Japan

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Kindergarten Battles an Unlikely Shoe Thief

What a weasel

(Newser) - Police were called to a kindergarten in Japan after a bunch of children's shoes were stolen and more were seemingly tossed around the property. Fifteen shoes were discovered missing from the Gosho Kodomo-en kindergarten in Koga, Fukuoka prefecture, on Nov. 6, followed by another six on Nov. 7, per...

Biden Praises Unity Against Growing Threat

Meeting in Peru addresses military partnership between Russia, North Korea

(Newser) - President Biden on Friday praised the cooperation among South Korea, Japan, and the US at countering what he described as North Korea's "dangerous and destabilizing cooperation with Russia." Biden spoke at the start of a meeting in Peru with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese...

Cops: US Tourist Used Fingernails to Vandalize Tokyo Shrine

65-year-old could face up to 3 years in prison

(Newser) - An American tourist who arrived in Japan with his family on Monday might be staying in the country for a lot longer than he had intended. Police say 65-year-old Steve Lee Hayes vandalized a pillar at one of the country's most prominent Shinto shrines on his second day in...

Japan Has a Trucker Shortage. Its Solution Is Novel

Nation plans to build a giant 'conveyor belt road' connecting Tokyo and Osaka

(Newser) - If it works, expect other major cities around the world to copy the idea to some degree: Japan is building what amounts to a giant "conveyor belt road" from Tokyo to Osaka to ship cargo, reports the Guardian . Details:
  • 320 miles: The transport corridor would run 320 miles from
...

Robot Emerges From Fukushima With a First Clue

Removal of tiny fuel debris sample is first step toward much bigger cleanup at Japanese plant

(Newser) - A robot that has spent months inside the ruins of a nuclear reactor at the tsunami-hit Fukushima Daiichi plant delivered a tiny sample of melted nuclear fuel on Thursday, in what plant officials said was a step toward beginning the cleanup of hundreds of tons of melted fuel debris. The...

This Is the Latest in the Year Mount Fuji Has Been Snowless
Snow Finally Seen
on Mount Fuji
UPDATED
Nov 6, 2024 12:00 AM CST

Snow Finally Seen on Mount Fuji

'Sweltering' summer tied record for Japan's hottest ever recorded

(Newser) - Early Wednesday, snow was finally spotted on Mount Fuji—by far the latest in the year Japan's iconic peak has seen its first snow in the 130 years since records have been kept, the New York Times reports. "This is the first time we haven't seen snow...

Teen Boys in Japan Apparently Aren't Doing Much Kissing

Only 22% of high school boys have had a first kiss, spelling possible trouble for declining birth rates

(Newser) - Japan is doing whatever it can to get people to partner up amid historically low birth rates , and based on a new survey of high schoolers, it may have its work cut out. According to the Japanese Association for Sex Education, just over one-fifth of boys in high school have...

Japan: Use a Phone While Riding a Bike, Go to Jail for 6 Months

Country is also cracking down on drunk cyclists

(Newser) - Japan is getting tougher on bike safety with stiffened and standardized punishments for a range of offenses, including using a phone while cycling or cycling while drunk. Under a new nationwide law, cyclists caught using their phones could face a maximum punishment of six months in prison or a $655...

'Severe' Election Loss Roils Japanese Politics

Ruling coalition loses its majority in lower House over financial scandals

(Newser) - Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's ruling coalition lost a majority in the 465-seat lower house in a key parliamentary election Sunday, a punishment by voters' outrage over the governing party's extensive financial scandals, per the AP .
  • Now what? Ishiba's Liberal Democratic Party remains the top party in
...

Japan's View of Customers as 'Gods' Is Backfiring

Tokyo introduces first-of-its-kind ordinance to address customer harassment

(Newser) - A first-of-its-kind ordinance in Japan, a country known for high levels of customer service, seeks to block customer harassment, or "kasuhara." The local ordinance, to go in effect in April in Tokyo, states "no person shall engage in customer harassment anywhere" and though it includes no penalties,...

