National Jan 8, 2021
Japanese obstetrician fights for 'confidential births' amid apathy
by Takuya Okamoto
Takeshi Hasuda wants his Jikei Hospital in Kumamoto to lessen the number of dangerous home births by offering women an anonymous service.
National Jan 4, 2021
More than 4,200 still in temporary homes months after deadly Kumamoto rains
Also, at least 2,614 families are living in damaged homes, with some residing on their second floor that escaped inundation, for example.
National Dec 7, 2020
Japan and U.S. conduct joint military drills amid China's assertiveness
by Reito Kaneko
Held since 1982, it is one of the largest-scale exercises conducted by the GSDF and the U.S. Army.
National Nov 19, 2020
Kumamoto approves controversial dam after deadly July flooding
Heavy rainfall in July saw 65 lives lost and at least 6,000 houses flooded in the prefecture, figures it is hoped the dam can reduce in future.
National Nov 9, 2020
Meet 'Jo Baiden,' the internet-famous mayor of a small Japanese town
The characters for the small town mayor's name can be phonetically read the same way as the name of last week's presidential election winner.
National Nov 2, 2020
The steam locomotive is running until Nov. 23, but all advance tickets have already been sold.
National / Social Issues Oct 24, 2020
Minamata disease victims struggle to find closure
by Matthew Hernon
More than 60 years after first raising awareness about a neurological disease caused by industrial mercury poisoning, photojournalist Aileen M. Smith still wants answers.
Food & Drink Sep 29, 2020
Peanuts grown in an area hit hard by powerful typhoons last year are being used to make distilled shōchū spirits in another prefecture affected by torrential rains in July this year. The product, connecting typhoon-hit Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo, with deluge-affected Kumamoto Prefecture in ...
National Sep 17, 2020
479 leprosy patients at Kumamoto sanatorium were dissected after death
Of some 2,400 patients at Kikuchi Keifuen who died between 1911 and 1965, 291 were dissected by the sanatorium and 98 by a university, the report said.
National Aug 30, 2020
From Fukushima to Kyushu, disaster victims have mixed reaction to Abe news
Residents in areas hit by natural disasters responded to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's announcement Friday of his decision to resign with words of gratitude and concern. "The current administration supported us well, and we were able to speedily push forward with reconstruction," said Yoshihide Abe, ...
National Aug 26, 2020
Scrapped dam may have limited flood damage from Kumamoto rains
The estimations showed that the dam, called the Kawabegawa dam, may have reduced the peak river flow rate to two-thirds in the city of Hitoyoshi in Kumamoto.
National Aug 4, 2020
Pandemic hampers efforts to rebuild in Kumamoto one month after deadly rains
Only local volunteers are being sought, after a nurse and a news photographer who traveled to the flood-hit region both tested positive for the virus in July.