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 ...
The use of “dappo habu” (quasi-legal herbs) that are dried and mixed with stimulants to make narcotics is spreading, and many people are ending up in hospitals for drug poisoning. Some people under the influence of the herbs, which are often smoked, have even ...
The July 23 arrival of MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor transport aircraft at U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in Yamaguchi Prefecture and plans to deploy them this fall to Okinawa have fueled stiff opposition from local governments nationwide. Washington and Tokyo see the deployment of ...
When the 293 Japanese athletes compete in the London Games that start Friday, they will represent a century of the participation in the Summer Olympics, starting with marathoner Shiso Kanakuri and sprinter Yahiko Mishima in Stockholm in 1912. Here are some questions and answers ...
Tokyo Electric Power Co. is desperately trying to raise prices to cover the drastic rise in thermal fuel costs caused by its triple-meltdown disaster at the poorly protected Fukushima No. 1 power plant. The utility, which is on the verge of nationalization, is effectively ...
Dear Alice, Some years ago on a visit to Japan, in Osaka, we came across a wandering band dressed in full kimono and playing what sounded like Dixieland jazz on an odd assortment of Japanese and Western instruments. From what I could make out, ...
The United States last month announced that the MV-22 Osprey transport aircraft will be deployed to U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa as scheduled in October. The planned deployment has fueled anger among people living in Okinawa, who have long opposed the ...
Kirin Beverage Co.’s hit beverage Mets Cola has gained Consumer Affairs Agency recognition as “tokuho,” which is short for “tokutei hokenyou shokuhin,” or foods with special healthy qualities. Cola drinks are generally not believed to contribute to good health, but consumers have snapped up ...
Cremation has been the norm for dealing with the deceased in modern-day Japan — where communities are crowded and land is scarce. One major exception has been emperors and empresses, who have been ceremoniously buried. But that may change. Recently, Emperor Akihito and Empress ...
Luxury-brand bags, watches and shoes can easily be purchased on the Internet along with their cheaper counterfeit counterparts, which are illegal but nonetheless widespread. Customs officials in recent years have made record seizures of counterfeit luxury-brand products imported from abroad. Why are so many ...
Dear Alice, I recently received a gift of some special kind of Japanese salt. If I understood correctly, this particular salt is made from seaweed and by some ancient Japanese production method. It’s beige in color and has a nice, rich taste. But I ...
The government began in February looking into ways to make good use of billions of yen in so-called dormant bank accounts, particularly to help fund reconstruction of areas in the Tohoku region devastated by the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami. An ...
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 ...
