JAPAN NEWS ON FASTMOVING

Tokyo - For those who have trouble finding space for a large wine collection, a new apartment block in Japan with an in-house cellar and a visiting sommelier could be the perfect place to live. read more

Sony Corp reported a higher than expected first-quarter operating profit on Thursday, boosted by strong sales of its flagship Xperia smartphones in Japan and rising shipments of image sensors to phone makers.  read more

Johannesburg - Nougat, rooibos tea espressos and art will be on display at the African Fair in Japan later this month, the trade and industry department said on Sunday.  read more

Tokyo - Sony chief Kazuo Hirai said Wednesday the company was examining a hedge fund proposal to sell off part of its entertainment unit in a bid to boost profits in its core business. read more

Paris - Economic growth in G20 countries climbed by 0.5% in the fourth quarter of 2012, slowing only slightly from the 0.6% pace recorded in the previous three-month period despite heavy contractions across Europe, preliminary estimates from the OECD showed on Wednesday. read more

Japan - on Monday confirmed that the world's third-largest economy shrank in the three months to September, stoking fears the country is slipping into a recession. read more

Kadoma, Japan - About a fifth of Panasonic Corp's 88 business units are losing money and only half so far meet a target for at least 5 percent operating margin, the Japanese electronics group's finance chief said in an interview on Wednesday. read more

While Japan struggles to generate enough electricity to keep air conditioners humming through its steamy summer, brewer Kirin is offering relief – a pint of ice cold draft beer topped with frozen froth. read more

Tokyo - Sony will cut 10 000 jobs worldwide this year as it attempts to carry out sweeping reforms aimed at reviving the iconic but loss-making Japanese electronics giant, the Nikkei business daily said on Monday.  read more

Japan’s consumer prices fell for a third month as an export slump and the stronger yen weighed on the nation’s economic rebound from the record March earthquake.  read more

An unofficial panel of experts has cleared global accounting groups KPMG and Ernst & Young of any responsibility for a $1.7 billion accounting fraud at Japan's Olympus Corp, though the role of the firms remained under official review.  read more

Shanghai - The number of internet users in China have crossed the half billion mark, reaching 505 million users at the end of November last year, the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) has reported. read more

Japan’s consumer prices fell for the first time since June, casting doubt on central bank forecasts for the world’s third-biggest economy to emerge from more than a decade of deflation.  read more