Tokyo

Japan restarted on Tuesday its first nuclear reactor since the Fukushima disaster, which took place in 2011.

All nuclear power plants in Japan were gradually turned off after a series of meltdowns at Fukushima caused by the powerful earthquake and resulting tsunami in 2011.

Japan is set to restart a mothballed nuclear reactor for the first time in two years on August 11, the operator said, as anti-atomic sentiment still runs high following the 2011 Fukushima crisis.

Japanese leader Shinzo Abe told US Vice President Joe Biden he would have "serious concerns" if WikiLeaks claims Washington spied on Japanese politicians were true, and called for an investigation, a top official said on August 5.

Mark Karpeles, the head of defunct Bitcoin exchange MtGox, manipulated its computer system at least 30 times over a couple of years, a report said August 3, as Tokyo promised greater efforts to regulate the digital currency.

Tokyo on August 3 described claims that Washington spied on Japanese politicians and major firms as "deeply regrettable", in its first official response to revelations from whistleblower group WikiLeaks.

"I will withhold comment. But If this is true, as an ally, it's deeply regrettable," the government's top spokesman Yoshihide Suga told a regular press briefing.    

The US spied on senior Japanese politicians, its top central banker and major companies including conglomerate Mitsubishi, according to documents released jULY 31 by WikiLeaks, which published a list of at least 35 targets.

The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games logo was unveiled Tuesday. The design mirrors the minimal Japanese culture reflecting how they see themselves. The design belongs to the famous artist Kenichiro Sato. During the official presentation to the media the organisers said the logo combined the dynamic nature of Tokyo with the hospitable spirit of its citizens.

A small plane crashed into a quiet neighborhood in Tokyo on July 26, killing the pilot, a passenger and a woman on the ground, while three people were pulled alive from the wreckage, firefighters and TV reported.

A male crew member of Turkish Airlines (THY) has been detained for a bomb hoax on a plane flying from Istanbul to Basel in April.

We Turks are a weird bunch. The awarding of the 2020 Olympics to Tokyo instead of Istanbul caused many Turks, including ?çapulcular? (marauders) like your friendly neighborhood economist, to rejoice more than the Japanese.