National
12 dead, nearly 10,000 taken to hospitals last week as ongoing heat wave engulfs Japan
Temperatures soared to more than 35 C, with cities in central Japan seeing the highest levels this year at about 40 C, the weather agency said.
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National Jul 18, 2018
Number of foreign visitors to Japan up 15.6% in first half of 2018
The estimated number of foreign visitors to Japan from January to June rose 15.6 percent from the same period a year earlier to 15.89 million, a record for the first half of the year, the Japan Tourism Agency said Wednesday. If the pace of increase ...
National Jul 18, 2018
As heat wave grips Japan, demand spikes for products aimed staying cool
by Chisato Tanaka
Looking for effective ways to stay safe and cool as temperatures soar? Worried that the smell from your summer sweat is bothering those around you? With an early end to the rainy season this year and a deadly heat wave gripping the nation, many companies ...
National / Politics Jul 18, 2018
The Diet on Wednesday passed a controversial bill, sponsored by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling party, to increase the number of seats in the Upper House for the first time in nearly five decades in pursuit of making the electoral system fairer. The approval of ...
National / Crime & Legal Jul 18, 2018
The Nagoya High Court ordered a woman on Tuesday to return her son to his father in the United States, saying her failure to comply with an international convention on child abductions is illegal. The court ruled in favor of the father in a dispute ...
National Jul 18, 2018
Non-Japanese speakers turned to employers for help in aftermath of west Japan flooding disaster
by Sakura Murakami
With basic necessities interrupted, homes evacuated and infrastructure badly in need of repair, surviving a disaster is challenging enough, but for non-Japanese speakers there is the added worry of getting important information in a language they can understand. Following the torrential downpour that hit western ...
National Jul 18, 2018
Nuclear Regulation Authority OKs first reuse of fuel from scrapped reactors
Watchdog grants approval to Kansai Electric Power Co.’s plan to use unspent nuclear rods from decommissioned facilities at the Oi power plant in Fukui Prefecture.
National / Crime & Legal Jul 18, 2018
Japan's watered-down smoking ban clears Diet
by Tomohiro Osaki
Lighting up in public facilities prohibited for the first time as the nation scrambles to combat secondhand smoke in the lead-up to the 2020 Tokyo Games.
National Jul 18, 2018
Hotels and tours in western Japan see cancellations after rain disaster
Thousands of people are canceling trips to popular tourist spots in western Japan even though many of their destinations were left unscathed by the recent deadly rain disaster, local officials said Wednesday. Dogo Onsen in Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture, known as one of Japan's oldest hot ...
National Jul 18, 2018
A month after magnitude 6.1 Osaka quake, progress slow on fixing walls and water pipes
The elimination of substandard concrete walls drags on despite offers of subsidies for their removal and the construction of alternative fencing, while costs increase challenge of pipe replacement.
National Jul 17, 2018
Over 250 schools in Japan damaged in rain disaster, as severed water supplies exacerbate fire risks
The torrential rain has also hit agricultural and fisheries industries nationwide, with the government estimating damage of about ¥53 billion and warning that figure could rise.
National / Crime & Legal Jul 17, 2018
Death penalty sought for man over 2014 deaths of two people who were buried alive in Saga
Prosecutors on Tuesday demanded the death penalty for a man who allegedly murdered a man and a woman by burying them alive in the city of Saga in 2014 in an attempt to avoid paying back a debt. Teruyoshi Oho, 69, is alleged to have ...
National Jul 17, 2018
Tepco to resume TV commercials for the first time since Fukushima nuclear crisis
The marketing unit of Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc., the operator of the tsunami-hit Fukushima nuclear complex, said Tuesday it will resume advertising its products on TV for the first time since the 2011 crisis. Tepco Energy Partner Inc. will start advertising the company's ...