The Kyoto District Court sentenced a 58-year-old Japanese man to life in prison on Monday for murdering a fellow national in Manila in 2010 with the intention of claiming insurance money. In handing down the ruling, the court said Shigeo Arai killed Yuichiro Matsutani, then 35, who was working for an education material sales company […]
A driverless bus has been tested on a public road for the first time in Japan. An IT company was contracted to carry out the trial run in Senboku City, Akita Prefecture. The city is designated as a special zone for promoting deregulation and economic revitalization. An electric bus from France was used for Sunday’s […]
An elderly female driver trying to exit a hospital parking lot in Tachikawa City ended up on a sidewalk and killed two pedestrians, possibly mistaking the accelerator for the brake, police said on Saturday. The Tachikawa Police Station said Sachiko Uesu, 83, was trying to drive out of the parking lot of a hospital when […]
The largest “supermoon” in 68 years will grace the sky on Monday night. A supermoon occurs when the moon is full and in the closest part of its orbit to Earth. This makes the moon look bigger and brighter. The National Astronomical Observatory of Japan says the moon will come to about 356,500 kilometers from […]
A man set a woman on fire following an argument in a restaurant in Japan, local media reported Saturday, in a rare act of violence in the country. The 52-year-old Iranian man was seen pouring liquid over his 36-year-old Filipina girlfriend before setting her alight at the eatery in Ibaraki prefecture, north of Tokyo, on […]
With the number of visitors to Japan rewriting record highs, Tokyo police are busy dealing with surging amounts of lost belongings for foreigners, Jiji Press has learned. According to a tally by the Metropolitan Police Department, at least 55,000 lost articles were returned to their overseas owners in fiscal 2015, which ended last March. In […]
Kyoto Prefectural Police arrested a man on Monday for allegedly trapping a woman in his car and licking her foot, a case that could be tied to five similar incidents where the suspect was known among officers as the “foot licker man.” The 56-year-old suspect is charged with indecent assault for allegedly asking a woman […]
The developer of Pokemon Go says it has modified the settings so that people cannot use the app while driving. Fatal accidents have been caused in Japan by drivers who were absorbed in the popular smartphone game. Niantic said that on Monday it disabled the function for collecting items at “Pokestops” if players are travelling […]
A massive sinkhole has disrupted various public services and forced people to evacuate from a leading commercial district in Fukuoka City, western Japan. A section of a road caved in near JR Hakata station early Tuesday morning. Water from ruptured pipes is flowing into the sinkhole, which is 27 meters wide and 30 meters long. […]
A Catholic church in this western Japan city has become the first in Japan to be designated a “minor basilica,” a title granted by the pope only to specifically important places of worship. The Oura Church in 1865 was the site where a group of “hidden Christians” revealed their faith to Father Bernard Petitjean of […]
