Setouchi contemporary art festival draws numerous tourists every year. “We are from San Francisco. We are here for vacations and I came here three years ago to see Setouchi art festival. This time I bring my friends along,” said a visitor from San Francisco.

During the festival, nearly 150 artworks by artists from Japan and overseas, are exhibited on the twelve islands and around the ports of Takamatsu, with some of them being displayed outside in the fields or in villages.

“We have hired a bicycle and we are going to bike around the island to see all the beautiful artwork and fine dining on this island,” said a visitor from New York.

“I am from Hong Kong. I enjoy art work and I went to see Onna Bunraku – Japanese traditional doll theatre in Naoshima. I enjoyed a lot, especially because there was an introduction by the master of doll play. It was amazing,” said a visitor from Hong Kong.

Tourists seem to be also attracted to the Japanese food, with some sushi restaurants in Tokyo, such as Genki Sushi, offering a multi-language menu panel.

“Every order is done through the touch panels. This system has been designed for easy use and quick delivery of fresh food,” said the restaurant’s manager.

“It is fascinating, especially for people from India because we have nothing like this because of the menu,” said a visitor from India.

Another famous attraction in Japan, especially for visitors from the West, is “Huis Ten Bosch”, a theme park in Nagasaki prefecture, featuring many Dutch style buildings, city scape including castle, hotels, restaurants canals and boats.

Japanese food and theme parks among foreign tourists’ favorites published on Tokyo Times

Around 59 percent of the surveyed people ranked Germany as positive, while Iran was placed again on the last position, being the most negatively viewed.

Japan saw its positive ratings drop from 58 percent to 51 percent, while China has also fallen compared to the last year. After improving for several years, views of China have sunk to their lowest level since polling began in 2005, putting it in ninth position, the international press reports.

Israel, North Korea, Pakistan and Iran were placed on the last positions, with only 15 percent of respondents considering that Iran has a mainly positive influence.

The poll included the answers of more than 26,000 people in the whole world. The interviewed persons were asked to rate 16 countries and the European Union regarding their “rather positive” or “rather negative” influence in the world.

The poll was conducted by GlobeScan, a public opinion research company, and PIPA, who interviewed people face-to-face and by phone. People were selected randomly from 25 countries.

Germany displaces Japan, becomes most popular country worldwide published on Tokyo Times

Both the emperor and empress expressed their willing to hand over the duties, according to Kyodo news agency. The royal couple said that playing with children and giving hope and strength to the elderly seem to be more suitable for the younger generation – Crown Prince Naruhito, his wife Crown Princess Masako, and Prince Akishino and his wife Princess Kiko.

Emperor Akihito will turn 80 in December and the empress Michiko in October, next year. They have been visiting annually a kindergarten on Children’s Day in May, and a home for the elderly on Respect for the Aged Day in September, both public holidays.

One year ago, crown prince Naruhito was saying that efforts should be made to reduce the burden on his ailing father, as the monarch was recovering from heart bypass surgery. Naruhito said that as Akihito gets older it is increasingly important to ensure that his official duties are not too heavy.

The emperor suffered a heart surgery last year, after tests revealed a narrowing of two of his coronary arteries. In 2003, he had been treated for prostate cancer.

Royal couple hands over public duties after turning 80 published on Tokyo Times

“I feel like a war criminal. It is painful, but I must speak. I think that to speak out is the meaning of my being alive,” said Matsumoto, who returned to Japan in 1946 and later became the pastor of a Christian church.

Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto outraged the local and international community last week, when he said the so-called “comfort women” forced to provide sexual services to Japanese soldiers during World War II were “necessary” in order to reduce soldiers’ stress and aggressive behavior. Hashimoto added that is not fair for Japan to be the only one condemned for using military brothels, as there were other countries to do so during World War II.

During wartime, Matsumoto helped doctors examine Korean women in order to prevent the spread of venereal diseases. The examined women were used in the military brothels to provide sexual services for officers and non-commissioned officers. The system and the way women were treated were “inexcusable”, he said.

“Just because someone else kills people, is it all right to be a murderer? That is no excuse,” Matsumoto said. “The prime minister of Japan should apologize properly as the representative of the nation and compensate those who should be compensated.”

Women had no choice but to obey, Matsumoto said. “No matter if they wanted to flee, there was no way to escape”. Recalling those times, Matsumoto said that soldiers lining up for sex would unfasten their leg wrappings and lower their trousers so as to waste no time when their turns came. “It was like they were going to the toilet,” he said.

“We were taught that it was the mission of Japan, the mission of the Japanese people, to liberate Asian countries from European colonialism,” he said, pointing that only later he realized that Japan was doing something wrong.

“When I think of it now, it was monstrous, but I did not think so then.”

Retired pastor describes Japan’s WW2 brothels: ‘It was inexcusable’ published on Tokyo Times

Miura and his Sherpas left the last of the six base camps at 8,500 meters shortly after 2 a.m. local time and reached the peak less than seven hours later, according to Kyodo news agency.

Miura broke the record of Nepali climber Min Bahadur Sherchan who conquered the world’s highest peak five years ago, at the age of 76. Sherchan, now 81, is also reported to be making another attempt on the summit.

Miura called climbing Mount Everest the “ultimate anti-ageing” remedy, despite his recurring heart troubles. “It is boosting my courage, willpower and motivation, bringing the ultimate anti-ageing effect as a result,” he said.

