Typical cheerleading clubs in schools, known as ōendan, consist of men clad in black gakuran stand-up collar uniforms yelling vigorously and performing synchronized, dynamic choreographed moves to support sports teams. While the traditional activity is becoming less popular among male students, many ōendan across the ...
Japan wants foreign entrepreneurs, but what's missing?
For foreign entrepreneurs, Japan has never been the easiest place to launch a startup for a number of reasons, including its conservative corporate culture, restrictive visa requirements and daunting language barrier. Well aware it may be failing to attract businesspeople who can spark the economy, ...
'Nagoya passing' no more? Aichi pins hopes on expo center to bring in big names and tourism
Avid fans of all-girl pop act AKB48 braved a persistent drizzle outside Aichi Sky Expo on a recent Saturday morning, forming a long queue as they waited for a "handshaking" session with the group's idols to kick off. Some had traveled long distances for the ...
Japanese police want authority to revoke driver's licenses over road rage, source says
Revocations would be allowed for reckless driving to address public fears sparked by several road-rage cases over the past few years.
With surprise backing from workers, Toyota group firm dares to go completely smoke-free
Toyoda Gosei Co., part of the Toyota Motor Corp. group, has decided to ban smoking in all its facilities nationwide from January. While many companies remain reluctant to go completely smoke-free out of fear that employees will leave, the parts maker has concluded it will ...
Aichi art festival featuring controversial 'comfort women' statue wraps up without incident
The Aichi Triennale 2019 art festival, which included a controversial exhibition featuring a statue of a girl symbolizing the so-called comfort women, came to a close Monday. As the 75-day festival in Aichi Prefecture ended, Gov. Hideaki Omura, head of the event's organizing committee, told ...
Gifu women turn plastic waste found on beaches into accessories
Four women in Tajimi, Gifu Prefecture, are creating accessories made from plastic fragments collected at beaches in Aichi Prefecture, selling them amid growing global concerns over the microplastic waste in the ocean. The women, all in their 20s, say they hope people will have an ...
Aichi illustrator shines light on local moon-viewing tradition called 'Japan's Halloween'
There is a tradition in Japan of holding moon-viewing parties to celebrate the harvest on the 15th day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar, believed to be the best time of the year to watch the full moon, and this year it ...
New LCC terminal opens at Chubu Airport near Nagoya; boost to tourism expected
A new terminal for low-cost carriers opened at Chubu Centrair International Airport near Nagoya on Friday, raising expectations of growth in the number of foreign visitors to the Chubu region. Terminal 2 at the Centrair Airport in Tokoname, Aichi Prefecture, is the third dedicated LCC ...
Police obtain warrant for driver suspected of firing airgun on Tomei Expressway
Police have obtained a fresh arrest warrant for a minivan driver in his 40s on suspicion of vandalism for allegedly firing an apparent airgun toward another driver on the Tomei Expressway in Aichi Prefecture while driving recklessly, investigative sources said Thursday. The 23-year-old man driving ...
Three children and an elderly man drowned Saturday after playing in two different rivers in Japan as summer-like heat returned to many parts of the country. A 7-year-old boy and his grandfather were pronounced dead after they were pulled out of a river in Takatsuki, ...
Japan exhibition organizer defends pulling 'comfort woman' statue as opponents decry censorship
The Aichi Triennale’s artistic director justified the move given a crisis in ties between Japan and South Korea and arson threats.
