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Jessica Speed
The Meteorological Agency has predicted that up to 5 centimeters of snow will fall across Kanto, with mountainous areas throughout the region expected to see up to 8 cm.
JAPAN
Mar 7, 2024
Forecast calls for snow in Tokyo through Friday as temperatures drop
The weather agency is warning of traffic disruption and icy roads, with the Kanto region likely to experience heavy snowfall.
A Meteorological Agency map shows the location and intensity of an earthquake that struck off the coast of Chiba Prefecture early Friday morning.
JAPAN
Mar 1, 2024
Series of quakes shake Chiba, with authorities calling for caution
More than 10 tremors registering 1 to 4 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale have occurred since Tuesday.
Shohei Otani
BASEBALL / MLB
Feb 29, 2024
Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani announces marriage
Los Angeles Dodgers two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani announced his marriage via Instagram on Wednesday.
Hideo Kojima (right), mayor of Ginan, Gifu Prefecture, hands his letter of resignation to the head of the town's assembly at the town hall on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 29, 2024
Gifu town mayor resigns amid sexual harassment allegations
Hideo Kojima, 74, a former town assembly member, was first elected mayor in November 2020 and was serving his first term.
School lunch served to children of an elementary school in Miyama, Fukuoka Prefecture, on Monday. A 7-year-old boy died after choking on what is believed to have been a boiled quail egg while having lunch at his school.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 28, 2024
Japan issues urgent notice to schools after boy chokes to death
The first grader in the city of Miyama, Fukuoka Prefecture, is believed to have choked on a boiled quail egg contained in a stew served for school lunch.
Hankyu's new PRiVACE carriages will feature spacious seats arranged in three rows, equipped with partitions, reading lights, and power sockets.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 27, 2024
Hankyu railway to launch new premium seat service on Kyoto Line
The new PRiVACE carriages will feature spacious seats arranged in three rows, equipped with partitions, reading lights, and power sockets.
Yakitori chain Torikizoku will open outlets in Taiwan and Hong Kong as part of its planned expansion into the Asian market.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 27, 2024
Restaurant chain Torikizoku to open branches in Taiwan and Hong Kong
Specific details regarding the number of restaurants and finalized opening dates in Hong Kong and Taiwan are yet to be determined.
Regulating online gambling in Japan can be tricky, particularly when site operators are based overseas in countries where it is legal.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 21, 2024
Kyoto police arrest seven on suspicion of running illegal gambling site
The suspects are accused of working for the foreign company operating Dora Mahjong, a membership-based gambling site catering to a Japanese audience.
McDonald's Japan will start charging ¥5 for plastic bags of all sizes at some stores, starting in April.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 20, 2024
McDonald's Japan announces trial ¥5 plastic bag charge to curb usage
The firm will eye expanding the fee nationwide following a trial at 23 of its stores in Nagasaki Prefecture starting in April.
A whale confirmed dead in Osaka Bay in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on Monday
JAPAN
Feb 20, 2024
Whale found dead in Osaka Bay to be buried on prefectural land
After being buried for up to two years, the skeletal remains will be offered as a specimen to the Osaka Museum of Natural History.
Kasai Rinkai Park on Wednesday in Tokyo's Edogawa Ward. Temperatures are expected to rise to 18 degrees Celsius in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Feb 19, 2024
Forecast of sudden drop in temperature raises health concerns
The mercury is expected to rise to around 20 degrees Celsius before plunging by more than 10 degrees midweek.
The 2024 cherry blossom forecast released Thursday
JAPAN
Feb 15, 2024
Cherry blossoms expected to bloom in Tokyo on March 17
The earlier-than-usual blossoming is attributed to higher than average temperatures across the country over the past few months, particularly this month.
People relax at a park in the city of Fukuoka on Tuesday as high temperatures were recorded across the country.
JAPAN
Feb 14, 2024
Unseasonably warm temperatures set to continue across Japan
Temperatures in the Kinki, Tokai, and Kanto Koshin regions hovered around 18 C, reaching 19 C in Kanagawa Prefecture and 20 C in Chiba Prefecture.
Domino's Pizza Japan has apologized for a video of its employee pretending to pick his nose and wipe it on pizza dough.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 13, 2024
Domino's apologizes over online video of employee's pizza antics
The pizza delivery giant's move came after a video surfaced online Monday of an employee pretending to pick his nose and wipe it on pizza dough.
Okinawa Police have arrested a man on suspicion of murder for allegedly dragging a woman onto a road, leaving her to be run over by a passing taxi in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 13, 2024
Okinawa man arrested for allegedly leaving woman in street to be run over
Police reports indicate that the pair had been drinking together immediately prior to the incident, with the woman possibly intoxicated and unable to move.
Japanese conductor Seiji Ozawa during a rehearsal in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, in September 2005.
CULTURE / Music
Feb 9, 2024
Seiji Ozawa, Japan’s trailblazing maestro, dies at 88
Throughout his illustrious career, Ozawa was instrumental in popularizing classical music for mainstream audiences in Japan and abroad.
The Temple University Japan campus in Tokyo. The university plans to open a satellite campus in the city of Kyoto in 2025.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 9, 2024
New Temple University campus set to open in Kyoto in January 2025
Temple plans to offer English-language courses to elementary and junior high school students, in addition to its regular undergraduate programs.
Customers look for Valentine's Day chocolate at Kintetsu Department Store's flagship outlet in the city of Osaka in January.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 8, 2024
Japan’s Valentine’s Day chocolate budget sees 34% rise
About 22% of survey participants said they would purchase chocolates for themselves — 3.4 times more than those buying for a romantic partner.
Killer whales are trapped in drift ice on Tuesday off the coast of the town of Rausu in Hokkaido.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 7, 2024
Orcas appear to escape after being trapped in drift ice off Hokkaido coast
Local officials are hopeful that the animals escaped to safety as the density of drift ice decreased Wednesday.
Snow falls outside Sensoji Temple in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN
Feb 5, 2024
Heavy snow falls in Tokyo and wider region, impacting transport networks
While the snowfall may peak overnight, those commuting on Tuesday morning are likely to encounter icy roads and impacts on trains or roadways.

Longform

Wozme, founded by dancer and choreographer Wakaba Kohei, is composed of Kana Kitty, Ami Ishii, Akane Watanabe and Natsuki. Its aim is to inject elegance and beauty, traits traditionally associated with femininity, into the sometimes grotesque art form of butoh dance.
Wozme, an all-women dance troupe, wants to move the needle in butoh