Tag - hyogo

 
 

HYOGO

Japan's Shohei Ohtani carries the Japanese flag onto the field before the start of the World Baseball Classic final against the United States in Miami on March 21, 2023.
BASEBALL
May 15, 2025
Historian Rob Fitts discovers earliest ever reference to baseball in Japan
The widely held belief is that American Horace Wilson introduced the sport to Japan in 1872. Fitts' discovery revises the timeline to 1869.
Junko Tabei, the first woman to summit Mount Everest, makes front-page news on May 18, 1975.
JAPAN / History / Japan Times Gone By
May 3, 2025
Japan Times 1975: Junko Tabei becomes first woman to summit Mount Everest
A 35-year-old housewife from Saitama achieved the impressive feat in May 1975 with the help of a Sherpa guide and 15-member Japanese women’s team.
A system failure at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation has made automated teller machines at some branches in the Kansai western Japan region unavailable.

The cause of the failure is under investigation, and there is no prospect of when the system will be restored, the Japanese bank said.
JAPAN
Apr 29, 2025
System failure hits Sumitomo Mitsui ATMs
The cause of the failure is under investigation, and there is no timeline yet for restoring the system, the Japanese bank said.
A message using candles is seen during a memorial event held in the city of Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, on Thursday ahead of the 20th anniversary of the 2005 Fukuchiyama Line derailment on Friday.
JAPAN
Apr 25, 2025
JR West marks 20 years since fatal derailment with renewed vow for safety
The 2005 Fukuchiyama Line derailment in the city of Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, claimed 107 lives and injured more than 560 others.
Yamaguchi-gumi executives (center and right) leave the Hyogo Prefectural Police headquarters in Kobe after submitting a pledge to end turf battles on Monday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 8, 2025
Yamaguchi-gumi pledges end to yakuza war
The crime syndicate has been involved in turf battles with the rival Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi, formed by more than a dozen gangs that splintered from it, since 2015.
Hyogo police believe the handgun a U.S. tourist inadvertently brought into Japan slipped through security procedures at Kansai International Airport in Osaka Prefecture.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 2, 2025
U.S. tourist arrested after bringing a handgun into Japan
The man has said the gun was for self-defense and that he had packed the firearm by mistake.
Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito bows during a news conference at the Hyogo prefectural government building in Kobe on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 26, 2025
Hyogo governor apologizes over harassment but denies breaking whistleblower law
Motohiko Saito denied the illegality of the actions to identify the whistleblower, saying that they were appropriate.
A vehicle carrying Kunihiko Katsuta enters the Hyogo Prefectural Police's Tatsuno Police Station in Tatsuno, Hyogo Prefecture, in November following his arrest on suspicion of attempted murder.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 19, 2025
Man indicted over '06 and '07 Hyogo elementary school girl attacks
Both cases remained unsolved for years due to a lack of physical evidence, including the weapon used.
Professor Hu Shiyun of Kobe Gakuin University
JAPAN
Mar 14, 2025
Chinese professor returns to Japan after going missing in China
It is not known whether Hu Shiyun, who went missing after entering China in summer 2023, had been detained by Chinese authorities.
Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito (center) during the Hyogo Prefectural Assembly's plenary session on Wednesday in Kobe
JAPAN
Mar 5, 2025
Efforts to identify whistleblower against Hyogo governor likely illegal, panel says
The report found the governor's rebukes of prefectural officials to be "largely true" and called on him to "fulfill his accountability."
Minoru Kishiguchi, a prefectural assembly member expelled from the Hyogo prefectural arm of Nippon Ishin no Kai (left), and Makoto Masuyama, a prefectural assembly member who received a recommendation to leave the party, at the Hyogo Prefectural Government Office on Wednesday
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 27, 2025
Nippon Ishin's Hyogo group expels member over probe info leak
Minoru Kishiguchi had been serving as the committee's deputy chief and head of the party's assembly group at the time.
Three Hyogo Prefectural Assembly members belonging to Nippon Ishin no Kai apologize Sunday for providing undisclosed and unconfirmed information to NHK Party head Takashi Tachibana.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 23, 2025
Hyogo assembly member offers to quit Nippon Ishin over probe data
The audio data and the document in question contain information supporting Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito's in his probe over alleged harassment.
Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito (foreground) attends a meeting with the Hyogo Prefectural Assembly's special investigative committee in the city of Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture, on Dec. 25.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 21, 2025
Two Ishin lawmakers quit special panel probing Hyogo governor
Minoru Kishiguchi and Makoto Masuyama had leaked information from the panel to the leader of the NHK party.
Takashi Tachibana, leader of controversial political group NHK Party, said he received information from Minoru Kishiguchi of Nippon Ishin no Kai, relating to allegations of harassment by Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 20, 2025
Nippon Ishin says member involved in giving papers to NHK Party head
Nippon Ishin says Minoru Kishiguchi provided documents related to alleged harassment by Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito.
Himeji Castle in Hyogo Prefecture
JAPAN
Feb 16, 2025
Himeji Castle entrance fee to go up 2.5-fold for nonresidents
The city plans to use the resulting windfall for maintenance, online ticket sales, bag check services and guided tours for foreign visitors.
Travel officials from the Middle East experience test cutting for Japanese swords in Setouchi, Okayama Prefecture, in January.
JAPAN
Feb 11, 2025
Government touts exchanges with nations participating in Osaka Expo
Local governments expect their plans to boost youth exchanges, accelerate overseas expansion and promote tourism.
Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito responds to an interview on Friday at the prefectural office.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 7, 2025
Hyogo governor’s reelection sparks investigation into PR firm payments
Authorities are examining seized materials to determine the nature of financial transactions between the governor’s camp and the company.
Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito in November in Kobe. Hideaki Takeuchi, a former Hyogo assemblyman who had taken part in investigations over workplace bullying allegations against Saito last year, died Saturday in an apparent suicide.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 20, 2025
Former Hyogo assemblyman found dead in apparent suicide
Hideaki Takeuchi, 50, had taken part in investigations over workplace bullying allegations made against Gov. Motohiko Saito last year.
Children pray for the victims of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake during an early morning ceremony to mark the 30th anniversary of the quake, in Kobe on Friday.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 17, 2025
30th anniversary of Hanshin quake marked with desire to pass on lessons
Hyogo Prefecture is also calling on the central government to pick Kansai as the base of a new disaster relief agency currently in the works.

Longform

A sinkhole in Yashio, which emerged in January, was triggered by a ruptured, aging sewer pipe. Authorities worry that similar sections of infrastructure across the country are also at risk of corrosion.
That sinking feeling: Japan’s aging sewers are an infrastructure time bomb