07/22/2016  POKEMON APP TAKES U.S. BY STORM
Many Americans are hooked on a new smartphone app from Japanese game company Nintendo. People have become so obsessed with Pokemon Go that authorities are telling them to keep their eyes peeled to avoid accidents.Nintendo co-developed the game with an American venture firm. The app tracks the player's location with a smartphone's camera and GPS. It creates Pocket Monster characters and displays them against a background captured by the camera. The background changes as the user moves around, and players can catch the characters with the tap of a finger and have them fight characters controlled by other users.Nintendo made Pokemon Go available last Wednesday. The app has already been downloaded more than five million times through Google's website. It's been the top-ranked app every day. But the craze has led to safety concerns. Police and traffic authorities are telling people not to play Pokemon Go while walking or driving.
07/25/2016  YOUNG ALPINIST SCALES 7 PEAKS
A young adventurer from Japan is scaling the heights of mountaineering literally. The 19-year-old university student has become the youngest Japanese to climb the highest peaks on all seven continents.Supporters of Marin Minamiya say she finished her quest in Alaska on July 4th by reaching the summit of Denali. It's the tallest mountain in North America and was known until last year as Mount McKinley. Minamiya began her journey up the 6,190-meter peak in June. The previous month, she reached the summit of Mount Everest. She's the youngest Japanese to ever stand atop the world's highest mountain.Minamiya wrote about the climb on her Facebook page, saying she "did it" and felt "a sense of accomplishment." Supporters say she began her mission to conquer all seven peaks in January of last year.
07/26/2016  MILITARY CHIEF: COUP ATTEMPT FAILED
The acting head of Turkey's military says an attempted coup has ended in failure. He says 194 people, including 47 civilians, were killed in fighting between the regular army and rebel forces.The acting chief of staff of the armed forces, Umit Dundar, held a news conference on Saturday morning to confirm that a coup attempt had been put down. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan earlier said the attempted coup was staged by a minor military faction. He said it acted without the support of the rest of the armed forces or the people of Turkey. He said he will identify the military commanders who were responsible, as well as the people who funded them.Turkish television showed soldiers surrendering to police on a bridge over Istanbul's Bosphorus Strait. They had been blocking the bridge with military vehicles. Local authorities say that more than 1,500 soldiers have been detained.
07/27/2016  SOFTBANK TO BUY UK FIRM ARM
The head of Japanese telecom operator Softbank Group has announced the company is acquiring UK-based chip developer Arm Holdings. Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son says he wants to take the lead in the so-called Internet of Things, or IoT.Son said the acquisition will help the group advance into the IoT market. IoT technologies link a wide range of products through the Internet, such as electric appliances and automobiles.
(Masayoshi Son / Chairman & CEO, Softbank Group)"Arm is the market leader, and next big paradigm shift is coming on IoT. So I believe the IoT will be so big opportunity."
The estimated over-30-billion-dollar foreign acquisition is among the largest ever by a Japanese firm. Softbank previously bought Vodafone's Japanese operations and the U.S. telecom firm Sprint. Arm designs and licenses chips, mainly for smartphones and tablet computers. The company enjoys overwhelming market share across the globe.
07/28/2016  JAPAN CAUTIONS OVER POKEMON GO
A popular mobile game, Pokemon Go, is expected to be released soon in Japan, and government officials in the country are calling on people to exercise extra caution about possible problems when they play the smartphone game.The app is a huge hit in the United States and elsewhere, but some reports indicate players concentrating on the game have experienced problems, such as getting into traffic accidents and falling into ponds. The app tracks the player's location with the smartphone's camera and GPS. Players try to catch Pokemon characters that appear in the camera images. The game was developed by Japan's Nintendo and a U.S. venture firm.The Japanese officials have issued the warnings through social media. They advise people not to play the game while walking or riding a bicycle, and to stay away from dangerous places. They're also calling on players to beware of heatstroke on hot days, and not to ignore sudden weather changes when they play Pokemon Go outside.
