News

Japan Airlines (JAL) suffered a net loss of 47.2 billion over the business year ending in March 2006, as fuel prices surged and passengers declined due to continued trouble at the carrier. The firm's net loss was down from a 30 billion yen profit for the previous financial year.

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry wants to improve the image of matchmaking firms in an effort to promote marriage and reverse the declining birthrate, according to ministry officials. In its first report on matchmaking agencies, the ministry urged TV broadcasters to lift their self-imposed ban on airing their commercials. METI is also pushing for a third-party certification body to scrutinize agencies' services. According to a paper compiled by a METI study group, the matchmaking industry generally has a poor image because it is often confused with online dating services, which are sometimes associated with prostitution.

Japan is sick Not satisfied with a booming market in the borderline pedophile Under-15 pin-up princess business, now there's 9-year-old cheesecake going mainstream, according to Shukan Post (5/19). Japan's market for pubescent pin-up queens has already proved to be lucrative, with thousands of perverted consumers forking out their hard-earned yen for a DVD filled with images of a scantily-clad 11-year-old called Saaya, who is billed as a "kyonyu," or "buxom" idol.

The number of those who committed suicide in 2005 is certain to surpass the 30,000 mark for the eighth consecutive year, National Police Agency (NPA) officials said. The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry, which applies stricter standards to define suicide than the NPA, has confirmed that 28,240 people killed themselves from January to November last year, up 423 from the corresponding period of the previous year.

Mistakes have been found in nearly half of all textbooks being used at junior high schools, education officials have announced. A survey by the Ministry of Education Culture, Sports, Science and Technology found that there were at total of 208 mistakes in 65 of the 134 textbooks being used at junior high schools this year for 16 subjects.