Parker sets new mark in win over Thunder
Tony Parker wasn't playing for an All-Star invitation. He made a strong case just the same.
Putting together his most dazzling game in three years — and doing it against the NBA's hottest team, no less — Parker scored 42 points and became the all-time franchise assists leader for the San Antonio Spurs in a 107-96 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday night.
Source: The Japan Times: All Stories | 5 Feb 2012 | 3:39 pm
Vonn takes downhill for 50th World Cup victory
A career milestone and a rare family reunion. All of which left Lindsey Vonn in tears, and it made for a perfect day.
Vonn captured her 50th World Cup victory Saturday, winning the downhill on the demanding Kandahar course with temperatures plunging to minus 25 Celsius.
Source: The Japan Times: All Stories | 5 Feb 2012 | 3:38 pm
Kanagawa teen wins elite Swiss ballet competition
A 17-year-old Japanese girl was among the eight winners of the prestigious Prix de Lausanne ballet competition in Switzerland on Saturday, the organizers said.
Madoka Sugai of Kanagawa Prefecture had the top score and was also given the contemporary dance prize.
Source: The Japan Times: All Stories | 5 Feb 2012 | 3:37 pm
Mormon Church could use a Martin Luther
There has been much talk recently about whether America is ready for a Mormon president. This tolerance question should cut both ways.
Nearly a quarter of Americans told Gallup last summer that they wouldn't vote for a Mormon president, which is unfortunate since former Gov. Mitt Romney and former candidate Jon Huntsman are both smart, capable men.
Source: The Japan Times: All Stories | 5 Feb 2012 | 3:36 pm
Ginowan mayoral campaigns kick off
Official campaigning for the mayoral election kicked off Sunday in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, where the relocation of a key U.S. Marine Corps base remained the top issue.
So far, two independents — Atsushi Sakima, 47, a former member of the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly, and former Ginowan Mayor Yoichi Iha, 60, — have filed candidacies for the Feb. 12 election to choose the successor to former Mayor Takeshi Asato, who has resigned for health reasons.
Source: The Japan Times: All Stories | 5 Feb 2012 | 3:35 pm
Less respect for credit rating agencies
Italian investigative authorities have started investigating credit rating agencies on suspicion of manipulating markets by issuing ratings without a solid basis. The investigation appears to be retaliatory action for the agencies' downgrading of bonds of European countries.
It is reported that a search warrant in one of the cases stated that a downgrading of Italy's sovereign rating was based on "untruthful, tendentious, incoherent and unfair" assessments and data.
Source: The Japan Times: All Stories | 5 Feb 2012 | 3:34 pm
Van Persie hat trick helps get Gunners back on track
Arsenal bounced back with style from its miserable run in the Premier League on Saturday, hammering beleaguered Blackburn 7-1 with Robin van Persie grabbing a hat trick to keep up his stunning form this season.
Substitute Thierry Henry also found the net at Emirates Stadium for his first league goal since returning to the club on loan as Arsene Wenger's team climbed provisionally into fifth place and within two points of Chelsea.
Source: The Japan Times: All Stories | 5 Feb 2012 | 3:33 pm
Auto talks eyed with U.S. to ease TPP bid
Japan is set to propose a working-level forum for auto trade issues with the United States to speed up its efforts to join negotiations on a trans-Pacific trade framework, sources said Saturday.
Tokyo will make the overture at preliminary talks related to the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, a free-trade initiative led by Washington, on Tuesday, the sources said.
Source: The Japan Times: All Stories | 5 Feb 2012 | 3:32 pm
Workplace 'power harassment'
A labor ministry panel has at last addressed one of the biggest problems in the Japanese workplace — power harassment. The ministry's definitions and proposals were contained in a report aimed at preventing and resolving the problem. Considering that the number of consultations about power harassment totaled a shocking 39,405 in fiscal 2010, the labor ministry's belated response is welcome.
For the first time, the labor ministry report defined power harassment, specifying it as an abuse of authority by higher ranking employees who behave in a manner that causes subordinates physical pain or emotional distress.
