Top cat: how 'Hello Kitty' conquered the world The Independent | When, in 1974, employees at the Japanese design company Sanrio created Hello Kitty, the small, rounded cartoon cat with a red bow between her ears and no mouth, they could never have dreamt that she would become the global megastar she is today. Sales of Hello Kitty merchandise now account for hal...
Hello Kitty appointed Japan ambassador Canoe By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS | Kimono-clad Hello Kitty holds her certificate received from Japan's Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Minister Tetsuzo Fuyushiba, left, at his office in Tokyo, Monday, May 19, 2008. Fuyushiba appointed the popular cartoon character as ambassador to welcome tourist...
SOFT POWER, HARD TRUTHS / 2 Murakamis make it in America Daily Yomiuri | Two newly published books, Art Space Tokyo and A Wild Haruki Chase, feature essays I wrote about men named Murakami. | When the finished books arrived in my mail last week, I considered the apparent coincidence. Takashi Murakami, 45, is a visual ar...
Vaccines, Mercury, and Autism - Is There a Link? Infowars | In recent years, there has been an explosion of neurological disorders among children, the most serious of which is the crippling syndrome knows as autism. | The dramatic increase in the incidence of autism has accompanied the more than tripling of...
Sony to sell tiny golf ball-sized speakers promising big quality sound for home theaters Star Tribune | TOKYO - The new speakers from Sony are as tiny as golf balls but deliver the big, robust sound of a top-notch home-theater sound system. | The roughly cube-shaped speakers, to go on sale in Japan next month, measure just 1.7 inches on each side, So...
High fuel prices dent airline shares TVNZ May 22, 2008 9:44 PM | The world's top airlines warned that soaring fuel prices were hitting profits, prompting some to increase fares, and global leader American Airlines announced thousands of job cuts to counter higher costs. Airline ...
creative commons
Sony Post 4Q Profit, Smaller PlayStation 3 Loss CBS News Sony swung to a profit of $277 million for its fourth fiscal quarter on Wednesday, a reversal from from a year ago as losses dwindled for its struggling PlayStation 3 video game bu...
Owen a possible target for Japan's Chiba International Herald Tribune | : Japan's JEF United Chiba are planning an audacious swoop for England striker Michael Owen, Japanese media reported on Tuesday. | The J-League club have just unveiled former Liv...
Wrinkle scanner introduced to thwart underage smokers NZ Herald | People using cigarette vending machines in Japan will have to subject themselves to a facial scan to determine their age. Photo / Reuters | TOKYO - Cigarette vending machines in ...
Kyoto's entertainment districts captured in photo book Daily Yomiuri | KYOTO--A recently published photographic guide to five Kyoto entertainment districts has been widely praised, both for the succinct introduction it offers newcomers to the city's traditions and culture and the spotlight it places on the area's rete...
Weekender - Museums calendar for May 23-29 Express News | Updated every Thursday morning | Calendar is for the week of May 23-29 | Artpace 445 N. Main Ave., (210) 212-4900. Focus on contemporary art, especially Texas artists and group exhibitions by guest curators. Hours: Noon-5 p.m. Wednesdays and Friday...
President Kagame Begins Asia Visit All Africa President Paul Kagame yesterday began a four-country visit to Asia consisting of official visits to Singapore, Vietnam and South Korea and a working visit to Japan where he will participate with other African heads of state in the fourth Tokyo Intern...
How Japan Helped Ease the Rice Crisis Business Week | With prices now falling, the global rice crisis seems to be subsiding. That's thanks in part to a policy announcement by a Japanese bureaucrat. On May 19, Japan's Deputy Agriculture Minister, Toshiro Shirasu, said that Tokyo would release some of its massive stockpile of rice to the Philippines, selling 50,000 tons "as soon as possible" and relea...
Ayala Land cleared in Glorietta blast The Manila Times By William B. Depasupil and Jefferson Antiporda, Reporters | The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Thursday cleared owners of an upscale mall of responsibility over a huge explosion that ripped through the shopping center last year. The explosion left 11 persons dead and at least 108 others injured. | The department, however, filed charges against eig...
