IKEA Opens in Japan

Sat Mar 25, 2006 10:42 PM EST

IKEA will open its first Japanese store on April 24 in Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture. A second store in Kohoku, Kanagawa Prefecture is planned to open later this year. Last year April the groundbreaking ceremony for this store was attended by Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden.

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business, japan, trade, retail, investment, ikea, japanese-market

Japan Develops Two Economies in One Country

Sat Mar 25, 2006 10:30 PM EST

Commercial land prices in Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya showed an increase for the first time in 15 years, the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said this week in a statement. The average price of commercial land in these urban areas gained 1 percent last year.

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japan, economy, japanese, real-estate, investment, tokyo, world-news

Japanese Police Arrests Thai Woman Abused by Japanese Husband

Sat Mar 25, 2006 10:20 PM EST

A Thai woman who was abused by her Japanese husband has been arrested by the Japanese police because her visa has expired, TBS' News 23 reported March 23. The woman experienced terrible abuse and was even threatened with a kitchen knife.

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human-rights, japan, abuse, japanese, police, world-news, domestic-violence

Haruki Murakami Receives Franz Kafka Award

Sat Mar 25, 2006 10:15 PM EST

Japanese author Haruki Murakami (1949), known for 'Kafka on the Shore', 'Norwegian Wood' and 'The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle', has been selected for the annual literature award of the Prague-based Franz Kafka Society for 2006.

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entertainment, japan, literature, awards, japanese, culture, haruki-murakami, kafka-award

Japan Reacts to Winning First World Baseball Championship

Seeded on Sat Mar 25, 2006 10:10 PM EST (Foreign Press Center Japan)

When the World Baseball Championships started in the US, Japanese media showed little interest. That all changed when home plate umpire Bob Davidson overruled a decision by second base umpire Brian Knight. Japan was furious and the media jumped on it.

sports, japan, baseball, nationalism, world-baseball-classic, ichiro, media-japan