Japan | featured news

TOKYO — A volcano near Tokyo erupted Monday, shooting up billowing smoke and showering parts of the capital with a fine ash that sent some city residents to the car wash and left others puzzled over the white powder they initially mistook for snow.

Mount Asama erupted in the early hours of Monday, belching out a plume that rose about a mile (1.6 kilometers) high, Japan's Meteorological Agency said.

In Japan, "What's your type?" is much more than small talk; it can be a paramount question in everything from matchmaking to getting a job. By type, the Japanese mean blood type, and no amount of scientific debunking can kill a widely held notion that blood tells all.

At first glance, 17-year-old Misaki Nakajima seems like any other shy and submissive Japanese schoolgirl. She loves shopping, text messaging, and the color pink. But beneath her wholesome exterior lies a wicked secret: Misaki Nakajima is consumed by sexual fantasies involving sweaty, middle-aged American men.

"I can't explain it," said Nakajima, dressed in a pleated miniskirt and pure white knee socks. "There's just something about American men who are at least twice my age and nearly three times my body weight that totally drives me wild."

Tourists are known for acting silly sometimes. You have to cut them some slack. But licking the tuna?

Japan plans to use public money to help the companies hardest hit by the financial crisis, while newly confirmed U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner vowed to act swiftly to rescue the U.S. economy.

A 54-year-old Japanese father was arrested after he tried to help his son pass an exam by impersonating the young man and taking the test for him, police said Thursday. The father, who was not named, put on glasses and straightened his hair to look more like the picture on his son's identity card, said Masaaki Nakamori, a police official said.