Four Kansai issues stirring up Upper House election
While the sensitive issue of constitutional revision and the looming consumption tax hike to 10 percent in October dominate media discussion of what's important in the Upper House election Sunday, there are other problems and issues, some especially acute in the Kansai region, that ...
A vision for protecting the world's oceans
The Group of 20's adoption of the Osaka Blue Ocean Vision is a welcome step forward, but effective follow-up is the only way it will make a real difference.
Tokyo is big, Kyoto is polite, but Osaka's for the Scots
Writer William Lang says the frankness and openness of Osakans is a common trait of the people he remembers from growing up in Glasgow.
Sumo 101: Non-Tokyo tournaments
There are six honbasho (official tournaments) every year. They take place in the odd-numbered months, with half being hosted in Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan. The remaining three are the spring tournament in Osaka in March, the July tournament in Nagoya and the November meet in Fukuoka. While ...
The death toll from a warehouse fire in Osaka Prefecture has risen to two, as a man who had been hospitalized with serious injuries died Monday, local police said. Jun Yamanishi, 36, is the latest victim of the fire at a warehouse in Takatsuki, Osaka ...
Three seriously injured in Osaka warehouse fire after possible explosion
Several people were injured after a warehouse in Takatsuki, Osaka Prefecture, caught fire on Saturday night. Three men were taken to a hospital with severe injuries, according to the city's fire department which started receiving emergency calls around 8:10 p.m. Witnesses reported hearing a large ...
Friction growing in Osaka over rising foreign population
The guests from the gala Group of 20 conference may be gone, but Osaka continues to garner attention in the media. Nishinari Ward, an arguably sordid section of the city perhaps best known for its large population of day laborers, is on the verge of ...
Quiet luxury in lesser-known Kansai
The Kansai area — think Kyoto, Osaka and surrounds — has some of the country's best anaba (little-known spots) where you can encounter the rich depths of Japanese culture, minus the crowds. Reserve one of these nine luxuriously uncrowded options to take your travels ...
JBIC chief Tadashi Maeda comes down with rubella after G20 summit
The head of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation has contracted rubella after attending meetings on the sidelines of last week’s Group of 20 summit in Osaka, sources said Friday. A JBIC official declined to comment on who Gov. Tadashi Maeda, 61, might have mingled ...
After G20 role, Nagano resort town of Karuizawa looks to lead way in green tech and energy
The Nagano Prefecture resort town of Karuizawa has long been associated with green, natural energy. Nestled in the mountains, Karuizawa has long attracted both Japanese and Westerners escaping the capital's heat to recharge their batteries in the verdant outdoors ever since the 19th century. Recently, green ...
Five tons of fish scatter across 500 meters of highway in Osaka Prefecture
Five tons of bonito fish fell from a refrigerator truck and were scattered across an expressway in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on Thursday morning, police said. The frozen fish were dispersed over 500 meters of highway near the Miharaminami Interchange of the Hanwa Expressway linking Osaka ...
Osaka police stabbing suspect to undergo psychiatric testing
A court on Tuesday granted a request from prosecutors to hold a man, suspected of stabbing a police officer in Osaka Prefecture, in custody through October for psychiatric testing. The prosecutors will determine whether 33-year-old Yujiro Iimori was mentally sound at the time of last ...
