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July 08, 2025
 

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NIIGATA

Farmers spray herbicide at Kazuhachi Hosaka's rice farm in Joetsu, Niigata Prefecture, on June 19.
JAPAN
Jul 5, 2025
In reversal, Japan now wants rice farmers to produce more. Will it work?
The new direction has taken on an unexpected urgency as Japan grapples with a shortage of the all-important staple.
Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant's No. 6 and No. 7 reactors have already passed safety screenings by the Nuclear Regulation Authority and are fully loaded with nuclear fuel.
JAPAN
Jun 30, 2025
Niigata holds first public hearing on nuclear reactor restart plan
Only the consent of local communities is now required for the reactor restart.
It is believed that Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings cannot reactivate the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant's No. 7 reactor until August 2029, when an antiterror measure is scheduled to be in place.
JAPAN
Jun 26, 2025
Tepco changes Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear reactor restart plan
The firm has decided to put the No. 6 reactor back online ahead of the No. 7 unit, which is ready to be restarted.
MUFG Bank said Monday that a former employee in his 60s has defrauded a customer out of ¥39.84 million by suggesting fictitious financial products and issuing forged deposit receipts.
JAPAN
Jun 23, 2025
Ex-MUFG bank worker defrauds customer of ¥39.84 million
The Niigata District Public Prosecutors Office indicted the former worker at the major Japanese bank's Niigata branch.
Activists, filmmakers and survivors attend a symposium in Tokyo marking 60 years since the discovery of Niigata Minamata disease.
CULTURE / Film
Jun 11, 2025
Film symposium marks 60 years since Niigata Minamata disease outbreak
The disease caused by mercury poisoning was documented in such films as “Fighting Pollution” and “Minamata Mandala.”
Sakie Yokota, mother of a North Korean abduction victim, said she feels "great loneliness" after the death of her husband, whom she described as a "serious person."
JAPAN
Jun 5, 2025
Mother of North Korean abductee urges government to have sense of mission over issue
Her husband, Shigeru, died in 2020 at the age of 87 without being able to see his abducted daughter again.
Eiichi Minagawa, the representative of a victim group of Niigata Minamata disease, speaks during a ceremony on Saturday to mark the 60th anniversary of the official recognition the disease.
JAPAN
Jun 1, 2025
Ceremony marks 60 years since Niigata Minamata disease recognition
At the ceremony, about 300 people observed a moment of silence for the victims.
Regional lenders Daishi Hokuetsu Financial Group and Gunma Bank have entered into an agreement to consolidate their businesses in 2027.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 24, 2025
Regional lenders Daishi Hokuetsu and Gunma Bank agree to consolidate
The banks have entered a memorandum of understanding to integrate their businesses under a holding company structure on or around April 1, 2027.
Classmates and others planted cherry trees on Thursday in the city of Niigata, praying for the swift return of Megumi Yokota, who was abducted by North Korea.
JAPAN
Apr 11, 2025
Abductee Megumi Yokota's classmates donate cherry trees to school
Megumi's father, Shigeru, photographed her standing in front of cherry trees at Yorii junior high school seven months before she was kidnapped.
The film to beat for the Niigata International Animation Film Festival’s top prize seems to be Kiyotaka Oshiyama’s “Look Back,” one of the two Japanese features in competition.
CULTURE / Film
Mar 20, 2025
Indie films vie for views at Niigata animation festival
From Satoshi Kon tributes to indie gems, this year's Niigata International Animation Film Festival continues its dedication to feature-length animation.
Visitors at Myoko Suginohara Ski Resort in Myoko, Niigata Prefecture, on March 5
JAPAN
Mar 20, 2025
Myoko ski resort area feels trepidation as foreign money pours in
Many locals fear Myoko could go the way of Niseko.
According to changes made to Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings' business plan, approved by the government on Monday, the restart of the reactor at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture is expected to boost its earnings by around ¥100 billion per year.
JAPAN
Mar 17, 2025
Tepco aims to restart Niigata reactor in fiscal 2025
The restart of the reactor is expected to boost power utility' earnings by around ¥100 billion ($672 million) per year.
Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings' Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Kashiwazaki City, Niigata Prefecture, on Nov. 1, 2022
JAPAN
Feb 27, 2025
Tepco's antiterrorism facility completion delayed at Niigata nuclear plant
