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Farmers in the city of Tamura, Fukushima Prefecture, have begun planting rice in a district once designated a no-go zone because of radioactive fallout ejected by the disaster-hit Fukushima No. 1 power plant.
Recently I was asked to write a blurb for a new liquid plant-nutrient. As soon as I saw the name of the product, 早根早起 （Hayane Hayaoki), I smiled at this example of linguistic creativity.
Life in Japan just seems tailor-made for certain foreign residents, who slip into the fabric of this society as smoothly as a hand slides into a glove. American Curtis Patterson, a professional koto player and music teacher, is a case in point. Not only ...
Denmark’s Emmelie de Forest won this year’s Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday night with her ethno-inspired flute and drum tune “Only Teardrops,” despite tough competition from spectacular stage shows by performers from Azerbaijan and Ukraine. Juries and television viewers across Europe awarded the barefoot, ...
One team’s quest for a first title has ended. The other team’s fight will continue next season. The Yokohama B-Corsairs outplayed the Rizing Fukuoka in Sunday’s bj-league championship game, controlling the tempo for larger stretches and making enough timely baskets to fill an instructional ...
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is drawing closer to the Osaka faction of Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party) and its allies as concerns about the health of Shintaro Ishihara, 80, head of the party’s Diet faction, mount and Nippon Ishin members look to ...
On a cold afternoon in late February, a group of mothers and children gathered at a makeshift community center near JR Momoyama Station in Fushimi Ward, Kyoto. In one room, volunteers were setting up dolls for the Hina Matsuri doll festival as a couple ...
In the weeks after March 11, 2011, what to do with the mountains of debris that had once been people’s homes and possessions before the quake and tsunami, and how to do it quickly, cheaply and safely, became the top priority of the cleanup ...
Although more than 200 people nationwide have expressed interest in running as Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party) candidates in the July Upper House election, internal tensions have once again raised questions about the party’s stability. Relations remain strained within the party’s Osaka ...
Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party) is moving forward with plans not only to field candidates nationwide in this summer’s Upper House election but also run against Kansai politicians who oppose its efforts to create a new regional system. “We’re making preparations to ...
When Prime Minister Shinzo Abe travels to Washington this week for a summit with U.S. President Barack Obama, his first job may be to convince the president he’s not a rightwing fanatic seeking confrontation in East Asia, but rather a calm partner who can ...
Political efforts to change a key part of the Constitution that would make it much easier to revise other articles continue to strengthen in the ruling and opposition parties. Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party) and Your Party have agreed to cooperate on ...
Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party) will start seeking candidates Saturday for this summer’s Upper House election and plans to announce the first round of selections at a party conference March 30. Nippon Ishin and Your Party have agreed not to go head ...
At their annual gathering that wrapped up Friday, Kansai’s corporate leaders warmly welcomed the Liberal Democratic Party’s return to power, vowing to would do whatever they can to assist the new government in enacting a wide range of economic, financial, social and diplomatic initiatives. ...
Smog in China has reached alarming levels as its rapid industrialization spews ever-more toxic particles into the air. Over the past month or so, the problem has become particularly acute, raising health concerns in neighboring parts of Asia, including Japan. Following are questions and ...
Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto plans to support two ordinance proposals that would establish an independent investigation team and give the mayor’s office more authority to look into incidents of school bullying and corporal punishment. The proposals, which will be discussed by the municipal assembly ...
Members of Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto’s local party, Osaka Ishin no Kai, and New Komeito, which form the ruling coalition in the municipal assembly, voted against an ordinance proposal Monday that would have clarified the city’s financial responsibilities in the event of health problems ...