カテゴリー: Japan
Low birthrate and ageing population pose ‘an urgent risk to society’, but can opening its borders to skilled overseas workers fix the problem?Murumuru spends his weekends toiling on building sites in Japan in the sticky heat of summer to supplement the…
Millions visit Japan’s highest peak each year, creating pollution and putting pressure on medical centreThe hum of anticipation, like the gathering clouds, hangs over the fifth stage of Mount Fuji, the preferred starting point for climbers to begin the…
Japan has learned key lessons from the 1923 earthquake that killed 105,000 people, but rapid growth of the capital has raised the stakesThe earthquake that struck the Tokyo region two minutes before noon on 1 September 1923 was so powerful that it dest…
There are an estimated 20,000 coin-operated laundries across Japan, a number that has doubled in the last two decades. In addition to the usual services, they provide speciality machines for cleaning sports shoes, pillows and heavy blankets. For Philip…
Julie Fujishima, now president of Japan’s biggest boyband talent agency, had long been aware of accusations but failed to investigate, experts sayThe current president of Japan’s biggest boyband talent agency, who is the niece of its late founder Johnn…
Initiative in Chikushino honours three children killed by drink-driver, with motorists learning first-hand how badly alcohol makes you drivePolice and driving instructors in Japan have adopted an unorthodox approach to road safety in the hope of reduci…
Pyongyang’s aerospace administration says failure ‘is not a big issue’ and promises third attempt in OctoberNorth Korea’s second attempt to place a spy satellite in orbit has failed after the rocket booster experienced a problem during its third stage,…
In today’s newsletter: Japan’s decision to release radioactive water from the tsunami-hit power plant has divided groups – is it entirely safe or staggeringly stupid?• Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning.Today’s newsletter …
Most of the 1,325 cases in the self-defence forces were not reported because victims feared retribution, say expertsJapan’s military has covered up cases of sexual and other forms of harassment among members of the self-defence forces (SDF) and refused…
‘Duty to consult’ commitment means three countries will contact each other in event of security crisis or threat in the PacificThe United States, Japan and South Korea have agreed to a new security pledge committing the three countries to consult with …
Flights cancelled and flood and landslide warnings issued as typhoon approaches area south-west of Tokyo with sustained winds of 150km/hNearly 800 flights have been cancelled and tens of thousands of homes have lost power as a slow-moving typhoon made …
Mayor of city where Little Boy atom bomb was dropped says nuclear deterrence is ‘folly’Japan’s prime minister has hit out at Russian threats to use nuclear weapons as the country marked the 78th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.Around 140…
Heavy rains and high winds lash Okinawa and Kagoshima, as storm slowly moves north-west before forecast change in direction towards mainlandAbout 166,000 households in south-western Japan’s Okinawa and Kagoshima prefectures were without power as Typhoo…
The south-western Japanese islands of Okinawa were hit by Typhoon Khanun on Wednesday, grounding flights and forcing local authorities to issue evacuation orders across the area. Khanun is the third typhoon to hit the east Asia region in recent weeks, …
In South Korea, 12 people died from heat-related deaths last weekend, while in Japan, three people died including a 13 year-old on her way back from schoolTwelve people have died from heat-related causes in South Korea as it swelters through a heatwave…