Cherry blossoms in Tokyo are officially in bloom, the Japan Meteorological Agency said Monday, in one of the most anticipated announcements of spring. The season’s first blooms of the beloved pale pink flowers in Tokyo were reported for the capital’s benchmark tree of the Someiyoshino variety at Yasukuni Shrine. The declaration, which marks the arrival […]
US tech giant Apple is to release a new iPhone in an effort to boost falling sales. The smaller device will be available in stores around the world on Thursday next week.The new model, called the iPhone SE, has a 4-inch screen, smaller than the “6S”. But it matches the larger phone for camera performance […]
A glider crashed into a house in Sakae, Chiba Prefecture, on Thursday, killing the two men aboard. The accident occurred around 12:20 p.m. The two men were confirmed dead after being taken to hospital in a state of cardiac arrest. No one in the house was injured. Chiba Prefectural Police identified one of the two […]
The estimated number of visitors to Japan in February increased by 36.4 percent from a year earlier to 1,891,400, marking the second-highest monthly total ever, the Japan National Tourism Organization said Wednesday. The figure was second only to the 1,918,400 recorded in July 2015. The growth was helped by the yen’s depreciation and falls in […]
Japan’s police say they will crack down harder on the country’s largest yakuza syndicate, the Yamaguchi-gumi, and a rival splinter group, amid continuing incidents involving the 2 across the country.9 such incidents have occurred in 6 prefectures over the last 10 days since the National Police Agency set up a special taskforce to crack down […]
The Philippines is the 82nd happiest place out of 157 economies, according to a report released by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) and the Earth Institute at Columbia University. The report, which urged nations, regardless of wealth, to tackle inequality and the environment, showed the Philippines as a happy place to live in, one […]
At least two people are dead and almost 70 injured following a 12-vehicle pileup inside a highway tunnel in Higashihiroshima, Hiroshima Prefecture, on Thursday. Five vehicles caught fire following the pileup, which was triggered after a truck slammed into a vehicle about 7:30 a.m. on the Sanyo Expressway, police and firefighters said. Of the two […]
The number of foreign tourists visiting Japan increased 36% from a year earlier in February, lifted by Chinese visitors even amid the yen’s climb against the yuan. Visitors arriving from overseas totaled an estimated 1.89 million for the month, the Japan National Tourism Organization said Wednesday. The figure was second only to the 1.91 million of […]
Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko have visited a memorial for people who perished in the massive tsunami that hit coastal areas of northeastern Japan in 2011.The imperial couple visited the monument in Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture, on Thursday morning. The visit is part of a tour of areas devastated by the March 2011 earthquake and […]
With competition on domestic routes eating into passenger traffic, Japanese low-cost carriers are shifting focus to the rest of Asia to capitalize on brisk inbound tourism. Jetstar Japan, a Japan Airlines affiliate, debuted service between Manila and Narita Airport on Tuesday, becoming the first Japanese budget carrier to fly to the Philippine capital. CEO Gerry […]
