Business | Regional Voices: Hokkaido Jul 31, 2020
Suspended resort plan forces Hokkaido city to rethink tourism strategy
The plan was to construct luxury hotels and condominiums for affluent foreign visitors on a plot of about 1,000 hectares.
National | Regional Voices: Hokkaido Jun 26, 2020
Waste center swamped as homebound Hokkaido residents declutter
The number of vehicles coming to the facility reached a high in May, with the site charging only ¥140 to dispose of 10 kilograms of items.
National | Regional Voices: Hokkaido Jun 5, 2020
Hokkaido farms and fisheries hit as campus closure robs them of workers
With university students having headed home due to the COVID-19 outbreak, business owners are feeling the effects of a severe labor shortage.
National | Regional Voices: Hokkaido May 1, 2020
Hokkaido coal mine steam train to be reborn as Tochigi tourist attraction
The refreshed locomotive will run on the Tobu Kinugawa Line that connects Tokyo and the hot spring resort of Kinugawa.
National | Regional Voices: Hokkaido Apr 10, 2020
Shortage spurs rush on materials for DIY virus masks in Hokkaido
A nationwide shortage of face masks amid the growing COVID-19 outbreak has sparked a rise in the number of people who make homemade masks using cloth as a substitution for medical gauze as protection against the novel coronavirus. In the Sorachi District of Hokkaido, demand ...
National | Regional Voices: Hokkaido Feb 21, 2020
After Hokkaido backcountry skiing deaths, experts call for enforcing 'Niseko Rules'
Following two cases of backcountry skiers being killed by avalanches in Hokkaido since the beginning of this year, safety experts in the prefecture are working to fully enforce the so-called Niseko Rules to keep skiers safe. The recent accidents — one in the village of ...
National | Regional Voices: Hokkaido Nov 22, 2019
Hokkaido scholarships for foreign care workers draw nationwide attention amid labor crunch
Three municipalities, including Higashikawa in Hokkaido's Kamikawa subprefecture, and nursing care providers in the prefecture's north introduced in April a scholarship program for non-Japanese attending welfare services schools to encourage them to take up jobs at local nursing homes. The move has raised hopes that ...
National | Regional Voices: Hokkaido Oct 20, 2019
Muroran community spot fosters international diversity in Hokkaido
A community space in Muroran, Hokkaido, is connecting residents with others on the island who hail from countries as diverse as Thailand, Canada, South Korea and the United States. Once a month, they gather to take part in a so-called English Night where they can ...
National Feb 15, 2013
Journalist's legacy: shedding light on societal injustices
by Keiji Hirano
His obituary was not carried by major media, but Nobuyuki Ogasawara left a distinctive mark on Japanese journalism. Far from being a star journalist, he earned his living and secured his reporting expenses mainly as a writing course instructor at cram schools, but the freelancer ...