Honolulu Marathon entries slightly up from last year
Despite the lingering economic malaise, entries for the 2009 Honolulu Marathon are slightly ahead of last year's pace. As of Nov. 2, the Honolulu Marathon Association had received 20,411 entries, compared to 20,009 at the same point last year. Driving the numbers is an increase in local and Japanese entries. Some 12,713 Japanese runners have submitted entries so far this year, compared to 12,346 at the same time last year. Japanese runners traditionally make up the majority of the Honolulu...

Thousands of Japanese protest U.S. base plan
GINOWAN, Japan (Reuters) - Thousands of Japanese gathered in sweltering heat on the southern island of Okinawa on Sunday to demand that a U.S. Marine base be moved out of the region, days ahead of a visit by President Barack Obama. Posted November 8th, 2009 Filed Entertainment News Comments Off Comments are closed. Recent Posts Tags Apple Auto Barack Obama Brad Pitt Brett Favre California Cat Christmas dead Disney England Facebook Gaming Gaza George Bush GM Google Hillary Clinton Illinois India...

BBC News | News Front Page | World Edition: Japanese protest against US base
This is a syndicated post. Original article from BBC News | News Front Page | World Edition , available at BBC News | News Front Page | World Edition . Thousands of people attend a rally to demand the removal of a US Military base on the Japanese island of Okinawa.

Japanese FM says no base deal during Obama visit
Japanese FM says expect no US Military base deal during Obama visit

Next Wii Zelda Is Far Away
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Weekly Recap Nov. 7th: Halo Waypoint Arrives, Modern Warfare 2 Boycotted, Wii 2: PHOTO
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Japanese cellist wins world's top competition
Japan's Dai Miyata, 23, won the Ninth Rostropovich cello competition at the final on Saturday in Paris, among the 64 musicians who competed in this year's event, organisers said. The winner of what is considered the world's top cello competition will receive a prize of 10,000 euros (14,845 dollars). The jury, headed by Polish composer and conductor Krzysztop Penderecki, awarded Jakob Koranyi of Sweden, 26, second place in the competition with a 7,000-euro prize as well another prize of 2,500...

Ultraman creator wins a battle
Tokyo -- The Japanese creator of kiddie TV fave Ultraman is two for three in its court battle against a Thai businessman over rights to series. A court in Guangdong, China,

Japanese protest against US base
Thousands of people have protested on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa demanding the removal of a US Military base there. The local mayor called on new Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama "to put an end to Okinawa's burden and ordeal". Japan and the US agreed in 2006 to relocate the Futenma base from an urban area to reclaimed land but the PM's election has rekindled opposition. The protest comes ahead of this week's visit by US President Barack Obama .

Protest over US base in Japan: PHOTO
Protesters participate in a mass rally against a US base in Ginowan on Japan's southwestern island of Okinawa. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon Thousands of Japanese people gathered in sweltering heat on the southern island of Okinawa today to demand that a US Marine base be moved out of the region, days ahead of a visit by president Barack Obama. The row over the re-siting of the Futenma air base threatens to stall a realignment of the 47,000 US Military personnel in Japan and sour defence ties between...

Free & Easy x Warehouse T-Shirt Collection: PHOTO
Teaming up with Americana-inspired Japanese magazine Free & Easy, Warehouse release a new set of classic Americana Military style t-shirts made out of a

Japanese Shares Fall, But Consumer Lenders Rise
Tokyo -- Japan's Nikkei 225 Average fell by 0.3% to 9,764.99, and the Topix was at 869.07, down 0.6% Monday morning in Tokyo as financial shares declined, with Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. down 1.6%, and Aozora Bank Ltd. losing 0.9%. But consumer finance firms moved higher, with Aiful Corp. up 0.8% and Takefuji Corp. gaining 4.3%. In South Korea, the Kospi climbed 0.2%, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.2%.

69.5% Japan homes ready for digital switch
Tokyo -- With less than two years to go before the skedded switchover to digital TV, 69.5% Japanese households owned digital terrestrial TVs as of September, according to a survey conducted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. This is slightly behind the 72% diffusion target the ministry set in 2003, while representing a rise of 8.8 percentage points since the previous survey in March. According to ministry figures, 4.4 million households made the switch to digital in the...

Japanese residents call for base closure
GINOWAN, Japan, Nov. 8 (UPI) -- More than 20,000 residents of Ginowan, Japan, took to the streets Sunday to call for the closure of the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, officials said. "Island residents (of Okinawa) rather than The Pentagon should decide the fate of this U.S. Military facility," Ginowan Mayor Yoicha Iha told the crowd. Pentagon officials and leaders of the new Japanese government led by Yukio Hatoyama are in dispute about the timetable for the transfer of the base to a...

