Toyota adds first tiny 'minicar' to Japan lineup (AP)

TOKYO – Toyota is selling its first "minicar" in Japan as demand increases for the tiny vehicles which are popular for short commutes.

Toyota Motor Corp., Japan's top automaker, launched the Pixis Space minivehicle manufactured by group company Daihatsu Motor Co., on Monday.

Minivehicles, or "kei," are defined under Japanese regulations as having maximum length of 3.4 meters (11.15 feet), width of 1.48 meters (4.86 feet), height of 2 meters (6.56 feet) and engine displacement of less than 660 cc.

Taxes are lower for minicars, which now make up about a third of Japan's annual vehicle sales.

Toyota is planning two more minicar models for the Japanese market, although it has not said when those will go on sale. Toyota is targeting annual minicar sales of 60,000 in Japan for all three models in total.

The Pixis Space starts at 1.12 million yen ($14,700).

Minicars are popular not only for the tax savings but also with people who use cars for short commutes or grocery shopping, as well as with those who don't see cars as status symbols as did the older generation.

They are also easy to handle in Japan's crowded streets, and some come in cute designs that appeal to Japanese consumers. With Toyota entering the sector, competition is expected to step up in minicars.

Nissan Motor Co., Japan's No. 2 automaker, has a partnership with Japanese automaker Mitsubishi Motors Corp., under which Mitsubishi makes minicars for Nissan.

Honda Motor Co. already sells several minicar models in Japan. Honda sold 160,000 minicars last year, comprising about a quarter of its overall vehicle sales in Japan.

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Follow Yuri Kageyama on Twitter at http://twitter.com/yurikageyama

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First Boeing 787 lands in Japan

First Boeing 787 lands in Japan The first Boeing 787 landed Wednesday in Tokyo where launch customer All Nippon Airways will prepare the long-delayed aircraft for its inaugural commercial flight. The plane took off from Everett, Washington Tuesday morning to cheering workers after a three-year delay in bringing the new wide-body jetliner to market. Boeing missed the initial May 2008 delivery target and had repeatedly delayed its introduction because of problems in development. The plane goes into service on Oct. 26 with a special charter flight from Narita International Airport to Hong Kong. ANA will begin using the 787 on regular domestic routes on Nov. 1.
1 Oct The language is unmistakably Japanese, the lyrics delivered in familiar high-pitched tones over a backdrop of electronica. But the wave of pop music sweeping Japan is not the sugar-coated homegrown variety that has long clogged the airwaves. Japanese teens and twentysomethings who once had ears only for J-pop are now transfixed by K-pop, a phenomenon from South Korea that is taking the world's second-biggest music market by storm. Korean pop culture's first foray into Japan was led almost a decade ago by Bae Yong-joon, a TV and film actor whose legions of mainly middle-aged, female devotees nicknamed him Yon-sama, or the Honourable Yon. (guardian.co.uk)
1 Oct With schoolchildren playing in front of her house every day, a tsunami survivor who identifies herself only as "Mrs. Sugawara," says she often thinks about suicide. Her daughter and two sons survived the March 11 disaster, but her husband and three grandchildren did not. "They were my future, and now they are gone and not coming back," says Mrs. Sugawara, 69. "The tsunami took my sense of hope away with them." Her lonely struggle mirrors that of thousands of tsunami survivors, especially seniors now isolated in temporary houses after spending months in crowded but more sociable gymnasiums. Since her children have gone to work elsewhere, Mrs. Sugawara lives alone, in a prefab unit in the parking lot of a junior high school overlooking the obliterated northeastern city of Rikuzen-Takata. (Washington Times)
1 Oct Local ordinances prohibiting companies from trading with organized crime syndicates will be put into force Saturday in Tokyo and Okinawa with the expectation of stopping their cash flow funds and eventually putting the mob out of business. Some legal experts welcome the moves by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the Okinawa Prefectural Government, but they also urge local police to properly disclose to the general public detailed information about gangs so they can avoid trading with them and provide concrete examples of cases being banned by the new ordinances. (Japan Times)
30 Sep Tokyo Metropolitan Police earlier this week arrested the principals involved in the sale and copying of large quantities of uncensored adult video DVDs in Ikebukuro, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Sept. 30). Yoshitaka Iwaki, 45, verbally touted the sale of uncensored discs copied electromagnetically from a store he operated in Ikebukuro, located in Tokyo's Toshima Ward. A signboard with photos allowed customers to select discs they wished to purchase. Eiji Imai, 40, presided over an apartment, also in Toshima Ward, where the discs were stored. During a search of the premises on Wednesday, officers seized approximately 50,000 discs and copying equipment. (Tokyo Reporter)
30 Sep Investigators continue to search for a man who held up a suburban Tokyo bookstore by threatening the manager with a lit firework, the Metropolitan Police Department said Sept. 29. The man described as being about 160 centimeters tall and wearing a gray hoodie and white surgical mask made off with 5,000 yen (around $65) in cash after threatening the bookstore manager in Nishitokyo on Thursday night. (majirox news)

