NEWSWORTHY
National / Politics Jan 10, 2019
Russia on Wednesday lodged a protest with Japan over recent remarks by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and other senior Japanese officials about disputed islands off Hokkaido, saying they are "distorting" agreements by the two countries' leaders. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov summoned Japan's ambassador ...
National Jan 7, 2019
First nursing care trainees from Myanmar arrive to begin work in Hokkaido
The three workers, all women in their 20s, will spend three years gaining experience at Sapporo-based Sakura Community Service Co.
National Jan 7, 2019
Heavy snow strands 2,000 travelers at Hokkaido airport as New Year holidays wrap up
Travelers in Hokkaido remained stranded Monday after flight cancellations due to heavy snow from Saturday onwards delayed around 2,000, leaving many stranded overnight at a key airport just as the country's New Year holidays wrapped up. On Monday, check-in counters at New Chitose Airport near ...
National / Politics Dec 30, 2018
Russia eyes missile defense buildup on disputed isles near Hokkaido
Moscow is planning to boost its missile defense capabilities, including on disputed isles off Hokkaido, by 2020, an internal Russian government document showed Sunday, in a move likely to hurt the two nations' efforts to step up talks on concluding a postwar peace treaty. The ...
National Dec 20, 2018
Japanese government calls for safe use of snow blowers, citing fatal accidents last winter
With the snowfall season having properly begun in the Hokkaido and Tohoku regions, the Consumer Affairs Agency is calling for snow blowers to be used in an appropriate manner to ensure safety in the wake of a series of fatal accidents last winter. A snow ...
National / Politics Dec 19, 2018
Japan files protest over new Russian military barracks on disputed islands
Japan has logged a protest with Russia over the construction of military barracks on two disputed islands off Hokkaido, the top government spokesman said Wednesday. The protest was made through a diplomatic channel in Moscow on Tuesday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said during a ...
National Dec 18, 2018
Russia said Monday it had built new barracks for troops on a disputed chain of islands near Japan and would build more facilities for armored vehicles, a move likely to anger Tokyo after it urged Moscow to reduce its military activity there. The announcement, from ...
More Sports / Tennis Dec 17, 2018
Naomi Osaka, this year's U.S. Open women's singles champion, on Monday donated 30 tennis rackets to children in Hokkaido, which was hit by a major earthquake in September. Osaka's grandfather Tetsuo, 73, who lives in Nemuro in the northernmost prefecture, attended a presentation ceremony at ...
National / Politics Dec 14, 2018
A Russian Foreign Ministry official said Thursday that 1960 Soviet government documents demanding the pullout of all foreign troops from Japan as a condition for the return of disputed islands should be taken into account in any peace treaty talks between Moscow and Japan. The ...
National Dec 13, 2018
Hokkaido ski resort town of Kutchan to enact Japan's first fixed-rate lodging tax
The town of Kutchan, located near Hokkaido's popular Niseko ski resort, plans to introduce a 2 percent lodging tax under an ordinance passed by the municipal assembly Thursday. The town aims to enact the tax next November following consultations with the Ministry of Internal Affairs ...
National / Politics Dec 12, 2018
by Reiji Yoshida
The foreign minister’s image was tarnished during a news conference Tuesday when he asked for the next question repeatedly when queried by reporters over a diplomatic row with Russia.