National | FOCUS Jun 12, 2020
IoT and AI help Japan's nursing care sector cope with labor crunch and virus
Sensors are monitoring the lifestyle habits of the elderly, while AI-initiated phone calls are checking on seniors daily.
Business May 11, 2020
AI tapped in Japan to locate fertile fishing areas and pass on skills
System database provides not only past catch volumes in certain locations but also the intuition of experienced fishermen.
Business Dec 12, 2019
Japan's farm minister Taku Eto stresses safety of wagyu beef in effort to access Chinese market
Agriculture minister Taku Eto stressed the safety of wagyu beef during a visit with Beijing's top diplomat in Japan to a cutting-edge meat-processing plant with stringent hygiene controls on Wednesday, as Tokyo hopes to resume exports of the Japanese specialty to China at an ...
National Nov 18, 2019
Alert level raised for southern Kyushu's Mount Shinmoe volcano after cluster of 22 earthquakes
The alert level for a volcano in southwestern Japan was raised Monday amid increasing seismic activity in the area, according to the Meteorological Agency. With the level now at 2 on a 5-point scale, people have been warned not to approach the crater of Mount ...
Travel Oct 11, 2019
Top 10: A local's guide to the most unique hot springs in Kyushu
by Chris Ott
Panoramas, bubble baths and tingling testicles — The Japan Times' list of 10 of the most unique and rare onsen Kyushu has to offer.
National | NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT Oct 6, 2019
Japan's surfing towns prepare to cash in on Olympic wave
by Shingo Onda
Surfing spots across Japan are looking to ride a wave to economic revitalization before the 2020 Tokyo Games, when surfing will make its Olympic debut. Hoping to attract more tourists and stop population decline, these municipalities are hosting surfing events and setting up special websites ...
National May 18, 2019
Road damage after torrential rain on Yakushima Island leaves about 200 people stranded
A total of at least 10 buses being used to transport mountain hikers and several cars became stranded on Yakushima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture on Saturday following torrential rain, leaving about 200 people trapped there, local officials said. The heavy downpour caused a road near ...
National May 10, 2019
An earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 6.3 hit off Kyushu on Friday, injuring a man and disrupting some local transportation networks, authorities said. The 8:48 a.m. quake occurred at a depth of about 20 kilometers under the seabed off Miyazaki Prefecture. It measured a ...
Business Apr 8, 2019
First premium mangoes of Japan growing season fetch record ¥500,000
A pair of premium mangoes from Miyazaki Prefecture fetched a record ¥500,000 in the season's first auction at a local wholesale market Monday, topping the previous best of ¥400,000. The premium mangoes are called Taiyo no Tamago (Egg of the Sun). To qualify for this description, ...
National Dec 13, 2018
A giant rock resembling Pac-Man is drawing climbers to a mountain in Miyazaki Prefecture, with visitors eager to snap photos to share on the internet. A 90-minute hike from the Shishigawa campground in Nobeoka, takes mountain climbers and tourists to "Pakkun Iwa" ("Pac-Man Rock"). The ...
National / Crime & Legal Nov 28, 2018
Police believe that a family dispute likely led to the murder of six people whose bodies were found Monday at a home in Miyazaki Prefecture.
Business / Corporate | Deep Dive Nov 18, 2018
Miyazaki finds solution to IT labor crunch thousands of kilometers away
by Kazuaki Nagata
Like many of Japan's smaller cities, Miyazaki has been hit by a growing labor crunch, a trend highlighted by the mere 56.8 percent of high school graduates that chose to remain in the prefecture to work — third-worst among the 47 prefectures. In the hard-hit ...