He broke his own record obtained in 2003 for being the oldest person to scale the world’s highest mountain. He was 70 years old back then.

Miura became internationally famous in 1970, when he became the first person to ski down Everest, from an altitude of 8,000 metres. His adventure was documented in the 1975 film “The Man Who Skied Down Everest” which won the Academy Award for Best Documentary.

Miura breaks record, becomes oldest conqueror of Everest published on Tokyo Times

The National Institute of Radiological Sciences has begun the trial using “heavy ion radiotherapy” which emits a pinpoint beam that can be accurately directed at malignant cells, said Kumiko Karasawa, radiation oncologist and breast cancer specialist.

“We are able to conduct this trial because we have greater understanding of what types of breast cancer can benefit from this pinpoint treatment,” Karasawa said, adding that this treatment is effective in other forms of cancer that have not spread, such as prostate and lung cancer.

The regular radiotherapy based on X-rays and gamma rays is potent at the surface of the skin, but it weakens as it goes deeper into the tissue, while heavy ion radiotherapy maintains its intensity to a greater depth, the international press reports.

In her study, Karasawa will include 20 patients aged at least 60 and with small tumours that have not spread. The women will be treated one hour per day for only four days, compared to months of treatment using traditional radiotherapy. Then, the patients will be supervised for five years to assess the outcome, Karasawa said.

“Ultimately, this could provide an option for patients who do not want surgery and who cannot go through (common radiation therapy) requiring regular visits to clinics for months,” she said.

Japan hosts three of the world’s six medical centres that have the gigantic Y10 billion ($97.2 million) facilities, according to Karasawa.

Japanese specialist test breast cancer cure published on Tokyo Times

At the moment, foreigners can obtain an approval for a longer period, but only for business or educational purposes.

Meanwhile, in another move to increase tourist arrivals in the country, a Ministry of Justice council is recommending setting up the Trusted Travelers Program for foreign business travelers and tourists, which will allow pre-approved and low-risk passengers to use an automated kiosk instead of going through immigration, according to the local press.

Foreign residents who have re-entry permits can already use this service.

In the mean time, around 923,000 foreign tourists visited Japan in April, with 18.1 percent more compared to the same period last year.

The figure eclipsed the previous high of 879,000 set in July 2010, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization.

“The figure is not bad, but more needs to be done” to reach Japan’s goal of having 10 million visitors for the year, Japan Tourism Agency chief Norifumi Ide said, according to Kyodo news agency.

Rich foreign visitors could stay longer in Japan published on Tokyo Times

The 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction sets out rules and procedures for the rapid return of children under 16, who have been taken by one parent following the failure of an international marriage, to the country of their habitual residence if this is requested by the other parent.

A bill necessary for Japan to ratify the international treaty, which stipulates domestic implementation procedures, is also set to clear the Diet during the current parliamentary session through June, according to Kyodo news agency.

Legal experts welcomed Wednesday’s decision, but said the treaty would have little effect unless it is accompanied by changes in Japan’s domestic law. Courts in Japan usually favor the Japanese parent in custody cases involving international marriages, according to the international press.

“I am concerned that Japan won’t implement the convention at face value,” says Takao Yanase, a law professor at Chuo University in Tokyo. According to him, the Japanese family law can prevent the return of children to their original country of residence.

“Japanese law and the convention contradict each other, and this can be used as an excuse not to return the child,” he said. “The tradition of awarding sole custody was introduced 60 years ago, but Japanese society has changed dramatically since then.”

Japan joins international child custody treaty published on Tokyo Times

Terra Motors has been working with former engineers from Honda, Yamaha and Panasonic in order to make two-wheeled vehicles that do not pollute, said Toru Tokushige, the president of the company.

“I set up this company three years ago, started to develop products in Japan, design in Japan. Now we start to manufacture in Vietnam two-wheelers and three-wheelers in the Philippines,” he said.

“In Southeast Asia, many people wear masks to protect (themselves) from air pollution. But (the vehicles) are very clean. It is good for environment.”

Because the vehicles use electricity and not gasoline, they could be a revelation for many countries in Asia who are currently struggling with high fuel prices, Tokushige thinks.

One of Terra’s most recent products is a three-wheeled car with a capacity for six people.

Terra’s prime investors are former presidents of Sony, Apple Japan and Google Japan.

Japan to fight air pollution with electric three-wheeled cars published on Tokyo Times

“We do not know if the file was leaked or not, but we cannot deny the possibility given the volume of traffic between our server and external” terminals, the company said on Friday.

The company detected the attack based on the volume of traffic between back end administration systems and the external internet. Around 22 million login names were hacked, more than a tenth of Yahoo Japan’s 200 million members, the international press reports.

In order to prevent such incident to repeat, the company advised users to reset their passwords, despite passwords or identity verification data not being taken, and said it has “updated its security measures”.

It is not clear yet, according to the company’s officials, how long the attack took or how it happened.

Yahoo Japan, a collaboration between Japan’s SoftBank and the US Yahoo!, is currently the top search engine in the country with a 50 per cent market share; Google holds around 40 per cent share.

The company is 35.5 percent held by Japan’s mobile phone operator SoftBank, and 34.7 percent held by U.S. Internet giant Yahoo! Inc.

Around 22 mil. Yahoo Japan email accounts possibly hacked published on Tokyo Times