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First delivered Boeing 787 takes off for Japan (Reuters)

SEATTLE (Reuters) – Boeing Co's 787 Dreamliner waggled its wings on Tuesday in a salute to workers who built the world's first carbon-composite passenger jet as it took off from its factory for the last time and headed for Japan at the start a new era of air travel.

The take-off into blustery, gray skies capped a three-day celebration, marking the first delivery of 787 to a customer. The light-weight airplane's delivery to All Nippon Airways is the pinnacle achievement so far for the troubled 787 program, which is three years behind schedule.

But many in the aviation world expect the Dreamliner, which provides unprecedented fuel efficiency and travelers' comforts, to revolutionize commercial flight.

Watching the jet take off was an emotional moment for workers.

"We were all choking up a little bit. I am just so happy to see the airplane in the hands of the customer. It makes me proud of our teams," Dan Mooney, vice president of 787-8 development, said after the take-off.

The Dreamliner left the runway at Paine Field north of Seattle shortly after dawn with 42 people on board for the 9-hour, 40-minute flight to Tokyo's Haneda Airport.

The Dreamliner will go into service for Japan's All Nippon Airways on October 26.

Boeing has wrestled for years with delays caused chiefly by problems with a large number of companies that supplied parts for the plane.

Now the company faces another monumental task of producing the aircraft at a rate of 10 a month by the end of 2013. Boeing makes only two Dreamliners per month now, and some experts doubt the company can meet that target in two years.

The wide-body Dreamliner lists for about $200 million, depending on the model. Boeing has taken 821 orders, according to its Website.

Boeing shares were up 2.56 percent at $63.60 on the New York Stock Exchange.

(Reporting by Tim Hepher in Seattle and Kyle Peterson in Chicago. Editing by Robert MacMillan and Gunna Dickson)

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Japan's defense industry hit by its first cyber attack

Japan's defense industry hit by its first cyber attack Japan's biggest defense contractor, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd, said on Monday hackers had gained access to its computers, with one newspaper saying its submarine, missile and nuclear power plant component factories had been the target. The company said in a statement that some information could have been stolen in the first known cyber attack on Japan's defense industry. "We've found out that some system information such as IP addresses have been leaked and that's creepy enough," said a Mitsubishi Heavy spokesman. A Japanese defense white paper released last month urged vigilance against cyber attacks after a spate of high-profile online assaults this year that included Lockheed Martin and other U.S. defense contractors.
23 Sep A man found 10 million yen ($131,000) in cash Sept. 22 in a bag thrown away in a garbage dump at the city of Kasai in Hyogo prefecture, police said. The 56-year-old employee of a Kasai Municipal Government-run waste disposal center found the bag while separating garbage for the disposal. Center officials handed the bag into the police and will be entitled to claim the cash if its rightful owner does not emerge within three months. (majirox news)
22 Sep Following the request that the name Tokyo Electric Power Co. appear on a receipt for a sex club in Sapporo's Susukino red-light district earlier this month, the establishment has decided to ban patronage from that firm, reports daily tabloid Yukan Fuji (Sept. 17). On September 14, the fuzoku shop Olive Garden announced on its blog that it would not honor patrons hailing from TEPCO - in fact, it joked that the nuclear meltdown at Fukushima had sapped some of their virility in any case. (Tokyo Reporter)
22 Sep Mika Sato has found that two dolls resembling her 6-year-old daughter, who died in the March 11 tsunami, have helped soothe her emotional scars. "It was like my daughter came back to me," said Sato, 36, recalling the day earlier this month when she received the two dolls from the nonprofit organization Tamezo Club. Omokage bina are dolls that resemble people who have passed on. They are made by craftsmen who work from photographs of the deceased person. Since early August, Tamezo Club, a welfare services NPO based in Iwatsuki Ward, Saitama, has been donating them to people who lost loved ones in the March 11 disaster. (Yomiuri)
22 Sep A 71-year-old Japanese man died in Honolulu after falling off a trolley during a tour. The man, who name was not released, was taken to a hospital after falling Monday afternoon, where he was listed in critical condition and died later that day, police said. The man was standing next to an exit on the trolley and fell onto the road when the vehicle made a left turn out of a shopping center. A police spokeswoman said the accident is under investigation but that drugs and alcohol are not considered to be factors. The trolley was not speeding and traffic was moderate at the time, she said. (Japan Times)
21 Sep To promote forthcoming anti-gang legislation, the superintendent general of Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, Tateshi Higuchi, threw out the first pitch before the Yakult Swallows faced the Yomiuri Giants at Tokyo Dome last night, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Sept. 21). Beginning on October 1, business transactions between citizens and members of organized crime, such as the paying mikajimeryo (protection money), will be prohibited. The law will be enforced nationwide. (Tokyo Reporter)

