The renowned and awed anime director Satoshi Kon passed away from pancreatic cancer the day before yesterday at the age of 46 just short of his 47th birthday.

Kon started his career as a manga artist and editor at Young Magazine, and then made his screenwriting debut with “Magnetic Rose”, a section of the anthology film Memories.
Kon though is most known for his work as a film director. He made his directorial debut film, Perfect Blue, in 1997, followed by Millennium Actress, Tokyo Godfathers, Paprika and the television series Paranoia …

He was thought to be the oldest man in Tokyo – but when officials went to congratulate Sogen Kato on his 111th birthday, they uncovered mummified skeletal remains lying in his bed.
Mr Kato may have been dead for 30 years according to Japanese authorities.
They grew suspicious when they went to honour Mr Kato at his address in Adachi ward, but his granddaughter told them he "doesn’t want to see anybody".
Police are now investigating the family on possible fraud charges.
Read the rest of the story: Tokyo’s ‘oldest man’ had been dead …

The most influential person in Japan is filmmaker Takeshi Kitano, well-known abroad for his bleak gangster films and at home for his deadpan television personality, according to an Internet survey released by Sankei news Thursday. Mr. Kitano’s crowning is representative of the rest of the top 100 ranking where entertainers overshadowed the country’s political and business leaders.

Peter Bethune final told his side of the story after being incarcerated in Japan. He had not so kind words for Japan and even less for his home country of New Zealand. He’s a man though that sees injustice for what he believes in and isn’t afraid of the politics. It’s something that human spirit will not fail to recognize or to hear when he speaks.

Acclaimed playwright Kohei Tsuka passed away on the morning of July 10 at a hospital in Chiba. He was 62.

Tsuka had announced in January that he was diagnosed with lung cancer, and he had been undergoing treatment at the hospital for the past few months. Sources say that Tsuka’s illness turned critical at the start of June.

Japan’s population of foreign nationals dropped for the first time in 48 years, led by Brazilians, as the nation’s auto industry cut factory jobs after the global financial crisis.

Registered foreign residents fell 1.4 percent to 2,186,121 as of Dec. 31 2009, according to a Ministry of Justice report released July 6. Japan has a population of about 127 million.

Japan’s ruling party picked grass-roots populist Naoto Kan as its new chief Friday, paving his way to replace political blueblood Yukio Hatoyama as prime minister while the party struggles to reclaim public support ahead of July elections.

“My task is to rebuild this nation,” Kan said, stressing the need to spur economic growth and confront problems linking “money and politics.”

Professional “shogi” (Japanese chess) player Hifumi Kato was ordered Thursday not to feed stray cats at the condominium in suburban Tokyo where he lives and to pay some 2 million yen in damages to his fellow residents who were troubled by cat waste and noise. While recognizing that the 70-year-old Kato’s actions were motivated by a love for animals, Presiding Judge Masami Ichikawa at the Tachikawa branch of the Tokyo District Court said that “the level of the residents’ sufferings has exceeded the maximum permissible limit.”
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Japan’s seven-time world judo champion and double Olympic gold medalist Ryoko Tani said Monday she planned to run for parliament but was still shooting for gold at the 2012 London Games.
The 34-year-old mother of two said she would become a candidate for embattled Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama’s ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) in July’s upper-house election.
“While raising my children, I would like to take on other challenges,” she said. “I will remain active in judo. I will try to win the gold in London.”

The nonprofit organization Japan Mothers Society honored five women on Thursday in its 3rd annual Best Mother Awards. This year’s recipients included actress Makiko Esumi in the entertainment category and singer Chisato Moritaka in the music category.
Diet member Renho Murata, freelance announcer Junko Kubo, and sports commentator and former synchronized swimmer Mikako Kotani were the other winners.