07/29/2016  A JAPANESE RIDE FOR JAMAICA
People around the world are looking forward to the Olympics in Rio next month, but some manufacturers here in Tokyo are more excited about the Winter Olympics in 2018. They've signed a contract to build the bobsleds for the Jamaican team.
(Junichi Hosogai / Project leader)"We are very happy that our long-time wish to see our sleighs run in the Olympics is becoming a reality. We're really keen to see that happen."
The designers unveiled their sketches. They say they have found ways to lower the center of gravity and improve the aerodynamics. About 100 small manufacturers are involved in the project. They see it as a chance to show their state-of-the-art technologies to the world. The Jamaicans will be hoping the new sleds will give them a boost in their bid to reach the finals in Pyeongchang.
08/01/2016  JAPANESE LIFE INSURER TO ENTER CAMBODIA
Many Japanese companies aim to enter the Cambodian market as they expect it to grow further. Now, executives at Dai-ichi Life Insurance have decided to set up a presence there. It will be the first Japanese life insurer to do business in the country.NHK has learned that the insurer decided to open a representative office in the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh, by the end of the month. After gaining a license to do business in Cambodia, the firm plans to start selling life insurance products in fiscal 2017.Dai-ichi executives are believed to have made the decision because Cambodia is a Southeast Asian country with steady economic growth and a young population. And life insurance products weren't even available there until four years ago.Japanese life insurers have been looking overseas, because growth in domestic demand is unlikely with Japan's declining population. Life insurers in Japan have also been affected by the start of a negative interest rate policy in February by the country's central bank.
08/02/2016  STRICT MEASURES ON RUSSIAN ATHLETES
Russian athletes are arriving in Rio de Janeiro shortly after they won a minor victory. The International Olympic Committee says it will not issue a blanket ban on them at the Rio Games, following the country's doping scandal. But IOC officials say the athletes will have to be individually cleared before they can play.
(Thomas Bach / IOC President)"We have decided today that no Russian athlete can compete in the Olympic Games Rio 2016 unless he or she meets some very strict criteria. For instance, we decided that the presumption of innocence cannot be applied to Russian athletes."
That means they need to have their doping records analyzed and approved by individual sports federations, using reliable international tests. The federations have just over a week to examine the country's 387 athletes before the Games begin. Anyone who has been sanctioned for doping in the past will not be eligible. The country's track and field athletes have already been barred.
08/03/2016  NO REFERENCE TO S. CHINA SEA RULING
Foreign ministers of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations have issued a statement on regional issues. But what's not in the statement is mention of a ruling this month by an arbitration tribunal in The Hague. It ruled that China has no legal basis for its claim to much of the South China Sea.The ministers released their statement after an extraordinary meeting in Laos. It does not mention China, but it does refer to its activities in the region. It says the ministers have serious concerns over recent and ongoing developments. It also acknowledges concerns expressed by some ministers over land reclamation and the escalation of activities in the area. It calls for a peaceful resolution in accordance with international law.The ministers had failed to issue a joint declaration on Sunday. Cambodia took an opposing stance and blocked any reference to the tribunal's ruling. The country depends heavily on financial support and investment from China.
08/04/2016  DEMOCRATS NOMINATE CLINTON
Hillary Clinton has made political history in the United States. She has become the first woman to be nominated for president by a major party.A roll-call vote of delegates at the Democratic national convention handed Clinton the nomination. Vermont voted last, and her primary rival, Senator Bernie Sanders, helped make it official.
(Bernie Sanders / U.S. Senator)"I move that Hillary Clinton be selected as the nominee of the Democratic Party for president of the United States."
Emotions in the crowd ran high as Sanders attempted to bring the party together. Clinton will formally accept the nomination on Thursday. She will face off against Republican nominee Donald Trump in the presidential election in November.