Japan

Efforts by Japan's authorities to curb long work hours could weigh heavily on the country's economic growth, a study by Deutsche Bank found. The Japanese are recognized one of the world's most overworked nations.

According to CNBC, the bank said in a note that "cuts in overtime hours lead to lower household income, corporate earnings, and the economy's potential output."

The Japanese Embassy in Athens and the Japan Foundation present a mini-festival of films dedicated to the art of food, titled "Eating - Loving - Living," at the Michael Cacoyannis Foundation. The event comprises critically acclaimed films from Japan, with both English and Greek subtitles.

On the 27th of January, 1868, the army of the Shogunate was marching toward Kyoto. For more than a quarter of a century, the Tokugawa Shoguns had ruled Japan in peace, but now the country was once again in turmoil. Foreigners had come to Japan, Dutch, British and French, and modern European weaponry and training had for the first time become influential in the land of the rising sun.

Before the official opening of the Munich Security Conference on Feb. 17, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg answered reporters' questions in a press conference. 

It is no surprise that Gucci requested to organise its fashion show at the Parthenon, as the ancient monument was voted the most beautiful edifice in the world by architects. Site Businessinsider.com asked a number of architects in an online poll to vote on what they believed was the most beautiful structure in the world.

Germany's former star striker Lukas Podolski has agreed a move from Turkish giant Galatasaray to Vissel Kobe of Japan, according to media reports.

Hürriyet daily said on Feb. 15 that Podolski had agreed a three year deal with the J1 side worth 15 million euros ($15.8 million) and Istanbul side Galatasaray would receive a transfer fee of 2.7 million euros ($2.85 million).

World stocks hit 21-month peaks on Feb. 15 and the dollar rose for the 11th straight day, after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen flagged a possible interest rate rise next month during upbeat comments on the U.S. economy.

The U.N. Security Council denounced North Korea's weekend missile launch, urging members to "redouble efforts" to enforce sanctions against the reclusive state, but gave no indications of any action it might take. 

A new Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) Independent Task Force report, A Sharper Choice on North Korea: Engaging China for a Stable Northeast Asia, finds that the United States’ policy of “strategic patience” with North Korea will neither halt that country’s recurring and dangerous cycle of provocation nor ensure the stability of Northeast Asia in the future.

Turkey's Foreign Ministry on Feb. 12 "strongly" condemned North Korea's test-firing a ballistic missile, which triggered a U.S.-led call for an urgent U.N. Security Council meeting after the launch was seen as a challenge to President Donald Trump.