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UFC to return to Japan for first time in over 10 years - ESPN.co.uk

Michihiro Omigawa speaks during the UFC press conference © Getty Images

Japan will host a UFC event in 2012 as part of planned expansion into Asia, president Dana White confirmed on Tuesday.

UFC 25 was the last event to be hosted in Japan, back in April 2000, but the organisation will return to the country on February 26, 2012.

The UFC, along with parent organisation Zuffa, have yet to decide whether the event at the 20,000 Super Arena in Saitama will be a 'Fight Night' or part of the numbered series - but White is promising a major spectacle with some big names.

"It's been over 10 years since a UFC event was held in Japan and we're pumped to bring the fastest growing sport in the world there once again," White said at the announcement. "Japan has played a huge roll in getting the sport to where it is today. UFC stars such as Rampage Jackson, Wanderlei Silva, [Antonio Rodrigo] "Minotauro" Nogueira all made names for themselves fighting in the Pride organization and dozens more fought in front of the passionate Japanese fans at some point in their careers.

"Japan has also produced world class fighters such as [Yoshihiro] Akiyama, [Takanori] Gomi and Yushin Okami. They have all headlined major UFC events all over the world. Now, this February, the wait is finally over - we're coming back to Japan."

Zuffa Asia executive vice-president Mark Fischer confirmed that it would be the first of many annual events in the country and region - and could see a number of the most high-profile Japanese fighters enter the Octagon on their home turf.

"Let me also say that while UFC Japan in 2012 will be the first event for Zuffa in Asia, it certainly won't be the last," said Fischer. "We hope to make UFC Japan an annual fixture on our calendar and we also have plans to follow-up with a series of high quality events across Asia." Email

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Japan in first national quake drill since tsunami

