Coffee shops are particularly interesting because their role has changed from that of smoky dens for salesmen out of the office and killing time, to that of fashionable internet-connected meeting places.

All Nippon Airlines announced a net loss of JPY6.6bn for the first quarter of the year amidst the 787 Dreamliner groundings, rising fuel costs on the weaker yen, and losses booked from its failed joint venture with AirAsia.

Last week researchers caught some Japanese sea bass 100km out at sea and found that they had concentrations of 1,037 Bq/Kg of Cesium-134/137, about 10 times higher than the government safety limit.

A popular destination in the Shibuya area over the weekend is the occasional clothing flea market held at the NHK-Yoyogi Park Amphitheater, with over 400 stalls selling tons (literally) of used clothing in good condition.