a year ago while attempting to enter Japan with suitcases containing large quantities of Ecstasy pills. The other... 

The Japanese government has officially adopted the British National Party’s policy of humane voluntary repatriation by offering foreigners cash grants to go home on the understanding that they never attempt to enter that country again. With the global economic crisis showing few signs of abating and Japan’s unemployment spiking to a three-year high of 4.4 percent, authorities have introduced a... 

Is Resident Evil 5 racist? A video game about zombies seems like an unlikely catalyst for a discussion of race, but Capcom’s upcoming horror title kicked off just such a firestorm in the gaming community this week and could eventually spark a much larger conflagration. Resident Evil 5 was unveiled last year at the Electronic Entertainment Expo and created a bit of stir with its portrayal of... 

A lesson for the West? With a surfeit of the old and a shortage of the young, Japan is on course for a population collapse unlike any in human history. What ails this prosperous nation could be treated with babies. Yet many young women here do not want children, and the Japanese will not tolerate a lot of immigrants. So government and industry are marching into the depopulated future with the help...