National | FOCUS Jan 30, 2022
Japan's bluefin tuna management marred by underreporting of catches
A major reporting failure in Aomori Prefecture uncovered late last year was only the "tip of the iceberg," a government official said.
National Sep 4, 2018
Safety checks delay construction of MOX fuel plant in Aomori for third time
Construction in Aomori Prefecture of the world’s first commercial reactor to operate solely on plutonium-uranium mixed oxide fuel will be pushed back again, the utility building the reactor announced.
National Mar 6, 2017
Oma coast fishermen dream of landing tuna jackpot
by Haruna Usui
Every year, tuna hauled in at the small town of Oma in Aomori Prefecture, dubbed "black diamonds" for their value and color, make headlines as they fetch millions of yen at the Tsukiji fish market auction at the start of the year. This year, a ...
National / Politics Jan 10, 2017
Nuclear plant construction at center of town's first mayoral race in 16 years
Official campaigning began Tuesday for the first mayoral election in 16 years in the town of Oma, Aomori Prefecture, with four candidates battling it out over whether an under-construction nuclear plant is good for the community. Voters will cast ballots Sunday for the first time ...
National Oct 29, 2015
Former prime ministers Junichiro Koizumi and Morihiro Hosokawa on Thursday visited the northern Japanese city of Hakodate in response to it filing a lawsuit to suspend the construction of a nearby nuclear power plant. The two former prime ministers, who have become stern anti-nuclear campaigners ...
National Dec 16, 2014
J-Power forges ahead with Oma nuclear plant despite local tensions
Electricity Power Development Co. applied Tuesday for safety checks at the Oma nuclear power plant, a facility under construction in Aomori Prefecture slated for startup in fiscal 2021. It is the first time a power producer has sought safety checks on a reactor under construction ...
Editorials Apr 9, 2014
The government and power companies should not dismiss the concerns of muncipalities that could be impacted by nuclear accidents but have no say in their operations.
National Apr 3, 2014
Citing safety concerns, the city of Hakodate in Hokkaido on Thursday sued the state and Electric Power Development Co. to halt the construction of a nuclear reactor based on mixed oxide fuel at a plant about 23 km across the sea in Oma, Aomori ...
National Jan 18, 2014
Hakodate to sue to stop nuclear plant construction in Aomori
The mayor of Hakodate said Saturday that his city plans to sue the central government and a utility around March to halt construction of a nuclear plant in nearby Aomori Prefecture. In the lawsuit to be filed at the Tokyo District Court, the Hakodate Municipal ...
Style & Design Apr 30, 2013
Hall of fame: Toyo Ito, Sou Fujimoto, Setouchi, OMA
by Julian Worrall
With Toyo Ito winning this year’s Pritzker Prize last month — “architecture’s Nobel” — Japan’s architects continue to bestride the international architectural world as colossi.
National Mar 12, 2013
Work resumes on Aomori's new Oma nuclear plant
by Chico Harlan
At the remote northwestern tip of a snowy peninsula, beyond a small road of fishing shacks and empty one-story homes, 600 construction workers and engineers are building a brand-new nuclear plant for a country still recovering from the most severe atomic disaster since Chernobyl. The ...
Life Dec 9, 2007
Japan's love affair with Oma's tuna
by Hillel Wright
On Jan. 5, 2001, a 202-kg Pacific bluefin tuna sold at Tokyo's Tsukiji fish market auction for $173,000 ($860 per kilogram), making it the most expensive single fish transaction ever recorded. That Pacific bluefin tuna, known as hon maguro (true tuna) or kuro maguro (black ...