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April 28, 2024
 

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OFFBEAT

Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Oct 19, 2015
Bathrobes, pee cups enliven Canada's election trail
One candidate had to drop out after video footage emerged showing him peeing in a cup, another hid in bushes in camouflage to catch vandals defacing his signs, while a third slew a dragon in his campaign video.
WORLD
Oct 14, 2015
U.S. government sued over skull-crushing fall of massive pine cone
A military veteran who said his skull was crushed by a 16-pound (7-kg) pine cone as he rested in the shade of a conifer grove at a San Francisco park has sued the U.S. government, saying employee negligence led to his injuries.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 17, 2015
Oregon artist to sell image of Trump painted with menstrual blood
An Oregon artist who used menstrual blood to paint an image of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said on Wednesday she would sell posters as well as the original, which was created in response to remarks that the billionaire made about Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly.
WORLD
Aug 27, 2015
California man bitten by rattlesnake he picked up for photo: local media
A Southern California man who picked up a rattlesnake to pose for a photograph was badly hurt when the reptile bit him on the hand, a Los Angeles television station reported.
WORLD
Aug 2, 2015
Texas man shoots armadillo, gets hit in face by bullet ricochet
An East Texas man was wounded after he fired a gun at an armadillo in his yard and the bullet ricocheted back to hit him in his face, the county sheriff said Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 19, 2015
Yeah right! Sarcasm poses problem for computer algorithms in data-driven U.S. election
When the U.S. Supreme Court upheld same-sex weddings in the same week that South Carolina debated keeping a controversial Civil War battle flag, Twitter user @xTomatoez posted "Gay marriage and the Confederate flag going down everywhere. Tough week for your redneck uncle on Facebook."
WORLD
Jul 18, 2015
Teddy bear breaks girl's fall from third-floor window
A teddy bear from the hit animated movie "Minions" is credited with breaking the fall of a 5-year-old Colorado girl who suffered only minor injuries after tumbling from a third-story apartment window, police said on Friday.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jul 14, 2015
Hundreds of sex toys found dangling from power lines in Portland, Oregon
Hundreds of phallic sex toys have been seen hanging from power lines in recent days across Portland, Oregon, provoking laughter, blushing and lots of photos.
WORLD
Jun 18, 2015
Venezuela golf course sparks diplomatic row
A dispute has been teed off between Switzerland's ambassador to Venezuela and a neighboring elite golf club after a banner appeared at the diplomat's residence warning that golf balls injuring or killing anyone inside would violate the Vienna Convention.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Jun 6, 2015
Oregon port's fake orca 'scarecrow' capsizes
A giant, motorized fake orca deployed to scare off hundreds of sea lions ensconced on the docks of an Oregon fishing village capsized before it could complete its scarecrow mission, officials said Friday.
WORLD
Jun 3, 2015
Israeli soldier spared detention for eating pork sandwich after public outcry
An Israeli soldier was spared 11 days in detention for eating pork, a nonkosher food, the military said on Tuesday, after a public outcry.
WORLD / Politics
May 9, 2015
Votes for dead candidate, penis art: some odd U.K. election facts
AFP-JIJI—Votes for the dead and voting with a penis drawing — here are some quirky facts from the 2015 British general election:
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 7, 2015
Australia's Sex Party stripped of official registration
The Australian Sex Party, a tiny party known for its salacious name and election-day antics, said on Thursday that it had been deregistered after the country's election watchdog ruled it did not have enough activists.
BUSINESS
Apr 17, 2015
Alaska Airlines bans baggage worker who got trapped in cargo hold
A contract baggage handler who became trapped in the belly of an Alaska Airlines jet on takeoff from Seattle after falling asleep in the plane's cargo hold this week has been banned from all future work at the airline, a company spokeswoman said on Thursday.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Apr 16, 2015
Snap, crackle, pop: Study reveals secret behind knuckle-cracking
Some people like the sound of knuckle-cracking and others loathe it, but for years there has been disagreement among scientists about what actually causes it.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Apr 16, 2015
In British election, leaders' odd tastes bring relish
In an election that will shape the destiny of the United Kingdom, anguish over how to eat bacon sandwiches and hot dogs has brought a note of absurdity to the battle for Downing Street.
WORLD
Mar 7, 2015
New York airport alarm reveals stowaway dog in luggage
U.S. security agents searching a checked suitcase after an alarm went off at New York's LaGuardia Airport expected to discover weapons but instead found a stowaway Chihuahua, authorities said on Friday.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Mar 1, 2015
Insect snacks creep into Thai stores
Street vendors selling deep-fried insects as snacks are a familiar sight in Bangkok, but a Thai entrepreneur is trying to give edible bugs a more upmarket appeal.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 15, 2015
Nine couples set marathon dance record of 35:01:01
Nine couples have broken the world record for the longest dance marathon in the seaside town of Pattaya, southeast of Thailand's capital, Bangkok.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Feb 14, 2015
Ginsburg explains nap during Obama speech: 'I wasn't 100% sober'
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg says there was a good reason she nodded off while attending President Barack Obama's State of the Union address last month: "I wasn't 100 percent sober."
Town to block view of Mount Fuji in response to overtourism
The town government of Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, decided to set up a 2.5-meter-high screen to prevent tourists from taking pictures of Mount Fuji looming behind a convenience store.
Number of homeless in Japan hits record low
Homeless people sleep on the street in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward in August 2021.
Japan wants you to spend more with ‘luxury tourism’
Performers play a traditional drum unique to Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, in the prefectural capital of Kanazawa on March 16 to mark the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen line to Tsuruga Station in Fukui Prefecture.
'So hot you can't breathe': Extreme heat hits the Philippines
A pedestrian cools himself with a folding hand fan as he waits for a ride along a road in Manila on Wednesday, as extreme heat hit the Philippines.
Air China to buy 100 locally made C919 jets in $11 billion deal
A Comac C919 during an aerial display at the Singapore Airshow at Changi Exhibition Centre in Singapore in February
Casa del Cibo: A thriving jewel born from Tohoku’s harsh past
When chef Ryohei Ikemi moved to Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture, and opened Casa del Cibo in 2011, it was the first proper Italian restaurant in the city.
Tokyo's Koto Ward by-election a race unlike any other
Natsumi Sakai, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan’s candidate and one of four female candidates running in the by-election, touts her experience as a cancer survivor and midwife as having prepared her to tackle issues that women currently face.
Town to block view of Mount Fuji in response to overtourism
The town government of Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, decided to set up a 2.5-meter-high screen to prevent tourists from taking pictures of Mount Fuji looming behind a convenience store.
Top U.S. and China diplomats talk tough amid warnings of new ‘downward spiral’
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on Friday
Kyotographie's strong 12th edition shines light into the margins
Yassine Alaoui Ismaili, who goes by Yoriyas, turned to photography, shooting motion while in motion himself, after an injury forced him to give up his career as a professional breakdancer.

Podcast

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.
[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

Longform

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.
The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Vol. 34: Tokyo, a vanguard city for sustainability
Vol. 34: Tokyo, a vanguard city for sustainability

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