A 15-year-old high school boy drowned Sunday after the boat he and three former classmates were aboard capsized in a moat surrounding Takada Park in Joetsu, Niigata Prefecture, where hundreds of people had converged to view cherry blossoms in full bloom. Hikaru Iguchi disappeared at around 6:15 p.m. A teenage witness said the four were rocking […]
The Japanese government is introducing 15 symbols to mark police boxes, hotels and other facilities on foreign tourist maps.The Geospatial Information Authority responded to complaints that some Japanese symbols are difficult for foreigners to understand because they are different from those used overseas.The national mapping body made the move as Japan gears up for the […]
South Korea’s Defense Ministry says North Korea fired a short-range surface-to-air missile toward the Sea of Japan on Friday.Ministry officials said the missile was fired from near Sondok in the eastern province of Hamgyong-namdo at around 1:00 PM, South Korea time. They said it fell in the Sea of Japan.Yonhap news agency said the missile […]
Three Japanese companies with similar names decided to celebrate April Fools’ Day on Friday with a few jokes.Nissan Motor released a breaking news video on its website on April 1st. It says a giant flying object created by Nissan and Nissin Foods had made an unexpected landing at commerce firm Nissen. Their similar-sounding names inspired […]
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says he wants to set a target of 40 million foreign visitors to Japan in 2020, doubling the current goal.The country is enjoying a boom in popularity as a tourist destination as it prepares for the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics in 2020.The goal of 20 million foreign visitors was nearly reached […]
Cherry trees in Tokyo and other cities in Japan are in full blossom — a sign that spring has arrived.In a spring ritual, the Meteorological Agency on Thursday made the announcement for Tokyo, Nagoya and other cites, based on its observation of flowers on local sample trees. Temperatures in most of the cities on Thursday […]
Work has finally begun to freeze the soil around four damaged reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Engineers are trying to reduce the buildup of contaminated water at the site.Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, the owner of the plant, started the work on Thursday, after the Nuclear Regulation Authority gave the go-ahead. […]
The Indonesian Military (TNI) is ready to assist the Philippine military to launch an operation against Abu Sayyaf militants who have hijacked two Indonesian vessels and kidnapped 10 Indonesian crewmen. The Indonesian forces are all set for the hostage rescue operation, said Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu. However, Jakarta would have to first wait for Manila’s […]
Two women are being treated in a hospital for serious injuries after being struck in the head by an ax-wielding assailant on Monday. Fukuoka Prefectural Police have arrested a 56-year-old man after he is alleged to have seriously injured two women in an attack inside a real estate office in Fukuoka City, reports Nippon News Network (Mar. 29). At around […]
The operator of Narita International Airport near Tokyo on Monday unveiled fast lanes to allow selected foreign passengers pass smoothly through immigration. The fast-lane service, a measure included in a government action plan for tourism promotion, started at the airport in Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo, on Wednesday. For the time being, the service will be […]
