Tokyo’s Metropolitan Police Department made English service available at two police boxes in the capital Friday to better deal with an increasing number of foreign visitors ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. The foreigner-friendly model police boxes are located in the Kabukicho district of Shinjuku Ward and in front of Shibuya Station in […]
A sushi restaurant chain has apologized for serving too much wasabi, or Japanese horseradish, to foreigners at one of its outlets. Ichibazushi Japan Corporation acknowledged on its website that the outlet in Osaka had been serving sushi with far larger amounts of wasabi than usual for over a year. The apology came after a tourist […]
Japan’s southwestern island of Okinawa is bracing for powerful typhoon Chaba. Domestic and international flights to and from Okinawa were all canceled after terminal buildings at Naha Airport closed down on Monday afternoon. The Meteorological Agency says Chaba is moving north-north-west at a speed of 20 kilometers an hour. The typhoon was about 130 kilometers […]
Japanese university researchers have built a robotic arm that can mimic the subtle movements of human hands. Takahiro Nozaki, assistant professor at Keio University, oversaw the effort. His team used precision motor technology to build an arm that can pick up a potato chip with three fingers without breaking it. In the past, robotic arms […]
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called Tuesday for “speed and action” in formulating recommendations for reforming Japan’s working practices at the inaugural meeting of a panel on the matter. The panel of cabinet ministers and experts from the private sector, chaired by Abe, plans to compile its proposals by March. “Having considered the legislation and policy […]
Japanese police have arrested a hacker for illegally removing software restrictions on Apple’s iPhones and selling the devices. Daisuke Ikeda, who is 24 and from Toyama City, is suspected of what’s called “jailbreaking” and infringing Apple’s intellectual property rights. Police say Ikeda removed software restrictions imposed by iOS, iPhone’s operating system, and sold five such […]
A huge image of a bowing bear has been created at a park in Kumamoto, western Japan, to show gratitude to those who supported the prefecture following the massive earthquakes in April. The 40-by-60-meter picture depicting Kumamon, the prefecture’s mascot, was made by sculpting the park’s lawn. The chubby, red-cheeked black bear is popular across […]
A man was caught running onto railway tracks here and briefly caused trains to stop while he was being pursued for allegedly stealing underwear, police said. Tokyo police received a flood of calls saying a man was stepping onto JR Yamanote Line tracks between Ikebukuro Station and Otsuka Station in Toshima Ward at around 5 a.m., TV Asahireports […]
A large and very strong typhoon has made landfall in Taiwan. Taiwanese weather officials say Typhoon Megi hit the eastern county of Hualien on Tuesday around 2 PM, local time. In the northern city of Taipei, heavy rain was falling and roadside trees were seen violently shaken by strong winds. Few people were in the […]
The number of foreign residents of Japan has reached a record high of more than 2 million. The Justice Ministry’s Immigration Bureau says that 2,307,388 foreigners were residing in the country as of the end of June. There was an increase of 75,199, or 3.4 percent, compared to the survey conducted at the end of […]
