Police in Hyogo Prefecture, western Japan, are investigating a drone crash at Himeji Castle, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Officials of Himeji City say a security guard saw a drone hit the castle’s main tower on Thursday afternoon. The tower is designated a national treasure. The officials say the drone struck the roof tiles of […]
The requirement time for highly skilled foreign professionals to apply for permanent residency may be shortened under a move being considered by the government to help lure more global talent to Japan. The current evaluation system, started in April last year, designates some foreign professionals, including entrepreneurs, technical experts and academic researchers, as “highly skilled” […]
The number of foreign visitors to Japan between January and October has topped 20 million. That’s already higher than the annual total for 2015, which was a record high. Officials at Japan National Tourism Organization say the 10-month total is estimated at over 20.1 million. That’s up 23.3 percent from the same period last year. […]
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 […]