Japan in first national quake drill since tsunami Japan on Thursday conducted its first national earthquake drill since the March 11 disasters that left 20,000 dead or missing and triggered a nuclear crisis. Police supervised traffic at some 100 points in central Tokyo while passengers were guided to safe zones from train stations in a simulation of a post-quake scenario in which all rail and subway services are suspended. Disaster Prevention Day is an annual drill to train for a potentially deadly magnitude-7.3 quake scenario in Tokyo and is held to commemorate the anniversary of the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake, which killed more than 140,000.
1 Sep A new erotic photo book is achieving brisk sales in spite of not revealing any of the faces of the female models nor full nudity, reports weekly tabloid Shukan Asahi Geino (Sep. 8). The magazine says that the book emphasizes the subtle aspects of swimsuits and uniforms: The skirt of a sailor suit gently rises to expose high up a thigh; a sock is visible just before a change into a swimsuit; and an exercise session gently reveals a bare midriff. The book "Natsufuku Joshi (Summer Clothing Girls)," by Million Publishing, is recording tremendous sales, ascending to the top of the photo book section of Amazon.jp at the end if July (and still holding that position now). (Tokyo Reporter)
1 Sep Following BEAST, CN Blue has been reported to be caught up in Japan due to their entrance being denied for visa problems, delaying their upcoming press conference. CN Blue was originally supposed to enter Japan through the Haneda Airport on August 31 but was denied for the same reason BEAST was denied earlier this month. The group has an official press conference for their major debut on September 1 as well as music video filmings. (soompi.com)
1 Sep With the aid of bacteria that lowers the level of sodium in soil, a farmer in the city of Iwanuma, Miyagi Prefecture, harvested 150 tomatoes last month on farmland that was swamped by the March 11 tsunami. The cyanobacteria - also called blue-green algae - is found in seawater and sludge on the seafloor. Since it consumes salt when it photosynthesizes, it lowers the level of sodium when mixed in soil. Farmer Etsuo Iizuka, 62, used the soil on his 1,000-sq.-meter tsunami-damaged farm to plant 400 tomato plants in June. Each yielded about 10 tomatoes. (Japan Times)
31 Aug Vines creep across Tomioka's empty streets, its prim gardens overgrown with waist-high weeds and meadow flowers. Dead cows rot where they were left to starve in their pens. Chicken coops writhe with maggots, a sickening stench hanging in the air. This once-thriving community of 16,000 people now has a population of one. In this nuclear no-man's land poisoned by radiation from a disaster-battered power plant, rice farmer Naoto Matsumura refuses to leave despite government orders. He says he has thought about the possibility of getting cancer but prefers to stay - with a skinny dog named Aki his constant companion. Nearly six months after Japan's catastrophic earthquake and tsunami, the 53-year-old believes he is the only inhabitant left in this town sandwiched between the doomed Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power station to the north and another sprawling nuclear plant to the south. (twincities.com)
31 Aug A growing number of Japanese men and women keen to lose weight are slipping into underwear which claims to burn hundreds of calories a week, simply by wearing them. Perfect for exercise-shy food-lovers, the MXP Calorie Shaper Pants are made with non-elasticated material that the company claims can make muscles work extra hard while walking or climbing stairs. The new underpants, from the Tokyo-based Goldwin company, claim that the average 10 stone man who walks 90 minutes a day while wearing them can lose 210 kilocalories weekly - the equivalent of half a litre of beer. (telegraph.co.uk)

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Japan holds annual earthquake drill, first since March disaster - Telegraph.co.uk

The government conducted drills based on the scenario of a 7.3 magnitude earthquake striking Tokyo, which would have catastrophic consequences given that the capital and its surrounding prefectures account for over a quarter of Japan's population and about a third of its economy. The March earthquake measured 9.0.

More than a thousand people participated in exercises in central Tokyo's Yoyogi Park, where military helicopters buzzed overhead, police bikes sped past and medical personnel tended to people trapped under a damaged car in a mock emergency situation.

Outgoing Prime Minister Naoto Kan, whose support ratings plummeted due to disapproval of his administration's response to the March disaster, held a mock press conference in which he told the public that the government was doing its utmost to minimise the damage.

"It feels more real, that this place could actually be filled by people unable to get home," said Ikuo Suzuki, an official at Yoyogi Park, which is a designated evacuation area in the event of a major earthquake.

Preparedness exercises included experiencing various disaster situations, such as boarding a specially designed elevator that shakes violently as if in a strong earthquake.

"It has a tenser atmosphere than I expected," said Masako Yoshida, a mother of two who was participating for the first time. "I remembered how on that day (March 11), I was separated from my children. Transport had stopped."

The police also conducted exercises in which they blocked traffic at about 100 locations in Tokyo to practice ensuring the passage of emergency vehicles.

The preparedness drills are held every year on Sept. 1, the anniversary of the Great Kanto Earthquake that killed 140,000 people in the Tokyo area.

The government forecasts that a 7.3 magnitude quake directly under Tokyo would kill up to 11,000 people, injure about 210,000, force 7 million to evacuate and cost the $5 trillion economy around $1 trillion in damages – five times the estimated damages from the March 11 disaster.

