When certain hurdles to obtaining Japanese nationality were reduced for children born to mixed couples in 2008, a growing number of women decided to take kids they had had with Japanese men to begin a new life in the country. Typically these were Filipino families with now-absent Japanese fathers. However, this has given rise to an increasing number of […]
Five of 21 people who fell ill after eating frozen cutlets sold by a company in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, have been found to suffer from food poisoning from the O-157 strain of E. coli bacteria, prefectural health officials said Tuesday. The patients’ symptoms included stomachaches and diarrhea. The O-157 strain was detected from the cutlets […]
A government panel is examining ways to assess possible signs of a mega-quake along the vast Nankai Trough off Japan’s Pacific coast. The panel, which was set up in September, is tasked with reviewing current disaster preparedness programs that focus on the possibility of a giant quake striking a limited area in Tokai, in central […]
Police in the northern Japanese city of Akita say what appears to have been a tornado has swept away some cars. The turbulence took place shortly after noon on Monday at a vacant area near the city center where people were parking their cars. Three vehicles were damaged — one toppled on its side, another […]
Over 60 pct of companies in Japan are short-staffed, the Finance Ministry said last week. According to a survey by the ministry’s local finance bureaus, 63.2 pct of all respondents are finding it difficult to secure labor. The situation is tougher for small and midsize firms, with 74.7 pct lacking manpower. The survey was carried […]
A Buddhist monk has been arrested on suspicion of using counterfeit money he produced at work in paying a high school girl for a date, police said. Hiroaki Kambe, 28, is suspected of giving fake 10,000 yen bills to the then 17-year-old girl on March 29 as the “fee” for a date at a hotel […]
Food product maker Hagoromo Foods Corp. said Thursday that it sold a can of tuna that contained an insect believed to be a cockroach, which apparently got inside during the manufacturing process. The can of Sea Chicken tuna was produced in December 2014 and sold at a supermarket in Yamanashi Prefecture. A customer told the […]
A week has passed since a magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck Tottori Prefecture in western Japan. Prefectural officials say 18 people in 7 municipalities have been treated at hospitals for injuries and health problems. More than 2,600 houses were damaged. The prefecture’s agriculture suffered damage totaling about 4.7 million dollars. Pears, a specialty of the prefecture, […]
A 50-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly abandoning the body of his 24-year-old former girlfriend, who went missing last month after telling police that she was being stalked, police said. Keitaro Saga, unemployed and of no fixed address, is suspected of dumping the dismembered body of Shiori Nakamoto in rivers in Saitama Prefecture sometime […]
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is asking for more Japanese investment to help his country grow. Duterte made the appeal to the chairman of the Japan Business Federation Sadayuki Sakakibara. Duterte is visiting Japan for the first time since he took office in June this year. Sakakibara said Japanese businesses will work with the Philippines to […]
