A weather observatory in Japan’s northernmost city of Wakkanai says it has spotted ice floes offshore for the first time this winter. The observatory reported seeing ice drifting near the coast of Wakkanai on Wednesday. The observation was made 19 days earlier than usual. The season’s first ice floes in the region are usually seen […]
The Philippine economy grew by 6.6% from a year earlier in the fourth quarter of last year, bringing the full-year economic growth of the Southeast Asian country to 6.8%, authorities said on Thursday. The expansion of the country’s gross domestic product — the measure of the country’s economic output within its boundaries — was driven […]
The operator of Narita International Airport launched a demonstration trial on Monday for a robot that takes away the used dishes of lounge users at the airport in Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo. Narita International Airport Corp. plans to promote the use of robots to improve passenger service ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and […]
Tokyo police have arrested 3 Chinese people who they suspect are members of the “Pink Panda” crime gang for allegedly stealing jewelry at a trade fair in January last year. Police believe the suspects stole a diamond ring worth 2.8 million yen, or about 25,000 dollars, at the fair, one of Japan’s biggest trade shows […]
A cold air mass gripping Japan is bringing record heavy snowfall in the mountainous regions of Tottori and other western prefectures. Weather officials say Daisen in Tottori had 2.1 meters of snow on the ground as of Tuesday morning. Snow was 1.2 meters deep in Shobara City in Hiroshima Prefecture. Up to 60 centimeters of […]
Samsung Electronics says faulty batteries are mainly to blame for its smartphones catching fire. It stopped producing and selling the Galaxy Note 7 as some handsets, sold mainly in the US and South Korea, caught fire just after sales started in August. The South Korean firm released the results of its probe at a news […]
The government has decided to launch an online service to allow foreign nationals to apply and update their residency status in Japan from fiscal 2018, one of a series of measures aimed at improving business efficiency in order to attract more foreign investment. It will also ease requirements for foreigners with highly-specialized knowledge to gain […]
Events were held on Tuesday morning to mark the 22nd anniversary of the Great Hanshin Earthquake in Hyogo Prefecture. The earthquake, which struck at 5:46 a.m. on Jan 17, 1995, killed 6,434 people in Hyogo Prefecture and neighboring areas. A ceremony was held in Higashi Yuenchi Park in Kobe where lanterns were lit and placed […]
A powerful winter pressure pattern has prevailed throughout Japan and brought heavy snow to the mountainous regions along the Sea of Japan. The Meteorological Agency says that as of 11 AM on Monday, the snowfall reached a depth of 2.04 meters in Hinoemata village in Fukushima Prefecture and 1.71 meters in Tsunan town in Niigata […]
Japan’s Calbee has introduced a potato chip product about 70% cheaper than what’s already on sale in the Philippines. The chips will be sold at sari-sari stores, very small mom-and-pop shops that deal in a variety of daily products, a company source said. The new strategy is to focus on middle-income consumers. The snack maker […]