Kishie Shigekawa, a professor of environmental disaster studies at Fuji Tokoha University, said progress has been made in improving Tokyo buildings' anti-quake reinforcements, after the 1995 Kobe earthquake in western Japan took so many lives due to lack of structural strength in that city's buildings.

But she warned that post-quake fires were an urgent issue given Tokyo's dense population and crowded architectural landscape.

"It inevitably takes time, but long-term city planning to reduce loss of life ... is something we need to keep on pushing for," Shigekawa said.

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Japan's ANA to get world's first Dreamliner on Sept 25 - Turkish Press

Japan's All Nippon Airways (ANA) and aviation giant Boeing said on Friday that the airline will receive the world's first 787 Dreamliner on September 25, more than three years later than first planned.

The ANA plane will be delivered in Everett, Washington in the United States before being flown to Tokyo where it is scheduled to arrive on September 28, the companies said in a joint statement.

"The airplane is ready. ANA is ready. And, Boeing is ready," Jim Albaugh, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said in a statement.

"This airplane begins a new chapter in aviation history."

ANA is the launch airline for the troubled 787 programme, and has 55 of the aircraft on order.

Boeing had originally promised to roll out the aircraft in 2008. But a string of technical mishaps and delays have slowed testing programmes for the jets.

The highly anticipated 787 Dreamliner is made out of lighter materials that help increase its fuel efficiency, while it boasts larger windows and more humid cabin air than conventional jets.

Boeing says this will allows passengers to arrive at their destinations more refreshed.

Shinichiro Ito, president and CEO of ANA Group said that the aircraft "will play an important role in our international expansion strategy as we seek to become Asia's number one airline".

The mid-sized plane is crucial to Boeing's future. It is the maker's first new design in more than a decade, drawing on huge advances in aviation technology and can fly long-haul routes using up to 20 percent less fuel.

Boeing, the world's second-biggest aircraft maker after Airbus, launched the Dreamliner programme in April 2004 and initially had planned to deliver the first plane to ANA in the first half of 2008.

But the aircraft, which can seat up to 330 passengers, only made its maiden flight in December 2009.

The series of delays in the 787 programme has cost Boeing billions of dollars as some airlines cancelled their orders.

Another Boeing project, the 747-8, is a longer and more fuel-efficient update of Boeing's double-decker 747 jumbo jet, and will compete with European rival Airbus's A380, the world's biggest passenger plane. That programme is running two years behind schedule.

ANA this week said it would conduct the first commercial 787 flights from Tokyo to Hong Kong in October, followed by regular services to Beijing and Frankfurt.

The aircraft's first regular international service will start from December for the Haneda-Beijing route, followed by the Dreamliner's first regular long-haul international operation between Haneda and Frankfurt from January.

AFP

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Japan's ANA to get world's first Dreamliner on Sept 25 - Canada.com

TOKYO - Japan’s All Nippon Airways (ANA) and aviation giant Boeing said Friday the airline will receive the world’s first 787 Dreamliner on September 25, more than three years later than first planned.

The ANA plane will be delivered in Everett, Washington in the United States before being flown to Tokyo where it is scheduled to arrive on September 28, the companies said in a joint statement.

"The airplane is ready. ANA is ready. And, Boeing is ready," Jim Albaugh, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said in a statement.

"This airplane begins a new chapter in aviation history."

ANA is the launch airline for the troubled 787 programme, and has 55 of the aircraft on order.

Boeing had originally promised to roll out the aircraft in 2008. But a string of technical mishaps and delays have slowed testing programmes for the jets.

The highly anticipated 787 Dreamliner is made out of lighter materials that help increase its fuel efficiency, while it boasts larger windows and more humid cabin air than conventional jets.

Boeing says this will allows passengers to arrive at their destinations more refreshed.

Shinichiro Ito, president and CEO of ANA Group said that the aircraft "will play an important role in our international expansion strategy as we seek to become Asia’s number one airline".

The mid-sized plane is crucial to Boeing’s future. It is the maker’s first new design in more than a decade, drawing on huge advances in aviation technology and can fly long-haul routes using up to 20 percent less fuel.

