Tokyo police have arrested 3 Chinese people who they suspect are members of the “Pink Panda” crime gang for allegedly stealing jewelry at a trade fair in January last year. Police believe the suspects stole a diamond ring worth 2.8 million yen, or about 25,000 dollars, at the fair, one of Japan’s biggest trade shows […]
A cold air mass gripping Japan is bringing record heavy snowfall in the mountainous regions of Tottori and other western prefectures. Weather officials say Daisen in Tottori had 2.1 meters of snow on the ground as of Tuesday morning. Snow was 1.2 meters deep in Shobara City in Hiroshima Prefecture. Up to 60 centimeters of […]
Samsung Electronics says faulty batteries are mainly to blame for its smartphones catching fire. It stopped producing and selling the Galaxy Note 7 as some handsets, sold mainly in the US and South Korea, caught fire just after sales started in August. The South Korean firm released the results of its probe at a news […]
The government has decided to launch an online service to allow foreign nationals to apply and update their residency status in Japan from fiscal 2018, one of a series of measures aimed at improving business efficiency in order to attract more foreign investment. It will also ease requirements for foreigners with highly-specialized knowledge to gain […]
Events were held on Tuesday morning to mark the 22nd anniversary of the Great Hanshin Earthquake in Hyogo Prefecture. The earthquake, which struck at 5:46 a.m. on Jan 17, 1995, killed 6,434 people in Hyogo Prefecture and neighboring areas. A ceremony was held in Higashi Yuenchi Park in Kobe where lanterns were lit and placed […]
A powerful winter pressure pattern has prevailed throughout Japan and brought heavy snow to the mountainous regions along the Sea of Japan. The Meteorological Agency says that as of 11 AM on Monday, the snowfall reached a depth of 2.04 meters in Hinoemata village in Fukushima Prefecture and 1.71 meters in Tsunan town in Niigata […]
The government plans to let Emperor Akihito abdicate on Dec. 31, 2018, and switch to a new era with Crown Prince Naruhito’s ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne the following day, sources said. The start of the new era on Jan. 1, 2019, is intended to minimize confusion in people’s lives, the government sources said. The […]
The transport ministry says Japan had a record high 24.03 million foreign visitors last year. The figure rose by 21.8 percent, or over 4.3 million, from the previous high of 19.7 million set in 2015. Officials attribute the jump to the increase in the number of flights and cruise ships from Asian countries, as well […]
Japanese government officials say wages rose slightly in November compared to a year earlier. But when adjusted for inflation, individual earnings actually fell, going down for the first time in nearly a year. The Labor ministry surveyed about 33,000 businesses across the country. They found that workers earned on average about 275,000 yen a month, […]
The average temperature in Japan in 2016 was the highest since the start of such data in 1898, surpassing the previous record, set in 1990, the Japan Meteorological Agency said Wednesday. The 2016 average was 0.88 degree higher than the average for the 30 years through 2010, whereas the 1990 average was 0.78 degree higher, […]
