Japan

Areva, Toshiba eye nuclear fuel producer Urenco: sources

LONDON/BERLIN - France's Areva and Japan's Toshiba Corp are considering bids for nuclear fuel producer Urenco, but British, German and Dutch authorities disagree over what to do with the ultra-secret firm, industry sources said.

Latest Japan News

Dreamliner probe widens after excess battery voltage ruled out
7:01am EST
Investigators probe Boeing 787 battery maker
6:31am EST
Japan transport ministry says to continue probe of battery maker
5:10am EST
China rebukes Clinton for comments on disputed islets
5:06am EST

» More Japan News

Recent Japan News

Nine Japanese killed in Algerian hostage crisis: government source

TOKYO - Nine Japanese nationals were killed during a four-day siege at a gas plant in Algeria, where the number of hostages killed had already reached at least 48, a Japanese government source said on Monday.

World, 20 Jan 2013

Japan tsunami stress may have brought on seizures: study

- The number of seizure patients in a northern Japanese fishing community devastated by the March 11, 2011 tsunami spiked in the weeks following the disaster, according to a Japanese study.

Health, 20 Jan 2013

Dreamliner probe widens after excess battery voltage ruled out

WASHINGTON - U.S. safety investigators on Sunday ruled out excess voltage as the cause of a battery fire last month on a Boeing Co 787 Dreamliner jet operated by Japan Airlines Co (JAL) and said they were expanding the probe to look at the battery's charger and the jet's auxiliary power unit.

U.S., Aerospace & Defense, Investing and Taxes Simplified 20 Jan 2013

Euro zone surveys to offer hope as Japan eases

LONDON - The prospect of stronger European manufacturing surveys and decisive monetary easing in Japan this week ought to bolster confidence that the global economy can look forward to better days.

Investing and Taxes Simplified, France, Germany, 20 Jan 2013

Japan government, Bank of Japan "getting closer" on monetary policy statement

TOKYO - Japanese Economics Minister Akira Amari said on Sunday that the government and the Bank of Japan were getting closer to an agreement on a joint statement on monetary policy expected to be issued next week.

Investing and Taxes Simplified, 19 Jan 2013

Special reports

Anti-nuclear protesters hold signs at a rally organized by Greenpeace to demand the government immediately stop the expansion of nuclear power offered by mainland China in Hong Kong April 24, 2011. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu

The nuclear industry's trillion dollar question

Before Fukushima, more than 300 nuclear reactors were planned worldwide, mostly in developing economies. While parts of the developed world may reduce their use of nuclear, China, India, the Middle East and Eastern Europe look set continue their nuclear drive. Full Article

A member of the Japan Self Defense Force stands on a house at an area that was damaged by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, in Yamada, Iwate prefecture April 5, 2011. REUTERS/Toru Hanai

Quake reveals cracks in insurance system

The sophisticated modeling systems the insurance industry uses to predict where disasters will happen and how much they will cost never factored in an earthquake the size of the one that hit northeast Japan. Full Article

Tokyo Electric Power Company, Inc. (TEPCO) Vice President Sakae Muto (C) bows at a news conference at the company head office in Tokyo March 28, 2011. REUTERS/Toru Hanai

Japan engineers knew tsunami could overrun plant

A review of Tokyo Electric Power and regulatory records shows that Japan and its largest utility repeatedly downplayed dangers and ignored warnings -- including a 2007 tsunami study from TEPCO's senior safety engineer. Full Article

A staff member of a radiation check-up point points out a location of the tsunami-crippled nuclear plant on a map, on which a radiation gauge is placed, during a photo opportunity in an evacuation center in Fukushima, northern Japan, April 4, 2011. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Fuel storage, safety issues vexed Japan plant

Tokyo Electric and regulators are certain to face scrutiny on the decision to store most of the Fukushima plant's spent fuel rods inside the reactor buildings rather than invest in other potentially safer storage options. Full Article

Disasters show flaws in just-in-time production

In a globalized economy where manufacturers have moved ever more toward lean inventories, the weakest link in the supply chain is what Japan is best known for: high-end, highly technical parts. Full Article

Members of the Indonesia Nuclear Energy Regulatory Agency (BAPETEN) scan passengers arriving from Japan for radiation exposure at the Sukarno-Hatta airport in Jakarta March 18, 2011.

Radiation fears may be greatly exaggerated

As workers struggle to contain the fallout from a crippled Japanese nuclear plant, people as far away as Illinois are calling public health officials in a state of panic. But the truth is anxiety is largely disproportionate to the actual danger. Full Article

Mistakes, misfortune, meltdown: Japan's quake

An examination of Japan's effort to contain its escalating nuclear disaster reveals a series of missteps, bad luck and desperate improvisation. What also emerges is a country that has begun to question some of its oldest values. Full Article

Why Japan will avert a fiscal meltdown

In these dark hours, Japan would do well to heed former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel's memorable maxim that you never want a serious crisis to go to waste. Full Article

Can Japan find "New Deal" after triple whammy?

The nuclear crisis was a triple whammy for Japan, coming on top of the earthquake -- the fifth strongest ever recorded -- and one of the most powerful tsunami in history, which caused scenes of unimaginable destruction in northeast Japan. Full Article | Related Story