Boeing, the world’s second-biggest aircraft maker after Airbus, launched the Dreamliner programme in April 2004 and initially had planned to deliver the first plane to ANA in the first half of 2008.

But the aircraft, which can seat up to 330 passengers, only made its maiden flight in December 2009.

The series of delays in the 787 programme has cost Boeing billions of dollars as some airlines cancelled their orders.

Another Boeing project, the 747-8, is a longer and more fuel-efficient update of Boeing’s double-decker 747 jumbo jet, and will compete with European rival Airbus’s A380, the world’s biggest passenger plane. That programme is running two years behind schedule.

ANA this week said it would conduct the first commercial 787 flights from Tokyo to Hong Kong in October, followed by regular services to Beijing and Frankfurt.

The aircraft’s first regular international service will start from December for the Haneda-Beijing route, followed by the Dreamliner’s first regular long-haul international operation between Haneda and Frankfurt from January.

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Japan Stocks Rise First Day in Five as U.S. Economic Data Boosts Exporters - Bloomberg

Canon stocks rise. Photographer: Toshiyuki Aizawa/Bloomberg

Aug. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Robert Howe, chief executive officer of hedge fund manager Geomatrix (HK) Ltd., talks about his investment strategy for Asian stocks. Howe also discusses Federal Reserve monetary policy and Europe's sovereign debt crisis. He speaks with Rishaad Salamat, Susan Li and Phillip Yin on Bloomberg Television's "Asia Edge." (Source: Bloomberg)

Aug. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Erwin Sanft, head of China and Hong Kong research at BNP Paribas SA, talks about global stocks and economies. Sanft, who also discusses Federal Reserve monetary policy and China's currency policy, speaks in Hong Kong with Rishaad Salamat on Bloomberg Television's "On the Move Asia." (Source: Bloomberg)

Japanese stocks rose for the first time in five days as exporters climbed on speculation the U.S. Federal Reserve will announce additional measures to shore up the recovery in the world’s biggest economy.

Canon Inc. (7751), a camera maker that gets about a quarter of its sales in the Americas, gained 3 percent. Nintendo Co., a gamemaker that has lost 45 percent this year, jumped on speculation the shares have been oversold. Inpex Corp., Japan’s No. 1 energy explorer, gained 2.9 percent after oil prices rose.

The Nikkei 225 (NKY) Stock Average rose 1.2 percent to 8,733.01 at the 3 p.m. close of trading in Tokyo. The gauge snapped its longest losing streak since March amid optimism Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke will announce a plan to stimulate the economy when he speaks on Aug. 26 at a meeting of central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. At last year’s meeting, Bernanke sparked a rally in equities by signaling the Fed would buy more bonds -- a strategy known as QE2 -- to help prop up asset prices.

Bernanke “may signal some kind of measure that’s positive for stocks, even if he doesn’t go as far as QE3,” said Masatsugu Okeya, a fund manager at Chiba-Gin Asset Management Co. “The market has already priced in most of the negative news during the recent decline.”

The Topix index rose 1 percent to 750.39 after yesterday falling to the lowest level since March 2009. The gauge has lost about 12 percent this month amid concern U.S. growth is sputtering and Europe’s debt crisis will damage the banking system, damping demand in two of Japan’s biggest export markets. The decline has cut the price of shares on the index to 0.89 times book value, the lowest since March 2009.

“Stocks are likely to be bought as valuations and technical patterns indicate they’ve been oversold,” said Ryuta Otsuka, a strategist at Toyo Securities Co. in Tokyo. “Risk aversion came to a halt in the U.S. and European markets yesterday.”

Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index climbed 1.2 percent today. The index closed little changed yesterday in New York, paring gains in the last 15 minutes of trading as Goldman Sachs Group Inc. plunged on a report that Chief Executive Officer Lloyd Blankfein hired a defense attorney.

Japanese exporters to the U.S. advanced. Canon, the world’s biggest camera-maker, rose 3 percent to 3,600 yen. Toyota Motor Corp. (7203), which counts North America as its biggest market, climbed 2.3 percent to 2,763 yen. The automaker also rose after saying it would collaborate with Ford Motor Co. to develop a hybrid system for pickup trucks.

Nintendo gained 8.4 percent to 13,100 yen. The world’s biggest gamemaker rebounded after the share’s 50-day moving average fell to the lowest level since January 2006.

