Japan is commemorating the victims of the atomic bomb that devastated Hiroshima 65 years ago. The attack by the United States in 1945 was instrumental in ending World War II. Since then on each on August 6, a somber echo of a temple bell reverberates through Hiroshima’s Peace Memorial Park.

Japan is the only nation ever to have been attacked with atomic bombs. More than 140,000 people were killed instantly in Hiroshima or died in the days and weeks after the U.S. attack. Three days later, a U.S. plane dropped a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki, killing more than 70,000 people. Japan surrendered on August 14.

Read the rest of the story: Hiroshima Holds 65th Atomic Bomb Memorial.

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Actor Shun Oguri (27) will star in a stage version of the Anthony Burgess novel "A Clockwork Orange," set to be performed early next year. This will be the first time that the story is adapted for the stage in Japan.

The best known adaptation of "A Clockwork Orange" is Stanley Kubrick’s film in 1971. However, it has also received multiple theatrical adaptations in the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States.

According to Horipro, which is handling the production of the play, there have been plans to adapt the book to stage previously in Japan, but an appropriate actor for the brutal character of Alex could not be found. But after Oguri’s roles in the "Crows ZERO" movies and in the stage version of "Caligula," Horipro felt he fit the part and gave him an offer last summer.

Masahiko Kawahara will direct. Performances are scheduled to start in January 2011.

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Just a week after the din of celebratory vuvuzela horns died down in South Africa, fresh World Cup fever is gripping nine candidates battling to host the showpiece in 2018 or 2022.

The sport’s world governing body FIFA on Monday kicks off a two-month inspection tour of Japan, South Korea, Australia, the Netherlands-Belgium, Russia, England, Spain-Portugal, the United States and Qatar in that order.

The first stop, Japan, is counting on its impressive organizational, financial and technological power to win the 2022 event. It co-hosted the 2002 World Cup with South Korea after staging one summer and two winter Olympics.

Japan has promised to treat football fans worldwide to ultra-realistic live three-dimensional broadcasts of matches.

Read the rest of the story: Japan first up as FIFA inspects World Cup hopefuls

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Next year, the Imperial Garden Theater in Tokyo will celebrate its 100th birthday. The theater has announced its 2011 schedule, which includes a performance of “Gone with the Wind” starring actress Ryoko Yonekura (34) as Scarlett O’Hara. This will be Yonekura’s first time performing at the historic venue.

“Gone with the Wind” was most recently performed in Japan as a musical in 2003, starring Mao Daichi (54). Yonekura, however, will be appearing in a non-musical version of the play, which was last done by Daichi in 1987.

Yasufumi Terawaki (48) will play Rhett Butler. Jun Shibuki (41) and Kohki Okada (44) have been cast as Melanie and Ashley, respectively. The play will be performed in June and July of next year.

The Imperial Garden Theater’s other productions scheduled for next year include “Les Miserables,” “The Three Musketeers,” and Koichi Domoto’s “SHOCK.”

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(Photo courtesy: AFP)

Michael Jackson fans, some paying $1,000 for a sleepover among his possessions, swarmed to Tokyo Tower on Friday to commemorate the first anniversary of the singer’s death with a candlelight vigil, gospel concert and silent prayer session.

Though Jackson fans gathered around the world to mark his death one year ago, the Tokyo “Lifetime Collection” event was the only overseas exhibition of Jackson memorabilia that has the sanction of his estate, promoters said.

“I don’t know what to say, seeing all his things makes it all come back to me,” said Yumiko Sasaki, a 48—year—old Tokyo officer worker who has been a Jackson fan since she was 12. “It makes me so sad to think that he is gone. He was wonderful.”

Read the rest of the story: Japan fans hold sleepover to mark Michael Jackson’s death anniversary

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A pair of explosive eruptions Sunday on Mount Sakurajima in Kagoshima Prefecture brought the total to 550 this year, setting a new annual record, the local meteorological observatory said.

Given that the volcano has been erupting roughly twice as frequently since last year, the number of eruptions could reach 1,000, the observatory said.

The previous record of 548 was set last year.

Read the rest of the story: Sakurajima busts eruptions record

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by Frenkieb

THIS CONTEST HAS ENDED. WINNERS WILL BE ANNOUNCED SOON.

We’d like to thank:

JustAContest.com for posting our contest. You can find more writing contests at JustAContest.com.

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A Japanese rocket blasted off early Friday carrying a Venus probe and a kite-shaped “space yacht” designed to float through the cosmos using only the power of the sun.

The launch vehicle, the H-IIA rocket, took off from the Tanegashima space centre in southern Japan on schedule at 6:58 am (Thursday 2158 GMT), three days after its original launch was postponed by bad weather.

Live footage on the website of Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) showed the rocket disappear into the sky.

“The rocket is flying normally,” JAXA said 20 minutes after blast-off.

It carried with it the experimental “Ikaros” — an acronym for Interplanetary Kite-craft Accelerated by Radiation of the Sun — designed to be propelled by the pressure of sunlight particles.

Similar to an ocean yacht pushed by wind, the device has a square, ultra-thin and flexible sail, measuring 14 by 14 metres (46 by 46 feet), that will be driven through space as it is pelted by solar particles.

The sail, only a fraction of the thickness of a human hair, is also partly coated with thin-film solar cells to generate electricity.

Read the rest of the article: Japan rocket blasts off with ‘space yacht’ and Venus probe

Photo:AFP

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Japan has hosted the world’s first wedding to be conducted by a robot. The automated creature, known as the I-Fairy, oversaw the wedding of Tomohiro Shibata and Satoko Inoue in the capital, Tokyo. The couple decided to use the robot as they are both connected with Japan’s thriving robotics industry. Since robots had brought them together in the first place, they said, having one officiate at their wedding was a natural choice.

Read the rest of the story: Tokyo couple married by robot in rooftop wedding

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High-tech Japan has promised to treat football fans worldwide to ultra-realistic live 3-D telecasts of World Cup matches should it win the right to host the 2022 edition.

The 550 billion yen (six billion dollar) “Universal Fan Fest” project is part of Japan’s bid submitted to football’s world governing body FIFA on Friday, the Japan Football Association said Monday.

The matches would be viewed by some 360 million people at nearly 400 select stadiums in FIFA’s 208 member countries, said JFA general secretary Kohzo Tashima, chief executive officer of the bid committee.

The images would be captured from 360 degrees by 200 high-definition cameras during each match, to be transmitted as three-dimensional images, a technology that has been driven in large part by Japan’s electronics giants.

The matches would be shown on giant screens or, if technological advances in coming years allow, projected like a real match onto the pitch itself, giving viewers the illusion of watching the real thing.

Read the rest of the story: Japan offers global 3-D telecasts in 2022 WC bid

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