The last time foreign tourists spent more money in Japan than their Japanese equivalents spent overseas, the Apollo moon landing was still fresh in the memory, Osaka was hosting Asia's first World's Fair and a dollar bought three-and-a-half-times more yen than it does today.
But now Japan has earned its first "tourism surplus" in 44 years - a testament to the transformation of Asia's economies that has turned once prohibitively expensive Japanese cities into affordable destinations for many middle-class Chinese, Thais and Indonesians.
Japan's aggregate tourism-related revenues exceeded expenditures by 17.7 billion yen ($172 million) in April, current account data released by the finance ministry on Monday showed, the largest such surplus on record and the first since July 1970.
Tourism is helping to support a rebound in Japan's economy even as exports of manufactured goods, a more traditional source of strength, have lagged -- responding only weakly to a slide in the yen that has made them theoretically more competitive.
Jun 10
Surfer survives shark attack in Japan A 43-year-old man has been seriously injured after being attacked by a shark while surfing off central Japan, officials say, warning local beach-goers to be alert. (skynews.com.au)
Jun 10
World's oldest man dies in U.S., Japanese now oldest man The world's oldest man died in New York on Sunday at the age of 111, leaving a Japanese man, also aged 111, as the world's oldest. (Kyodo)
Jun 10
Body found in Kumamoto believed to be that of missing girl Police in Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto Prefecture, said Tuesday that a body found on a mountain on June 7 is probably that of missing 17-year-old high school girl Mayuko Arakawa. Police said they expect to confirm the identity after a DNA test is conducted. (Japan Today)
Jun 10
Japanese police inspect koban in Sao Paulo Japanese police officers are visiting Brazil to help the country establish Japan's 'koban' community policing system as a way to reduce crime. (NHK)
Jun 10
Hillary Clinton says meeting Japan's empress an 'honor' in memoir Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton describes meeting the Japanese empress as a "rare honor," while also praising Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's statements on women's empowerment, in a memoir to be published Tuesday. (Kyodo)
Jun 10
Old man takes bird for a walk in Japan Entertaining footage has come out of Japan, with a bird taking a walk with an elderly gentleman along the sidewalk. (Kral Medya)
Jun 10
Body of 1 boy found; 2 still missing in Gifu river Police said Tuesday that the body of one boy who was swept away with two friends by strong currents in the Kiso River in Kakamigahara, Gifu Prefecture, on Monday afternoon, has been found. (Japan Today)
Jun 10
Rumored illegitimate child of ex-PM Kan shadows Akasaka club busts On May 1, officers from the Nishi Arai Police Station announced the bust of a high-profile Korean hostess club in Tokyo's Akasaka entertainment district for violating immigration control laws. (Tokyo Reporter)
Jun 09
Seven years sought for Aum's Kikuchi over parcel bombing Prosecutors on Monday asked the Tokyo District Court to sentence former Aum Shinrikyo fugitive Naoko Kikuchi to seven years in prison for her role in the 1995 parcel bomb attack on the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building, saying she deserved "the heaviest punishment possible." (Japan Times)
Jun 09
Gruesome details emerge about Shinjuku beating death broadcast live on Net On May 20 at approximately 6:20 p.m., emergency personnel were summoned to an apartment in the Lions Mansion Shinjuku building in Shinjuku Ward. (Tokyo Reporter)
Jun 09
Fire in shopping district near JR Okachimachi station in Tokyo A fire destroyed most of a three-story commercial building in the shopping area near JR Okachimachi station on Monday morning. (Japan Today)
Jun 09
Idol's private moments caught on tape and used for a commercial Japanese TV has a tendency to be pretty ridiculous. This commercial starts with the feeling that maybe you shouldn't be watching it. Well-known idol Akari is the star of this particular leaked footage. (rocketnews24.com)
Jun 09
Elderly couple killed in Hokkaido farm accident A 75-year-old man and his 68-year-old wife were killed when a farm vehicle they were driving overturned on a slope in Yoichi on Sunday morning. (Japan Today)
Jun 08
Prince Katsura, cousin of Emperor Akihito, dies at 66 Prince Katsura, a cousin of Emperor Akihito, died of acute heart failure at a Tokyo hospital at 10:55 a.m. Sunday, the Imperial Household Agency said. He was 66. (Kyodo)
Jun 08
Victims remembered 6 years after Akihabara rampage Sunday marks the 6th anniversary of a rampage in Tokyo's Akihabara district that left 7 people dead and 10 others wounded. (NHK)