Japan Wants U.S. To Move Out; Can They Still Be Friends?
November 8, 2009 This week, President Obama is scheduled to begin a 10-day tour of Asia. He is expected to visit Japan, Singapore, China and South Korea. A variety of topics will be on the agenda, including trade relations, North Korea's nuclear ambitions and Climate Change. When the president visits Japan, he'll have several issues in mind, including a dispute over U.S. Military bases in that country. Host Liane Hansen speaks with Japanese Ambassador Ichiro Fujisaki about U.S.-Japan relations.

New Japanese Avatar Trailer: VIDEO
With it now being November, the release date for James Cameron’s Avatar is only getting closer. December 18th is the day this film will mark Cameron’s return to the theater with an all new film. This one has been in the works for years, and it used only the state of the art technology. He had been wanting to make this movie for going on twelve years or more, but he needed to wait for the technology to catch up to him, and it most certainly has. Starring Sam Worthington and reuniting...

Gaga greenlights growth
A newly recapitalized Gaga is back and buying movies. In a 50/50 split, the Japanese distrib will partner with Warner Bros. Japan to release "District 9" in the territory. (QED Intl. sold the film worldwide; Sony had many international territories, and TriStar released in the U.S.) The deal is significant given that indie film sales to Japan have been scarce. The distribution sector there has been rocked by tough times, with several indies facing Bankruptcy. Yoda recently rebooted Gaga with a...

This Is It stays ahead of the pack overseas as $29m raises tally to $128.6m: PHOTO
This Is It continued to dominate the overseas market as a further $29m from 8,800 screens in 110 markets through Sony Pictures Releasing International (SPRI) raised the running total to $128.6m after two weekends. The concert film continued to rank top in many markets, adding $4.1m in Japan from 322 for $23.6m, $2.7m in France from 463 for $10.6m, $2.6m in second place in Germany from 926 for $11.1m, and $2.2m in the UK from 806 for $13.3m. Elsewhere it took $1.7m in Australia from 292 for...

Abrams Sizing Up Micronauts?
He's ventured into the final frontier, but now J.J. Abrams is poised to enter an interchangeable world. The Wall Street Journal reports that the man who successfully rebooted Star Trek is "in discussions to produce a movie about Japanese toy line Micronauts , which Hasbro just acquired." The Mego Corporation introduced the Microman toy line in Japan in 1974, rebranding it as "Micronauts" for its American release two years later. There were five series of Micronauts toys produced from 1974-1980....

Demo of 21,000 people demand closure of Futenma air base: PHOTO
GINOWAN, Okinawa Pref. (Kyodo) Around 21,000 people protested against the planned relocation of a U.S. Military airfield within Okinawa Prefecture on Sunday ahead of U.S. President Barack Obama's visit to Japan, in a sign of growing local frustration over the new Japanese government's vague stance in reviewing the transfer plan.

Obama faces a tall agenda -- on Asia trip
Reporting from Tokyo and Washington - With Unemployment topping 10% and his healthcare plan still facing Senate action , President Obama has plenty to keep him busy at home. But on Thursday, he will head to Asia for more than a week, a trip that underscores The White House's conviction that a close partnership with China and other Pacific Rim nations is crucial to American interests. Obama is scheduled to stop in Japan, Singapore, China and South Korea, bringing to 20 the number of nations he...

Austrians in Tokyo... Anthropologie's New Tie-Up...: PHOTO
A few of Austria’s up-and-coming Fashion designers, including two Jil Sander alums, got a chance to showcase their talent for a Japanese audience. page 1

Micronauts Movie: VIDEO
According to The Wall Street Journal a Micronauts movie could be produced by JJ Abrams, the man who successfully rebooted Star Trek! The Micronauts is the North American name for the Microman toy line created by Japanese toy company Takara (the rights now belongs to Hasbro). A comic book based on the toy line was also published by Marvel. Here’s the original mythology of the Micronauts: “The Micronauts originate in the Microverse, a microscopic series of diverse habitats that are...

Song collects first LPGA title
SHIMA-SHI, Japan, Nov. 8 (UPI) -- Song Bo-bae shot 4-under-par 68 Sunday in finishing off a 3-stroke her first LPGA tournament victory at the Mizuno Classic in Japan. Song had five birdies and one bogey in the final round and ended up at 15-under 201 for the 54-hole tournament. That was three strokes better than runners-up Brittany Lang , Lorena Ochoa and Park Hee-young. Ochoa, the No. 1 ranked women's golfer in the world, had a bogey-free 8-under 64 Sunday to pull near the top of the leader...

Santa Anita racetrack played a role in WWII internment: PHOTO
A plaque near the entrance on the sprawling grounds of the Santa Anita racetrack is the sole reminder of the track's place in World War II history as the nation's largest assembly center for Japanese Americans on their way to internment camps. Although the prestigious Breeders' Cup World Championships unfolded Friday and Saturday at the landmark racetrack, 67 years ago a darker chapter unfolded at the site. The horses were moved out, the track was shut down and the park's extensive grounds...