Tag - accidents

 
 

ACCIDENTS

Ground Self-Defense Force members disembark from a V-22 Osprey aircraft during an annual live-fire exercise at East Fuji Maneuver Area, in Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture, in May 2022.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 11, 2024
Osprey safety concerns linger in Japan, despite U.S. reassurances
Critics have decried the lack of specifics about the cause of the deadly November crash as Tokyo and Washington tout "unprecedented" information-sharing.
Lion Air’s safety record has been in the spotlight over the years. The privately held carrier has suffered several hull losses, the industry term for aircraft damaged beyond repair.
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 10, 2024
Two Indonesian pilots suspended after falling asleep in cockpit
Flight 6723 was on its way to Jakarta from Sulawesi on Jan. 25 when neither the pilot or co-pilot responded to communications.
Batik Air said in a statement on Saturday that it "operates with adequate rest policy" and that it was "committed to implement all safety recommendations" after a January incident in which a pilot and co-pilot both feel asleep during a flight.
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 9, 2024
Indonesia to open probe after airline pilots fell asleep mid-flight
A pilot and co-pilot were simultaneously asleep for approximately 28 minutes during a domestic flight to Jakarta in January.
A U.S. V-22 Osprey lands on the USS Mesa Verde ship during excercises in the Baltic Sea in September.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 8, 2024
U.S. lifts Osprey flight ban, eyeing aircraft's return to Japan's skies
Tokyo and Washington will closely coordinate a timeline for resuming flights of Osprey V-22 aircraft in Japan, three months after a deadly accident.
Boeing has faced a series of quality control issues, most recently in a hair-raising incident in January when a door-sized panel blew off the fuselage of a Boeing 737 Max 9.
JAPAN
Mar 8, 2024
Wheel falls off Boeing passenger jet heading to Japan from U.S.
United Airlines said there were 249 people on board the Osaka-bound jet.
In 2019, Japan tightened penalties for the use of smartphones and other mobile handsets while driving.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 7, 2024
Record high number of distracted drivers causing death or serious injury
In 2023, 25 incidents were fatal and 97 caused serious injury, with about 10% of drivers using mobile phones to talk and 90% looking at screens.
Police stations in Tokyo's Minato Ward hold a cycling safety event in Tokyo in August.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 6, 2024
Japan to introduce 'blue ticket' fine system for cyclists
Fines are expected to be between some ¥5,000 ($33) and ¥12,000, the same as those for traffic violations by motorized scooter riders.
The fishing vessel had engine trouble on Sunday off the Kozushima island in the Izu the archipelago.
JAPAN
Mar 4, 2024
One dead, 24 rescued off Japanese fishing boat
Dramatic television footage showed the 56-meter vessel on its side being pounded by waves as the crew huddled on deck and a helicopter hovered overhead.
A man writes on a message board for passengers of missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 during a remembrance event in Kuala Lumpur in March 2019.
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 3, 2024
Malaysia mulls resuming search of missing MH370 as 10th anniversary nears
Flight MH370 vanished from radar less than 40 minutes after taking off from Kuala Lumpur on March 8, 2014, with 239 passengers and crew on board.
Japan has been particularly sensitive about the prospect of resuming Osprey flights following the November crash of a U.S. Air Force CV-22 variant.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 2, 2024
U.S. to lift ban on Osprey flights, three months after deadly Japan crash
The U.S. military will next week share its plans with Japan — the sole international partner involved in the Osprey program.
A Boeing Co. 737 Max airplane on the production line at the company's manufacturing facility in Renton, Washington, in March 2019
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 27, 2024
Boeing's safety culture slammed by FAA after 737 Max midair door loss
An expert report shows the work still to be done at Boeing despite efforts to overhaul its culture after fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019 killed 346 people.
The Tokyo High Court ruled that there was a causal relationship between Kazuo Ishibashi’s driving and the fatal crash that followed, upholding the Yokohama District Court’s findings and 18-year prison term.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 26, 2024
Tokyo court upholds 18-year prison term for driver over 2017 road rage
Kazuho Ishibashi had deliberately slowed down his vehicle in front of the victim’s car on an expressway, resulting in its rear-ending by a truck.
A car is seen wrecked near the Todaiji temple in the city of Nara on Sunday after its 79-year-old owner mistakenly hit the accelerator and hit two people, including a man from Taiwan.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 25, 2024
Elderly driver fatally hits Taiwanese tourist near UNESCO temple in Nara
The driver, who runs a nearby souvenir shop, admitted to mistaking the accelerator for the brake pedal.
A relative of a missing passenger on MH370, in Beijing on the one year anniversary of the aircraft's disappearance.
WORLD
Feb 23, 2024
A decade after MH370, planes still at risk of vanishing off the map
An industrywide push to eliminate the chances of a similar case has been stymied by bureaucracy and financial pressure.
Star Flyer began allowing owners to bring certain pets into cabins on some routes in 2022.
JAPAN
Feb 15, 2024
Haneda plane collision prompts discussion about pets on flights
Most domestic airlines ban the carrying of pets in airplane cabins, out of consideration for those with allergies.
A Japan Airlines passenger aircraft at Haneda Airport in Tokyo
JAPAN
Feb 14, 2024
JAL plane crossed runway stop line at U.S. airport
The aircraft crossed the stop line in front of the runway at San Diego International Airport just after noon on Feb. 6.
Kenya's Kelvin Kiptum wins the 2023 London Marathon on April 23, 2023. Kiptum and his coach were killed in a car accident on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS / Athletics
Feb 12, 2024
World marathon record holder Kelvin Kiptum dies in traffic accident
World marathon record holder Kelvin Kiptum and his coach Gervais Hakizimana died in a traffic accident on Sunday.
The Aichi Prefectural Police department holds an event in Nagoya in December to advocate safe electric scooter riding.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 9, 2024
Nagoya man arrested on suspicion of hit-and-run with electric scooter
According to the police, the suspect went the wrong way down a one-way street and hit a 47-year-old man, breaking his collarbone and ribs.
A railway crossing in Japan. A railway crossing gate in Osaka city opened before a train passed through on Tuesday, scraping a car that had proceeded to cross.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 7, 2024
Train scrapes car in Osaka after railway crossing gate opens prematurely
No one was hurt in the incident, which was caused by stray bolts causing a malfunction of a system that detects approaching trains.
A Japan Airlines jet is on fire at Haneda Airport in Tokyo on Jan. 2.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 7, 2024
Japan air traffic controllers call for 'significant' staff increase
Last year, the number of air traffic control staff in Japan dropped to its lowest level in at least 19 years, according to transport ministry data.

Longform

Traditional folk rituals like Mizudome-no-mai (dance to stop the rain) provide a sense of agency to a population that feels largely powerless in the face of the climate crisis.
As climate extremes intensify, Japan embraces ancient weather rituals