National Nov 7, 2019
Japan's Reconstruction Agency to get 10 more years to aid Fukushima nuclear disaster recovery
The plan is expected to be approved at a Cabinet meeting within this year and be submitted to the Diet next year.
Rugby Oct 13, 2019
Canadian rugby players help clean-up efforts in Kamaishi after typhoon leads to game cancelation
Canada missed their chance to play their final Rugby World Cup match due to a powerful typhoon, but the team stayed in Kamaishi on Sunday to help out local residents with their cleanup efforts. Canada were aiming for their first win of the tournament in ...
Food & Drink Oct 10, 2019
Craft beer boom spells hope for hops in Iwate town
by Keita Nakamura
Encouraged by the craft beer boom, the city of Tono in Iwate Prefecture has been welcoming outsiders wanting to try new ways to revive its hop-growing industry and transform the community into a "beer town." Japan imports about 95 percent of hops for domestic beer ...
National Sep 23, 2019
Museum dedicated to March 2011 tsunami disaster opens in Iwate Prefecture
A museum aimed at passing on the lessons of the March 2011 tsunami to future generations opened Sunday in Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture. The Iwate Tsunami Memorial Museum, launched by the Iwate Prefectural Government, is a key feature of a park being built by the national ...
National / Politics Sep 8, 2019
With backing of opposition, Takuya Tasso wins fourth term as Iwate governor
Takuya Tasso, an independent candidate supported by four opposition parties, won a fourth term Sunday in the Iwate gubernatorial election, defeating a challenger who was backed by the major ruling party led by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The focus of the first gubernatorial race in ...
Business Aug 29, 2019
Ale-ing economy: Rugby World Cup expected to kick some life into regions beyond Tokyo and Osaka
by Natsuko Fukue
At Tokyo's Rugby Dinner No Side Club, owner Masakazu Takeuchi is taking no chances: He has got in three times the usual amount of beer as the country hopes to profit from the 400,000 fans expected for the Rugby World Cup. With just three weeks ...
National Jul 31, 2019
Japan picks ancient Jomon Period sites as candidates for UNESCO World Heritage recognition in 2021
A government panel identified on Tuesday a set of Jomon Period archaeological sites in northern Japan as a potential candidate for UNESCO World Cultural Heritage designation in 2021. Tokyo will submit its formal recommendation by next Feb. 1 to the organization representing the ancient sites, ...
Rugby Jun 16, 2019
Former All Blacks player recalls the day Kamaishi was washed away
by Jack Tarrant
March 11, 2011, is a date that will stick long in the memory of former All Black Pita Alatini, and not just because it was his birthday and he was in Japan. Alatini, who played for the Kamaishi Seawaves rugby club, was finishing up a ...
Business / Corporate May 16, 2019
JR East shinkansen ALFA-X prototype hits 320 kph in test run in northeastern Japan
A prototype of Japan's new shinkansen conducted a trial early Thursday, reaching 320 kilometers per hour, the maximum speed for existing shinkansen models. The prototype, dubbed ALFA-X, is designed to travel at 360 kph when it is put into service by the spring of 2031, ...
National Apr 12, 2019
Japan pitches safety of food from Fukushima and Tohoku in wake of WTO ruling for South Korea
Japan will seek to reassure other countries about the safety of food produced in areas affected by the 2011 Fukushima nuclear crisis, officials said Friday, after the World Trade Organization supported South Korea's import ban on some Japanese seafood. Fishermen in Tohoku, the region hit ...
National Mar 24, 2019
Fugu grow faster and without deadly toxin at hotelier's hot spring farms in Tohoku
A hotel operator in the Tohoku region is one of a small number of companies that have launched businesses in depopulated rural areas to raise torafugu, a high-quality variety of the poisonous puffer fish prized as a delicacy in Japan, using tanks filled with ...
National Mar 11, 2019
Eight years on, Abe says 3/11 recovery nearing 'final stages,' though half of public unconvinced
by Tomohiro Osaki
Japan pauses at 2:46 p.m. to observe a moment of silence and reflect on all that has happened since that fateful day.