Japan

Wrinkles could be key to buying cigarettes in Japan (Reuters via Yahoo! News)

12 May 2008

Cigarette vending machines in Japan may soon start counting wrinkles, crow's feet and skin sags to see if the customer is old enough to smoke.

Bank of Japan watching economic risks (AP via Yahoo! Finance)

12 May 2008

Bank of Japan Gov. Masaaki Shirakawa said Monday that the central bank is now focused on threats to Japan's economic health, reaffirming sentiment that the country's low interest rates won't be raised anytime soon.

Toyota Introduces New Minivans to Stem Japan Slump (Update1) (Bloomberg.com)

12 May 2008

May 12 (Bloomberg) -- Toyota Motor Corp. , Japan's largest automaker, introduced two new minivans in the country to help stem a 2.4 percent drop in domestic sales this year.