National May 18, 2020
Mount Fuji to be closed to climbers this summer due to virus
For the first time it at least 60 years, Shizuoka and Yamanashi prefectures opt to not open all four trails to the top of the iconic mountain.
National Apr 2, 2020
Infant girl in serious condition after COVID-19 infection, Yamanashi officials say
A baby girl under a year old was rushed to hospital Wednesday after her heart stopped beating, and was then found to be infected with the novel coronavirus, according to the Yamanashi Prefectural Government. Doctors managed to revive her but she remains in a serious ...
National Mar 8, 2020
A worker at a 7-Eleven convenience store in Yamanashi Prefecture has contracted the new coronavirus, the company said on Sunday. The unit of retail group Seven & I Holdings said it temporarily closed the store for cleaning and disinfection after the infection was confirmed on ...
National Jan 3, 2020
After 300 years, is majestic Mount Fuji 'on standby' for next eruption?
by Tomohiro Osaki
Snow-capped, symmetrically cone-shaped and awe-inspiringly tall, Mount Fuji has for centuries provided Japanese with something of a spiritual backbone, attracting hundreds of thousands of climbers every year. But often overshadowed by its beauty is the fact that the mountain straddling Shizuoka and Yamanashi prefectures is ...
National Oct 7, 2019
7-year-old girl still missing after police end 16-day-long search in Yamanashi Prefecture
“We did all we could in the search,” local police chief Hisashi Inoue said. “We’re sorry that we couldn’t find her.”
National Oct 2, 2019
Hunt for missing 7-year-old girl continues in Yamanashi and Kanagawa as family releases picture
Yamanashi Prefecture authorities continued their search on Wednesday for a 7 year-old-girl who went missing last month, as family members released a photo of her taken on the day she vanished. Misaki Ogura, a first grader from the city of Narita, Chiba Prefecture, disappeared on ...
National Sep 24, 2019
Search continues for 7-year-old girl missing from Yamanashi Prefecture camp site
Police and rescuers on Tuesday continued to search for a 7-year-old girl who went missing three days ago at a mountain-side campsite in Yamanashi Prefecture. Misaki Ogura, a first grader from Narita, Chiba Prefecture, arrived at the site in the village of Doshi on Saturday, ...
National Sep 13, 2019
Shrinking Yamanashi village converts 150-year-old home into hotel in hope of reversing decline
A new hotel in a traditional wooden house has been opened in a small village in Yamanashi Prefecture in the hope of revitalizing an area that it is grappling with a declining population. The village of Kosuge, where the population has fallen by 40 percent ...
National Aug 26, 2019
A woman in her 20s was confirmed dead after being hit on her head by a falling stone while climbing Mount Fuji, Japan's highest peak, local police said Monday. An ambulance was called at around 7 a.m., reporting that the woman climbing in a group ...
Food & Drink Jul 29, 2019
World-class white wines in the shadow of Mount Fuji
by Elin Mccoy
Inside a 19th century silk merchant's house in Katsunuma, Yamanashi Prefecture, the three Aruga brothers are pouring several white wines in their timbered tasting room. All are made at their Katsunuma Jyozo Winery Co. under the Aruga Branca label from Japan's unique grape variety, ...
National Jun 19, 2019
UNESCO lists Kobushi mountains spanning Tokyo and three other prefectures as biosphere reserve
UNESCO on Wednesday added the Kobushi mountain region, which straddles part of Tokyo and three other prefectures, to its list of biosphere reserves, Japanese officials said. As of July last year, 686 areas in 122 countries have been designated as biosphere reserves — areas for ...
National Apr 26, 2019
Number of abandoned homes in Japan edges up to record high of nearly 8.5 million
Empty homes now account for 13.6 percent of Japan’s housing stock, with the bulk of them concentrated in Yamanashi and Wakayama prefectures, government data show.