Three members of a family perished in a fire that destroyed their house in Shomotsuke, Tochigi Prefecture, on Thursday morning. According to police, six people lived in the two-story wooden house and an adjacent house owned by Isamu Omori, 60. Fuji TV reported that at around 7:40 a.m., Omori’s 52-year-old wife called 119 to report […]
Police in Tokyo are stepping up crackdowns on illegal parking of sightseeing buses in popular districts as large numbers of Chinese visit Japan’s capital during the Lunar New Year holidays. Police are focusing on 4 districts — Ginza, Akihabara, Shinjuku and Asakusa — where tourist buses are causing traffic jams. Buses are allowed to stop […]
Police in Tosu, Saga Prefecture, have arrested the manager of a yakitori restaurant on suspicion of attempting to rob the establishment on Jan 15. According to police, the suspect, Takashi Sato, 22, wearing a mask and sunglasses, entered the restaurant when he was off duty, and threatened staff with a knife, Fuji TV reported. Although […]
Children from one of the Philippines’ worst slums have appeared on a Japanese catwalk at special fashion shows in their country to inspire themselves to strive for a better life. Junior student Ayumi Nishigawa of Kobe College leads a group effort to stage the shows with the aim of empowering the underprivileged children, enabling them […]
An armed man dressed as a woman robbed a pedestrian on a street in the city of Ogaki, Gifu Prefecture, but returned some of her cash before fleeing the scene, police said. According to police, the incident occurred shortly after 12 a.m. on Sunday. A man dressed as a woman approached a 31-year-old woman walking […]
All Nippon Airways Co. and Japan Airlines Co. will scrap fuel surcharges for their international flights from April to reflect the plummeting cost of jet fuel. The last time the two airlines removed surcharges was in September 2009. Travel agencies welcome the move as the number of Japanese traveling overseas has been shrinking. “It will […]
Police in Toda, Saitama Prefecture, have arrested a 71-year-old woman on suspicion of setting her son’s room on fire. Eiko Sasaki is suspected of setting fire to her son’s room at around 9 a.m. Sunday, Sankei Shimbun reported. The fire spread and destroyed the 50-square-meter apartment. According to police, Sasaki has admitted to the charge […]
Takashi Shimazu allegedly choked a woman he met via a deai-kei service and robbed her of 200,000 yen. Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a 39-year-old man for assaulting and robbing a female prostitute inside a hotel in Shibuya Ward last year, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Feb. 9). At approximately 5:30 p.m. on November 29, Takashi Shimazu is alleged […]
The Japanese government has decided to withdraw its request that UNESCO register a group of churches and other Christian places as a World Cultural Heritage site. The Cabinet approved the decision on Tuesday after UNESCO’s advisory body asked Japan to review the content of the nomination for the sites. The International Council on Monuments and […]
Japanese government data show that the average monthly salary in 2015 grew from a year earlier, but real wages adjusted for inflation actually fell for a 4th straight year. Labor ministry officials say the average worker earned about 2,700 dollars a month last year. That was the 2nd year it increased. And it was up […]