“Nintendo’s bounce is representative of the technical rebound in the market as a whole,” said Kenichi Hirano, general manager and strategist at Tachibana Securities Co. in Tokyo. “There’s a sense that investors are done unloading shares after one piece of bad news after another.”

Utilities rose after Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda, a candidate to replace Japan’s Prime Minister Naoto Kan, said the country may not be able to do without nuclear power. Kansai Electric Power, the country’s second-largest utility, gained 2.8 percent to 1,409 yen. Chubu Electric Power Co., the third biggest, advanced 1.9 percent to 1,487 yen.

Although Japan should reduce its dependence on nuclear power, the country needs to “‘carefully examine’’ whether it’s possible to meet its energy needs without it, Noda said today in Tokyo. Kan, who said he will step down as early as Aug. 26 if key legislation is passed, has said atomic power should be phased out following the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl.

Japan’s power companies increased spending on fuels by 1 trillion yen ($13 billion) in the three months ended June 30, as they increased thermal generation to offset closures of nuclear plants, national broadcaster NHK reported this month.

Energy companies advanced after crude prices gained for a second day as investors bet on increased demand in the U.S., the world’s biggest consumer of the fuel. Inpex Corp (1605) gained 2.9 to 469,500 yen. Smaller Japan Drilling Co. rose 2.1 percent to 2,602 yen.

To contact the reporters on this story: Yoshiaki Nohara in Tokyo at ynohara1@bloomberg.net; Satoshi Kawano in Tokyo at skawano1@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Nick Gentle at ngentle2@bloomberg.net.

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Cho wins first JGTO title in Kansai

ONO, Hyogo Pref. — South Korea's Cho Min Gyu picked up his first career JGTO Tour title Sunday, winning the Kansai Open by four strokes.

The 23-year-old from Daegu became the fourth South Korean winner in five Japanese tour events as a final-round 2-under 69 left him at 14-under 270 at Ono Golf Club.

Cho began the day with a two-shot lead and pulled away from his closest contender Yoshikazu Haku, a winless 31-year-old, by making four birdies on a bogey-free front nine.

Cho struggled to three bogeys in a four-hole stretch from the 11th, but Haku failed to pose any serious challenge to Cho, playing the last 11 holes without a birdie to card an even-par 71 and finish alone in second.

"I'm filled with joy," said Cho. "I thought a lot about victory from the start of the round. I got very nervous. When I reached the 16th green in two shots, I knew I was going to win this tournament."

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Tomari reactor first to go back fully online since 3/11

SAPPORO — A reactor at the Tomari nuclear power plant in Hokkaido became the first to resume full commercial operation since the disaster at the Fukushima No. 1 plant after Hokkaido Gov. Harumi Takahashi officially gave her approval Wednesday.

The Tomari plant's reactor 3 is the first of the reactors undergoing regular inspections at the time of the Fukushima crisis to go fully online again.

However, because the reactor has already been generating electricity at full capacity under what is known as an "adjustment operation" in the final phase of the inspection, there will be effectively no difference in output as it shifts to commercial operation.

The reactor began undergoing a regular inspection in January and started the adjustment operation on March 7, before the March 11 earthquake and tsunami triggered the nuclear crisis in Fukushima.

The checks were supposed to end in early April, but Hokkaido Electric Power Co. applied for the final test of the inspection process only recently because it had to enhance its safety measures in response to the nuclear crisis.

In announcing her approval at a news conference Wednesday, Takahashi called on the central government to "act responsibly in taking all possible safety measures based on the Fukushima accident."

The Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry issued a certificate for the completion of the reactor's regular inspection following the governor's approval.

Earlier in the day, the prefectural government notified municipalities around the Tomari plant of the governor's intention to approve the restart. The municipal authorities gave their consent to the governor's decision.

The final test on reactor 3 ended Aug. 10, with the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, which is under the wing of the industry ministry, confirming that there are no problems with the reactor.

Nuclear reactors that are suspended for regular checkups need to undergo certain stress tests before restarting operations due to the crisis, but the government has said that the case of the Tomari reactor is not considered a "restart" because the reactor is already activated.

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