In 2008 the news that cause a stir in Japan was mostly bad. The worldwide economic struggle hit Japan hard and the country dealt with food scandals, political resignations, earthquakes and murder in 2008.  The highlights of the year came with a good performance by the Japanese team at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing and three Nobel Prize winners with ties to Japan.

Here are the top 10 news stories this year from Japan:

Number 1 – Tainted Chinese Gyoza in Japan –  Ultimately only 10 people were diagnosed as suffering from organophosphate poisoning from dumplings imported to Japan from China but upwards of 3,000 people claimed to have symptoms.  2008 also saw food scandals over tainted rice, mislabeled eel products and a high-end restaurant in Osaka was caught serving left overs.

Number 2 – The resignation of Prime Minister Fukuda in September was closely followed by the election of Taro Aso to the same position.

Number 3 – Two Japanese born scientists received Nobel Peace Prize for Physics along with one American of Japanese descent.

Number 4 – Japan takes home 9 Olympic Gold medals at 2008 Beijing Summer Games.  The sports that japan dominated were Women’s Softball, Women’s Wrestling (2 wieight divisions), Men’s Swimming (Kosuke Kitajima took home two gold) and Judo (2 each in the men’s and women’s divisions).

Number 5 – Seven people were killed and more were injured in a random Akihabara knife attack in June.

Number 6 – A health insurance plan for Japan’s elderly was implemented in April.  The plan requires those over 75 to pay monthly premiums of up to USD 60 which some say they cannot afford.

Number 7 – A man, apparently holding a grudge over the euthanization of childhood pet, killed two ex-bureaucrats in November.

Number 8 – The struggling economy was headline news around the world and Japan was no exception when the Nikkei index lost almost a quarter of it’s value in one week.

Number 9 – A June 14th a 7.2 magnitude earthquake in Iwate and Miyagi prefectures left 13 dead and 10 unaccounted for.

Number 10 – The G8 Toyako summit held in Hokkaido showcased one of Japan’s most beautiful regions.

The Daily Yomiuri Online pulled this list together and offers further insight into the top news stories of 2008 in Japan and around the world.

Image Credit:  Flickr, {11-21} gyoza at truckstop gyoza

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