Something's Off in This Rather Boring Pic of Japan's Cabinet

Nation's government admits it edited photo to make members look not quite as messy

(Newser) - A photo posted by the Japanese government last week showing the nation's new prime minister, Shigeru Ishiba, and members of his Cabinet looked rather standard—a bunch of serious-looking politicians dutifully lined up in suits. However, that pic didn't quite match up with reporters' images of the same...

US Dropped the Bomb During WWII. It Exploded Wednesday

It left large crater in a taxiway at Japan's Miyazaki Airport

(Newser) - An unexploded US bomb from World War II that had been buried at a Japanese airport exploded Wednesday, causing a large crater in a taxiway and the cancellation of more than 80 flights but no injuries, Japanese officials said. Land and Transport Ministry officials said there were no aircraft nearby...

Japan's Getting a New Leader
Japan's Getting a New Leader
Sep 30, 2024 4:15 AM CDT

Japan's Getting a New Leader

Nation's likely next PM Shigeru Ishiba says he's calling new elections in October

(Newser) - Shigeru Ishiba, the head of Japan's governing party, plans to call a parliamentary election to be held on Oct. 27 after he is elected as prime minister on Tuesday. Ishiba was chosen as the Liberal Democratic Party's leader on Friday and is assured to also succeed Fumio Kishida...

Man Who's Been on Death Row the Longest Gets a Retrial
Boxer on Death Row for
Half a Century Goes Free
UPDATED
Sep 26, 2024 2:00 AM CDT

Boxer on Death Row for Half a Century Goes Free

Iwao Hakamada was sentenced to death in 1968 but long claimed confession was forced

(Newser) - An 88-year-old former Japanese boxer was on Thursday acquitted of the 1966 murders of his boss and the boss's family, reversing his wrongful conviction and bringing to an end a long legal saga, the AP reports. Iwao Hakamada spent 48 years imprisoned before he was released in 2014, when...

China, Japan Agree on Terms for Fukushima Discharge

Radioactive water will be subject to independent sampling

(Newser) - China announced Friday that it has reached an agreement with Japan on the discharge of radioactive water from the ruined Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, a dispute that had been going on for more than two years. The deal calls for Japan to establish a long-term international monitoring arrangement and allow...

Escapee Penguin Pulls Off Quite a 'Miracle'

Captivity-born Pen-chan had never been in open ocean before, yet was found 30 miles away

(Newser) - Pen-chan is a 6-year-old Cape penguin born in captivity in Japan who had no experience with the open ocean or predators. So as AFP reports, when she escaped an event on Aug. 25 on Himaka Island, there was little hope for her survival, much less her safe return. As rescuers...

Nearly 40K Found Dead in Japan in 2024 Lived Alone

Bodies of almost 4K of them weren't found until a month after their deaths

(Newser) - Japan's National Police Agency recently carried out investigations, including autopsies, on more than 100,000 people who died in the island nation during the first half of 2024, and some alarming numbers have emerged from that probe. Per Japanese broadcaster NHK , about one-third of them, or 37,277 people,...

Rogue Dolphin Attacker May Be Lonely

Japan sees a spike of attacks on humans by the same bottlenose dolphin

(Newser) - Ah, dolphins: So cute, social, and intelligent—except when they're angry, lonely, and perhaps a little sexually frustrated, in which case they can be dangerous, aggressive, and more than a little unfriendly toward humans. Such is the case of a stretch of Japanese shoreline, reports the BBC , which has...

Screen Blocking Iconic View of Mount Fuji Comes Down

Fujikawaguchiko says it will stay down if tourists continue to behave

(Newser) - A large black screen erected in the Japanese town of Fujikawaguchiko to block tourist photos of Mount Fuji has come down—and may stay down. The 65-foot-long screen erected in May to prevent overcrowding on a busy road outside a convenience store was brought down Thursday to prevent it from...

Flights Canceled Over Pair of Missing Scissors

36 flights ended up being canceled at Japan's New Chitose Airport

(Newser) - A pair of missing scissors ended up wreaking havoc at a Japanese airport on Saturday morning—while also generating some praise for the airport's response. The BBC reports they went missing from a store that was located near the boarding gates at New Chitose Airport in Hokkaido that morning....

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