National
Researchers hurt at Ibaraki nuclear facility
Up to 30 researchers are feared to have suffered internal radiation exposure after an experiment went awry at a Japan Atomic Energy Agency facility.
National Topics
National May 24, 2013
Dutch gay ex-lawmaker urges Japan to promote LGBT rights
by Maya Kaneko
A former lawmaker who played a big role in making the Netherlands in 2001 the first country to legalize same-sex marriage has called on Japan to make more efforts to promote the human rights of sexual minorities. “We would love to see Japan and ...
Politics & Diplomacy May 24, 2013
Abe welcomes Thai leader, urges eased rules on food imports
by Reiji Yoshida
Visiting Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Sinawatra met Thursday with his Tokyo counterpart, Shinzo Abe, and agreed to further deepen the bilateral “strategic partnership,” Japanese officials said. During the meeting, Abe urged Sinawatra to ease Thai regulations on imported food products from eight prefectures, including ...
Social Issues May 24, 2013
Judo federation probes exec's alleged sexual misdeed against female athlete
The All Japan Judo Federation is probing allegations that a top female judoka was the target of an inappropriate sexual advance in December 2011 by a director of the body. Former Olympic silver medalist judoka Noriko Mizoguchi said Thursday that the female judoka, whose ...
National May 24, 2013
LCCs revive female flight attendant aspirations
by Yoshihiro Nakajima
Becoming a flight attendant is the dream of many young women, but the rigorous standards and high competition often thwart their plans. The expansion of low-cost carriers, however, is making it easier to pursue that dream because LCCs’ requirements for the job are lower ...
National May 24, 2013
Kenji Miyazawa pupil records found at school
Transcripts of Kenji Miyazawa (1896-1933), a famous Iwate-born poet and author of children’s literature, have recently been found at Hanamaki Elementary School in Hanamaki, Iwate Prefecture, where he was enrolled. Miyazawa received the grade of “ko,” the highest in the three-level system, in all ...
National May 24, 2013
Hospital tests powerful heavy-ion breast cancer therapy
A Japanese cancer specialist said Wednesday she has started the world’s first clinical trial of a powerful, nonsurgical, short-term radiation therapy for breast cancer. The National Institute of Radiological Sciences is experimenting with “heavy ion radiotherapy,” a technique in which a pinpoint beam can ...
Politics & Diplomacy May 24, 2013
Hashimoto maintains he will still meet with sex-slavery victims, visit U.S.
by Eric Johnston
Osaka Mayor and Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party) coleader Toru Hashimoto said Thursday he still planned to meet Friday with two Korean former “comfort women” despite calls from both in and outside the party to cancel. “There’s no change in the plans ...
National May 24, 2013
Abe resolve to be conveyed to Kim
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Thursday he believes his strong intention to resolve the long-standing abduction issue with North Korea will be conveyed to its leader, Kim Jong Un, after a recent Pyongyang trip by his adviser. “It is not easy to demonstrate our ...
National May 24, 2013
New system figures quake damage fast
The National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention says it has developed a near real-time earthquake damage estimate system. In test operations over the past three years, the system provided estimates with a high degree of precision within five minutes, institute officials ...
National May 24, 2013
S. Korea paper ratchets up tension
The South Korean newspaper JoongAng Ilbo carried a column dated Monday by an editorial writer describing the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as “divine punishment,” drawing protests from the Japanese government. The column also criticized Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and other Japanese leaders ...
National May 24, 2013
Weak yen spurs record tourist tally
The number of foreign visitors to Japan grew 18.1 percent in April from a year earlier to reach a record high 923,000, thanks to a weakening yen and the popularity of low-cost carriers, a government body said Wednesday. The figure eclipsed the previous high ...
National May 23, 2013
Miura becomes oldest atop Everest
Eighty-year-old Yuichiro Miura has become the oldest person to scale Mount Everest, his management office said Thursday. In his third successful attempt to climb the 8,848-meter peak, Miura and his Sherpas left the last base camp at 8,500 meters shortly after 2 a.m. local ...