News Headlines - 05 July 2013

▽Japan's Abe urges voters to help end parliamentary deadlock | Reuters

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, riding high in opinion polls on hopes he can revive a stagnant economy, urged voters on Thursday to back his ruling bloc in this month's upper house election and end a six-year policy deadlock.

▽British woman trying to save Japan's nuclear power industry says: 'Radiation is scary' - Telegraph

Lady Barbara Judge, the British expert hired to help Japan's Tepco rebuild its reputation after the Fukushima disaster, has admitted that most people are worried by nuclear power.

▽Impetus for Japan-Vietnam reactor deal

Meetings of Japanese and Vietnamese ministers this week saw them reaffirm cooperation in nuclear energy. Vietnam is considering offers from established nuclear countries as it seeks to introduce the technology.

▽Japan's Softbank Cleared to Buy Sprint Nextel

Japan's SoftBank on Friday received the final approval it needed from U.S. regulators for its $21.6 billion bid to take control of Sprint Nextel, the No. 3 U.S.wireless provider.

▽BBC News - Hikikomori: Why are so many Japanese men refusing to leave their rooms?

As many as a million young people in Japan are thought to remain holed up in their homes - sometimes for decades at a time. Why? For Hide, the problems started when he gave up school.