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Gov't not aware of any ghosts at PM's residence

The government said Friday it is "not aware" of any ghosts rumored to haunt the prime minister's official residence, in response to a written inquiry submitted by an opposition lawmaker. Given that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has yet to move into the official residence five months after assuming power in December, Ken Kagaya, an upper house member of the Democratic Party of Japan, asked the government if the rumors of ghosts were true.

U.N. chief to visit Japan to attend Africa conference

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon will visit Japan from May 31 to attend a gathering of Japanese and African leaders on African development to be held in Yokohama, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said Friday. During his four-day stay through June 3, Ban is scheduled to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida.

Tokyo repeats protest over A-bomb column in S. Korean paper

Japan has lodged a protest with the South Korean newspaper JoongAng Ilbo for the second time over a recent column that described the 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as "divine punishment," Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said Friday. Saying the Japanese Embassy in Seoul lodged the protest with the newspaper on Thursday, Kishida told reporters that as the only country to have suffered atomic attack, Japan "can never accept this kind of view about atomic bombs."

Tokyo repeats protest over A-bomb column in S. Korean

Japan has lodged a protest with the South Korean newspaper JoongAng Ilbo for the second time over a recent column that described the 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as "divine punishment," Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said Friday. Saying the Japanese Embassy in Seoul lodged the protest with the newspaper on Thursday, Kishida told reporters that as the only country to have suffered atomic attack, Japan "can never accept this kind of view about atomic bombs."

LDP to drop Article 96 revision from upper house election pledges

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party has decided not to include revising Article 96 of the Constitution in its campaign pledges for the upcoming upper house election, senior party officials said Thursday. It will still pledge to seek to change the process for amending the Constitution. Article 96 states that any initiative to amend the Constitution must be supported by at least two-thirds of members of each house of parliament. The LDP seeks to ease the requirement to a majority vote.

Cheaper yen attracts record visitors to Japan

A record 923,000 foreigners travelled to Japan in April, up 18.1 percent from a year earlier, taking advantage of a weaker yen and an increase in chartered flights, a government agency said Wednesday. The previous monthly high was 879,000 in July 2010, the Japan National Tourism Organisation said. Tourism has rebounded since 2011, when visitor numbers plunged following the massive earthquake and tsunami that ravaged Japan's northeast and sparked a nuclear crisis at the Fukushima power plant in March that year.

Cheaper yen attracts record visitors to Japan

A record 923,000 foreigners travelled to Japan in April, up 18.1 percent from a year earlier, taking advantage of a weaker yen and an increase in chartered flights, a government agency said Wednesday. The previous monthly high was 879,000 in July 2010, the Japan National Tourism Organisation said. Tourism has rebounded since 2011, when visitor numbers plunged following the massive earthquake and tsunami that ravaged Japan's northeast and sparked a nuclear crisis at the Fukushima power plant in March that year.

Three Chinese ships in disputed waters

Three Chinese government ships entered waters around disputed islands controlled by Tokyo on Thursday, Japan's coastguard said. The Chinese maritime surveillance vessels were spotted in the 12-nautical-mile zone off the Senkaku islands, which China calls the Diaoyus, in the East China Sea shortly before 9:30 am (0030 GMT), the coastguard said. It marks the latest in a long line of stand-offs between official ships from both sides as Beijing and Tokyo jostle over ownership of the strategically important and resource-rich islands.

Cheaper yen attracts record visitors to Japan

A record 923,000 foreigners travelled to Japan in April, up 18.1 percent from a year earlier, taking advantage of a weaker yen and an increase in chartered flights, a government agency said Wednesday. The previous monthly high was 879,000 in July 2010, the Japan National Tourism Organisation said. Tourism has rebounded since 2011, when visitor numbers plunged following the massive earthquake and tsunami that ravaged Japan's northeast and sparked a nuclear crisis at the Fukushima power plant in March that year.

Japan logs record-high trade deficit for April

Japan's goods trade deficit expanded to a record 879.9 billion yen for April, marking the 10th straight month of red ink, as the yen's slide continued to push up the cost of fossil fuel imports, while conversely helping exports recover, the government said Wednesday. It is the first time Japan's trade balance has remained in deficit for 10 months since 1979, when the country was hit by the second oil shock, a Finance Ministry official briefing reporters said.
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