Transport authorities launched a full-fledged investigation Sunday into the derailment of a bullet train on the Akita Shinkansen Line in Daisen, Akita Prefecture, on Saturday afternoon.
It's a dangerous, unpredictable world. Twice in January Chinese warships in the East China Sea challenged Japan's Maritime Self Defense Forces patrols in a manner deemed threatening. And on Feb. 12 came North Korea's nuclear test.
Here's an open secret: Japanese men have a bad international reputation on the romance front.
SELLING WOMEN: Prostitution, Markets and the Household in Early Modern Japan, by Amy Stanley. University of California Press, 2012, 282 pp., $49.95 (hardcover) In the vast cultural landscape, Japan fascinates the mainstream with manga and anime, the martial arts, Zen and kimono. Of course, ...
Kenta Maeda shook off worries about his form with five shutout innings as Japan beat China 5-2 in first-round Pool A of the World Baseball Classic on Sunday at Fukuoka Dome. Japan improved to 2-0 following a tough win over Brazil in Saturday evening’s ...
A month after the opening of Tokyo Skytree and Tokyo Skytree Town in Sumida Ward, the world’s tallest broadcasting tower and its shopping and entertainment complex continue to draw hordes of visitors, reaching 1.6 million in just the first week, according to operator Tobu ...
Typhoon Guchol took a heavy toll across Japan, leaving one person dead, one missing and dozens injured, but also may have brought good luck to some animals and bad luck to Tokyo zookeepers. Some 30 Japanese squirrels escaped from Inokashira Park Zoo in western ...
The final three Aum Shinrikyo fugitives are now in custody, but groups working to rescue brainwashed followers from its main successor group are continuing their fight against the cult. In a campaign to save the roughly 1,500 disciples who remain loyal to the cult, ...
New infrastructure minister Yuichiro Hata plans to pick up where his predecessor left off and to controversially proceed with the stop-start Yanba Dam project in Gunma Prefecture. “There is no change in policy” over the dam, Hata said during a group interview with media ...
So-called medical tourism is a growing market worldwide and high-tech Japan hopes to get a piece of the action. Millions of people worldwide travel abroad seeking high quality or cheaper medical treatment. A 2008 report by McKinsey & Co. forecasts the global medical tourism ...
Imperial Palace guards continued efforts Friday to shoo away a “tanuki” raccoon dog that has been hiding in a gap in a stone wall at the palace moat. The 30-cm-long raccoon dog was spotted near the moat by a passerby Thursday morning. When a ...
Junichi Komoto, a member of the popular comedian duo Jicho Kacho, apologized Friday for letting his mother continue to receive welfare benefits after his career took off. “My way of thinking was too naive. I sincerely apologize for that,” Komoto said as he bowed ...
Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto caused another public stir recently when he asked all city workers if they have a tattoo and even suggested those who answered yes should quit the municipal government. Earlier this month, the city asked 33,546 employees, excluding those at the ...
The forecasting company Weathernews Inc. unveiled a micro satellite Tuesday that it developed to monitor Arctic Ocean ice for purposes of guiding ships through the area in summer. The 10-kg cube-shaped satellite, jointly developed by Tokyo-based AXELSPACE Corp., is scheduled to be launched from ...
A citizens’ group has submitted a petition to Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara demanding he create an ordinance to allow the capital to hold a local referendum on the abolition of nuclear power. The petition submitted Thursday was signed by 323,076 Tokyo residents, far in ...
