Heavy rain lashed Japan's main island of Honshu on Tuesday, disrupting rush-hour transport and prompting one city to advise residents to evacuate. The western city of Wakayama was deluged by 55.5 millimeters of rain per hour during the early morning — a record for May ...
A weekend in Shizuoka: More than the sum of its tea fields
Little-known outside Japan, Shizuoka Prefecture hugs the coast to the south of Mount Fuji. Home to the Tokyo getaway of Izu, the prefecture is known as the starting point for three of the main hiking trails up Fuji, which forms the greater part of ...
Man sentenced to four years for abducting nurse who was later found dead
A court sentenced a 28-year-old man to four years in prison Thursday for abducting and confining a nurse who was later found dead in central Japan. The Hamamatsu branch of the Shizuoka District Court ruled that Motoki Ito, in conspiracy with two other men he ...
Gaijin Day: How an event in Hamamatsu about unity proved to be divisive
Referring to Nikkei Brazilians and Peruvians as "gaijin" was at the very least inaccurate and, at most, deeply offensive.
Views from Hamamatsu: How do you feel about Gaijin Day and the G-word?
Residents of Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, the city that hosted Gaijin Day on Sept. 1, were asked what they thought of the name of the event.
Two men arrested in connection to woman's body abandoned on mountain in Shizuoka Prefecture
Two men have been detained in connection with the abandonment of a woman's body, which was confirmed Tuesday to be that of a nurse who went missing last month, police said. The men, one in his 20s and another in his 40s, were arrested on ...
Suzuki shines for South Georgia Tech
The South Georgia Technical College women's basketball team has quietly built a stellar program in recent years. With a vision and purposeful planning, coach James Frey, in his fifth season at the helm, and his staff have recruited smartly and found players, from near ...
A 42-year-old man in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, was arrested early Friday morning for allegedly stabbing a woman to death on a street, police said. Kenichi Matsuzaka turned himself in shortly after the stabbing, which took place in Hamamatsu at around 10:20 p.m. A passer-by witnessed ...
Three women fatally stabbed, man found wounded in Shizuoka home; son arrested
Four people are found stabbed, three fatally, in their home in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, and a suspect is later caught by police.
Nobel prizes, unlocking universe's mysteries just another day's work at Hamamatsu Photonics
When employees at Hamamatsu Photonics KK found out their high-precision light sensors had helped win this year's Nobel Prize in physics, they treated it just like any other day at the office. Far from unusual, it was the fourth time Hamamatsu's sensors had contributed to ...
Untouchable Toffee opens second branch in Harajuku
Untouchable Toffee opened its first store in Hamamatsu back in 2013, but the candy company didn't launch a second branch until late last year when it settled in the hipper neighborhood of Harajuku. The smaller outpost (4-26-5 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo) serves up five varieties of ...
Teacher in Shizuoka reportedly urged student to commit suicide
A teacher at an elementary school in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, is facing discipline for abusive treatment of one of his pupils that allegedly included urging him to commit suicide. The 41-year-old teacher allegedly told his second-grade student on July 17, "Do you have (a purpose ...