The completion date will be pushed back significantly to August 2029.
Japan’s biggest nuclear power plant, the Kashiwazaki Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture, is ready to restart but needs a green light from the local governor.
JAPAN
Feb 21, 2025
The revival of Japan’s biggest nuclear plant faces its last hurdle
If the restart is approved, the nuclear power plant could start producing power within the following month.
A man throws a snowball during the 35th Koide International Snowball Fight in Uonuma, Niigata Prefecture, on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS / Winter Sports
Feb 13, 2025
Frosty face-off: Over 120 teams throw down in epic Japanese snowball tournament
Teams of five players competed in two-minute matches between two teams on a field the size of a tennis court, with points awarded for direct hits with a snowball.
The city center of Obihiro, Hokkaido, is covered in snow on Feb. 4.
JAPAN
Feb 13, 2025
12 deaths related to heavy snow since Feb. 4
The Fire and Disaster Management Agency also said 51 people have been severely wounded across the country.
Together, Shinsuke Yamagai (right) and his younger brother, Ryota, have elevated the cuisine at Shintaku, putting it on the map as one of Niigata Prefecture’s premier gastronomic destinations.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Feb 9, 2025
Brothers’ local focus lifts Shintaku to Niigata’s highest rank
From the ashes of a devastating 2005 fire, Shinsuke and Ryota Yamagai have remade their family’s historic Niigata restaurant into a beacon of Japanese gastronomy.
A car is buried under snow in a residential parking lot in the city of Toyama on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Feb 7, 2025
Heavy snow blankets Japan with one dead and four severely injured
More snowfall is expected through Saturday as another wave of frigid air moves in.
Industry ministry officials hold a briefing session for residents over the planned restart of reactors at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant, in Nagaoka, Niigata Prefecture, on Sunday.
JAPAN
Dec 16, 2024
Government seeks local understanding for nuclear plant restart
Officials from the industry ministry are explaining plans to allow the restart of reactors whose safety has been confirmed.
People offer a moment of silence during a ceremony held for the first time on Sunday to remember those who worked at the now-defunct gold mines on Sado Island in Niigata Prefecture, including those from the Korean Peninsula.
JAPAN
Nov 25, 2024
Japan calls it 'regrettable' South Korea skipped Sado mine memorial
The event came after the Sado Island Gold Mines were designated a UNESCO World Heritage site earlier this year.
Heatstroke alert issued for 19 prefectures as Japan enters 'once-in-a-decade' heat wave
Japan will experience a heat wave through mid-July on a “level only seen once in a decade,” the Meteorological Agency said on June 30.
Japan braces for more quakes as authorities dismiss doomsday hype
Evacuees from Akuseki Island, located in the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecuture, arrive at Kagoshima Port on Friday.
Foreign nationals' presence in Japan emerges as key issue in Upper House poll
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba delivers a campaign speech next to a Liberal Democratic Party candidate for the Upper House (top center left) in Yokohama on Sunday.
Hidden AI prompts in academic papers spark concern about research integrity
Waseda University is one of 14 institutions in eight countries found to have used hidden prompts in research papers.
China’s housing crisis is worse than it seems
Residential buildings under construction in Shanghai in July 2022. The Chinese government risks long-term decline by repeating Japan’s policy mistakes in handling its real estate and demographic crises.
Ainu land rights in crosshairs as Hokkaido communities debate nuclear waste
A street in Suttsu, Hokkaido, with a sign put up by an anti-nuclear organization. The small community is considering hosting a facility that would hold nuclear waste.
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Flag football facing challenges and opportunities ahead
Japan’s women’s flag football team at the 2025 International Bowl in Los Angeles in June. The sport is enjoying continued growth in the country.
From Hokusai’s Great Wave, shinkansen to One Piece: a cultural treasure box for Lego Japan
Michael Ebbesen, general manager of Lego Japan, says Lego bricks based on Japanese culture have a rich global appeal and are sellable around the world.
With farmed fish, RelationFish swims against the tide in fine dining
Chef Hideaki Matsuo (middle) and the staff of Oseto Suisan Fisheries prepare to check on their sustainably farmed fish.

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