NEWSWORTHY
Youth turnout a worry in Japan's first quadrennial elections under new voting age of 18
The first quadrennial unified local elections to be held after the voting age was lowered to 18 in June 2015 are being hampered by concerns about the youngest voters' low voting rate. Since most are going through important life changes in April, such as entering ...
Tokyo 16-year-old bought uranium and produced yellowcake to sell online, sources say
Tokyo police are investigating the suspected online trade of uranium by a 16-year-old high schooler in the nation's capital, investigative sources have said. The boy may have violated the law regulating nuclear reactors and materials, according to the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). On Monday, the department ...
Nagoya teenager handed prison sentence for making explosives, drugs and 3D-printed gun
A court in Nagoya imposed a sentence of three to five years on a former university student on Monday for making an explosive often used in the powerful bombs detonated in terror attacks, as well as stimulant drugs and a 3D-printed gun. The 19-year-old male, ...
Ticket machines were out of service at some stations Friday on bullet train lines across Japan due to a technical glitch. The machines went offline in the morning at stations including Shin-Yokohama and Nagoya. Railway Information Systems Co. said the problems occurred following a system ...
A weekend in Toyota and Nagoya: Where technology meets tradition
Toyota will host four games for the Rugby World Cup at its 45,000-capacity Toyota Stadium. Read our guide to the city to find out what to do when you're in Toyota and neighboring Nagoya for the weekend.
Japan's government warns of 'extremely serious situation' as swine fever spreads to five prefectures
A swine fever epidemic continues to spread in Japan, with local authorities in five prefectures saying they are struggling to contain the highly contagious pig virus.
Zen Buddhist priest touched by kindness in Nepal offers shelter to those seeking refuge in Japan
One day in January, in a quiet Zen temple on a hill in Nagoya's Tenpaku Ward, a priest offered a Nigerian visitor okaki (rice crackers). "Can you eat (this)?" the chief priest of Tokurinji temple asked him in English. The man, who came to Japan to ...
Flu hits 300 staffers and inmates at Nagoya Prison, sparking lockdown and state of emergency
The last time more than a hundred people at the prison caught the flu was in 2015 when 109 got sick.
Nagoya community effort to recycle food waste wins U.N.-related award
A decade-old community effort in Nagoya to recycle food waste from supermarkets and school lunches to make compost for vegetable farming has been awarded the Biodiversity Action Award by the Japan Committee for United Nations Decade on Biodiversity (UNDB). One morning earlier this month, a ...
Japan sees rise in use of riverside areas to attract tourists following deregulation
The use of riverside areas to attract tourists is on the rise nationwide, following deregulation in recent years allowing the private sector to use the public land to open restaurants or hold events. "I used to think of public authorities as an enemy," said Tadashi ...
Japan's ancient castle walls drawing tourists but not enough masons to keep them up
Castle walls have recently become popular with tourists, especially rekijo (female history buffs) who like to view them even when the castle itself is no longer there. Since the Meiji Era, however, the number of masons who repair and preserve the stone walls has been ...
Pop-up ninja booth gives tourists a virtual reality experience at Nagoya's Chubu airport
Chubu Centrair International Airport in Aichi Prefecture has set up a booth inside its international arrivals lobby that will allow tourists to experience being a ninja through virtual reality. The booth, which opened Thursday and will be in operation until Dec. 14, is aimed at ...