Source: The Japan Times: All Stories | 5 Feb 2012 | 3:31 pm
Sungoliath end Top League in first
New Japan coach Eddie Jones' Suntory Sungoliath beat Kobe Kobelco Steelers 32-28 to finish the Top League season in first place on Sunday.
Suntory, which won 12 of 13 to end up two points ahead of Toshiba Brave Lupus, will head to the four-way Top League playoffs starting Feb. 19 at Tokyo's Chichibunomiya Stadium, where it will face fourth-place NEC Green Rockets.
Source: The Japan Times: All Stories | 5 Feb 2012 | 3:30 pm
World › Outrage as Russia, China veto U.N. move on Syria
Russia and China blocked a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning Syria for its crackdown on protests, amid growing outrage Sunday at a "massacre" in the protest city of Homs and a spiralling death toll. The vetoes came as activists reported another 57 people killed in Syria, adding to the body…
Source: Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion | 5 Feb 2012 | 3:00 am
National › Nuclear security summit aims to restore confidence in industry
World leaders will gather in South Korea in March for a summit that will seek to restore confidence in the nuclear industry after the Fukushima disaster in Japan. The Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul will be the second since U.S. President Barack Obama inaugurated the forum in Washington in 2010…
Source: Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion | 5 Feb 2012 | 2:20 am
Picture of the Day › White out
A woman shovels snow from the roof of a house in Yuzawa, Niigata Prefecture.
Source: Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion | 5 Feb 2012 | 2:07 am
Politics › Japan, U.S. discussing revised plan for relocating Marines from Okinawa
Japan and the U.S. are discussing a revised plan for the relocation of U.S. Marines from Okinawa to Guam as part of a realignment of U.S. military forces in Japan. But the relocation of the controversial U.S. air base at Futenma will be handled separately, Japanese defense officials said, NHK…
Source: Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion | 5 Feb 2012 | 1:49 am
World › Rising floodwaters spark mass evacuation in Australia
Thousands of Australians were forced to abandon their homes Sunday as record flooding that has cut off thousands of people threatened to engulf areas devastated by wild weather last year. Police ordered the 3,800 residents of the town of St George, in northern Queensland state, to evacuate as rising floodwaters…
Source: Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion | 5 Feb 2012 | 1:11 am
Sports › Not many surprises in Super Bowl ads
There won't be many surprises for viewers who follow the ads during Sunday's Super Bowl broadcast. About 20 of the roughly 36 Super Bowl advertisers put their TV commercials online before Sunday. That's a major shift: It's up from last year when only a handful of companies released their ads…
Source: Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion | 4 Feb 2012 | 10:18 pm
World › Romney wins big in Nevada
Republican White House hopeful Mitt Romney romped to victory in the Nevada caucuses Saturday, U.S. media predicted, cementing him as frontrunner to take on President Barack Obama in November. And former House speaker Newt Gingrich was only a few points ahead of libertarian congressman Ron Paul in a battle for…
Source: Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion | 4 Feb 2012 | 5:12 pm
Business › Toyota invests $90 million to expand Russia factory
Japanese carmaking giant Toyota will invest $90 million over the next three years to expand its factory in the northwestern Russian city of Saint Petersburg. "The Toyota Motor Manufacturing Russia company announces its plans to expand production at the factory in Saint Petersburg," the company said, adding it would invest…
Source: Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion | 4 Feb 2012 | 5:05 pm
Health › Time to tax sugar to combat health crisis: experts
Sugar should be identified alongside alcohol and tobacco as a health danger, and governments should tax sweetened drinks and food as part of their efforts to combat it. So says a commentary, published in the journal Nature as part of a widening debate among doctors and policymakers about food fiscality…
Source: Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion | 4 Feb 2012 | 5:00 pm
Crime › Cigarette vending machine thief's getaway foiled by snow
A man who stole a cigarette vending machine in Chino, Nagano Prefecture, didn't get very far after his getaway truck skidded off the road due to heavy snow, sending the vending machine onto the pavement. According to police, the suspect, identified as Kesami Ikegami, 34, stole the vending machine at…
Source: Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion | 4 Feb 2012 | 5:00 pm