'High-yield rice' replaces premium brands as costs climb at restaurants in Japan
Cultivation of "high-yield rice," an affordable alternative that can be harvested in larger quantities than premium brands, is growing as Japan tries to counter the rise in ingredient costs challenging restaurant chains and producers of ready-made meals. Increasingly viewed as a "savior" in terms of ...
Path to the Diet still strewn with high hurdles for Japan's women
When anti-nuclear activist Junko Isogai ran for office in Niigata, her campaign had an awkward dimension: not just speeches and chats with constituents, but efforts to entertain potential backers. "I was asked to pour sake, make flattering conversation and act in a way men wouldn't ...
Niigata and Yamagata schools reopen and trains resume operations two days after magnitude 6.7 quake
Most schools and trains in quake-hit areas on the Sea of Japan coast resumed operations on Thursday, the latest signs of recovery from the magnitude 6.7 earthquake Tuesday that caused landslides and power outages and left dozens of people injured. Children returned to elementary and ...
At least 26 people were injured, including one seriously, after a magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck Japan's northwestern region late Tuesday, causing landslides and power outages in some areas. The quake hit Niigata Prefecture on Tuesday night, recording a maximum of upper 6 on the Japanese ...
A 31-year-old woman in Niigata Prefecture was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of killing her 3-month-old daughter by repeatedly dropping her on the floor, police said. Noriko Ito, a Nagaoka city official in charge of promoting gender equality, admitted the allegation to police after her daughter, ...
IT services touted as key to future of Japan's farming sector
Self-driving tractors, tomato-picking robots, camera-mounted drones to survey fields and spot crop damage, and satellite data from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to help farms keep track of climate and weather data. At over a dozen booths beside the G20 farm ministers' meeting venue ...
Chick hatches on Sado Island from egg of crested ibis gifted to Japan by China
A chick has hatched from an egg laid by a crested ibis, an internationally protected species, which was given by China to a conservation center on Sado Island off Niigata Prefecture, the facility said Monday. The Sado Japanese Crested Ibis Conservation Center confirmed that one ...
A group has been formed in the city of Niigata to promote comprehensive study on sake from an academic perspective. Domestic sake consumption is on a declining trend after a recent boom. Meanwhile, tours to visit breweries and taste local sake are drawing attention from ...
Vietnamese blue-collar workers in Japan seen facing risks as labor system opens up
When a young Vietnamese woman found out late last year that she was pregnant after arriving in Japan on a technical trainee visa, she was given a stark choice: "Have an abortion or go back to Vietnam." But returning home would leave her unable to ...
Rare ibis, gifted to Japan by China last year, lays first egg
A rare ibis gifted to Japan by China as a symbol of friendship last year has laid an egg for the first time, Niigata Prefectural Government said Sunday. The egg laid by Guan Guan, one of a pair gifted in October 2018, at the Sado ...
80 injured aboard ferry after suspected collision with marine animal in Sea of Japan
80 injured aboard ferry after suspected collision with marine animal in Sea of Japan
Four Niigata teens arrested over assault on high schooler captured in video that went viral in Japan
Four teenage boys were arrested Wednesday on suspicion of assaulting a high school student boy last month, police said, after a video showing the boy being hit and kicked went viral on social media. The four boys, all 16 years old and living in the ...
