Tokyo - A Japanese farmer has succeeded in breeding giant strawberries with a price tag of up to 50,000 yen (560 dollars) apiece, media reports said Thursday.
The newly harvested fruit measure about 8.5 centimetres in length and weigh more than 80 grams, compared to the standard strawberry what weighs about 28 grams.
Mikio Okuda, 55, tried to exceed the top size of the berry, which can reach 75 grams, and succeeded in breeding strawberries that weigh up to 91 grams, the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper said. Okuda has been growing strawberries for more than 31 years.
The farmer was also able to maintain sufficient colour, shine and shape for his mega-berries.
Tokyo - The Tokyo market ended lower Thursday following Wall Street's overnight plunge, after disappointment spread over the US government's bail-out plan.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average tumbled to 7,705.36, down 240.58 points, or 3.03 per cent from Tuesday's closing. The market was closed Wednesday for a national holiday.
The broader Topix index of all first section issues was also down 17.81 points, or 2.29 per cent, at 760.29.
Tokyo - "Welcome - would you like a hot drink today?," a soft female voice purrs in the cold winter air.
Confused, the first-time visitor to Japan makes his way over to the vending machine where he chooses from a dozen boiling hot cups of coffee with flavours ranging from sticky sweet and milky to night black. This machine talks?
"Thank you. Have a nice day," the artificial voice says, catching perfectly the correct intonation of politeness to make the Japanese customer feel appreciated.
Welcome to Japan, where people might be forced to live in the most cramped quarters of any industrialized nation, but, with the aid of a unique plethora of high-tech gadgets, lead more pampered lives than anybody else on the planet.
Tokyo - The Tokyo market opened lower Thursday following Wall Street's overnight plunge, after disappointment spread over the US government's bail-out plan.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost 186.27 points, or 2.34 per cent, to end morning trading at 7,759.67.
The broader Topix index of all first section issues was also down 14.61 points, or 1.88 per cent, to 763.49.
A wide range of issues were sold at the Tokyo market Thursday after it was closed Wednesday for a national holiday.
Seoul - The foreign ministers of South Korea and Japan, Yu Myung Hwan and Hirofumi Nakasone, Wednesday urged communist North Korea to stop its belligerent posturing to defuse international tensions.
The latest in Pyongyang's series of sharply worded threats had created new tension and was not helpful, the South Korean Foreign Ministry said in a statement after a meeting between Yu and Nakasone in Seoul.
Hanoi - Japanese Crown Prince Naruhito met with Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet Tuesday as local press reported Japanese aid to Vietnam may resume this spring.
Naruhito met with Triet at Vietnam's Presidential Palace after laying a wreath at the tomb of former Communist leader Ho Chi Minh Tuesday morning. In the afternoon Naruhito visited a school for the blind that has received Japanese aid.
According to Vietnamese press reports, Vietnam-Japan Special Ambassador Sugi Ryotaro told Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung at a reception for the crown prince Monday that his government wanted to resume official development assistance (ODA) by April.
Tokyo - The Tokyo market ended lower Thursday following Wall Street's overnight plunge, after disappointment spread over the US government's bail-out plan.
Tokyo - The Tokyo market opened lower Thursday following Wall Street's overnight plunge, after disappointment spread over the US government's bail-out plan.
Seoul - The foreign ministers of South Korea and Japan, Yu Myung Hwan and Hirofumi Nakasone, Wednesday urged communist North Korea to stop its belligerent posturing to defuse international tensions.
