Japan’s new economic revitalization minister has pledged to do his best to establish a positive economic cycle. Nobuteru Ishihara succeeded Akira Amari, who resigned last week over a funding scandal. Ishihara spoke to officials at the Cabinet Office on Monday. He’ll be in charge of promoting Abenomics and the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade deal negotiated […]
Ahead of Setsubun on Wednesday, the day to celebrate the beginning of spring, the Consumer Affairs Agency has warned parents to guard against small children accidentally swallowing soybeans. However, the agency said over the past five years more than 20 cases of complications from children swallowing the beans were reported by medical institutions nationwide. People […]
Officials at Japan’s Health Ministry plan to issue all medical facilities in the country an order to report if they diagnose a patient with the Zika virus, in a bid to contain the spread of the disease. No cases have been reported in the country so far. The mosquito-borne disease has been spreading mainly in […]
Toyota Motor Corp. said it will suspend production at all assembly plants in Japan next week in the wake of a steel factory explosion, interrupting the supply of crucial models including the new Prius hybrid. All domestic assembly lines will halt Feb. 8 through Feb. 13, Toyota said Monday in a statement. The company counts on […]
A festival featuring snow huts called “kamakura” has begun in Nikko City, north of Tokyo. The opening of the annual event at the Yunishigawa hot spring resort was postponed for a week this year because the area had received little snow. Nine snow huts about 3 meters tall were built at the venue. Tourists took […]
Officials in Japan say they believe cyber attackers are responsible for problems accessing several government websites since Sunday. They say the websites of the Finance and Health, Labor and Welfare ministries and Financial Services Agency all suffered intermittent disruptions. Finance Ministry officials have had problems accessing their site since late Sunday night. Access to the […]
Central Japan Railway has begun work to build an underground terminal at Shinagawa Station in Tokyo for cutting-edge high-speed maglev trains. The company, also known as JR Tokai, plans to put the magnetically levitated trains into service in 2027. The service would link Tokyo and the central Japanese city of Nagoya, about 290 kilometers away, […]
Tokyo Metropolitan police have arrested musician for engaging in illicit acts with an underage girl at an orgy in Shinjuku Ward, reports Fuji News Network (Jan. 7). In April of last year, Shintaro Takada, 34, who plays drums in Aiolost, participated in a group-sex party that included the girl, a 17-year-old fan of the band, and […]
Nearly 90,000 homes are still without tap water, mainly in western Japan, after a record cold spell damaged pipes. About 89,900 households in 13 prefectures were still without water on Thursday morning. Supply to more than 27,000 homes has been restored since Wednesday. The worst affected prefecture is Fukuoka, where some 31,400 homes in seven […]
Japan’s Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko were given a welcome ceremony in the Philippine capital of Manila on Wednesday, starting the official functions of their state tour. The couple are making a 5-day visit as state guests. In the morning, they were welcomed at the Malacanang presidential palace by Philippine President Benigno Aquino and his […]
