News Blast

Japan's famous Tsukiji fish market braces for tuna trade ban

As bartenders close the shutters in Tokyo's glitzy nightlife district, just a short walk away handbells ring in the pre-dawn tuna auctions in an old warehouse in Tsukiji. Veteran auctioneers call for bids for hundreds of snap-frozen tuna laid in neat rows in the world's largest fish market, the size of more than 40 football pitches. The famous market on Tokyo Bay, long a must-see tourist spot, is facing a disputed relocation plan in coming years - but another threat is looming large, a possible cross-border trade ban on Atlantic bluefin tuna.

Disney high-speed support may boost Japan, China trainmakers

Walt Disney World in Florida may be the next stop for bullet-train makers in Japan and China. Central Japan Railway Co. and China South Locomotive & Rolling Stock Corp. are competing for the $8 billion President Barack Obama granted for 13 high-speed corridors across the U.S., including a Tampa-Orlando line that may include a station at the Walt Disney Co. resort in Orlando. The Japanese company, also known as JR Central, is eyeing North America as a shrinking population at home limits its growth.

Hatoyama's brother quits LDP, aiming to form new party

Former internal affairs minister Kunio Hatoyama, the younger brother of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, announced Monday that he has left the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party and will form a new party. "The current LDP alone cannot bring about a major change in Japanese politics," Kunio Hatoyama, 61, told reporters Monday evening after tendering his resignation letter to the LDP, indicating he hopes to create a new party before the Golden Week holidays starting at the end of April.

News Blast

Tokyo Sky Tree to become a new peak for Tokyo -- but of what?

Despite the recent economic recession, Tokyo's pursuit of height shows no sign of slowing down, providing a lot more opportunities for its residents to enjoy the new facets of the city. The Tokyo Sky Tree, a broadcasting tower currently under construction in Tokyo's Sumida Ward, is now visible from various locations as it grows taller every day. The tower has already reached 300 meters high, and once completed, it will be the world's tallest self-standing tower at 634 meters.

Japan Plans to Ignore Any Ban on Bluefin Tuna

Japan will not join in any agreement to ban the international trade in Atlantic bluefin tuna under the United Nations treaty on endangered species, the country's top fisheries negotiator said. The negotiator, Masanori Miyahara, said in a telephone interview this week that Japan "would have no choice but to take a reservation" - in effect, to ignore the ban and leave its market open to continued imports - if the species was granted most-endangered species status.

Asia’s Boom Conceals Some Darker Prospects

Taiwan grew at an 18 percent annualized rate in the fourth quarter. Japan is about to have its biggest initial public offering in more than a decade. A big Hong Kong property developer quickly sold hundreds of apartments in a remote suburb over the weekend after bringing in thousands of potential buyers with free buses from the city’s center. It is beginning to sound a lot like 2006 in Asia. Or is it?