カテゴリー: Japan
The departure of pandas will leave legions of Japanese admirers bereft, but it is also symptomatic of a dramatic deterioration in China-Japan relationsThe panda house at Ueno Zoo in Tokyo is not due to open for several hours, but visitors are already m…
Operator says it does now know when the problem at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in Niigata province will be solved, after an alarm sounded during start-upThe restart of the world’s largest nuclear power plant was suspended in Japan on Thursday just a d…
Abe was killed by Tetsuya Yamagami in 2022 while campaigning in the city of Nara, a shooting that shocked Japan, where gun crime is almost unheard ofA court in Japan has sentenced the assassin of former prime minister Shinzo Abe to life in prison – a c…
Number of high-spending Chinese tourists visiting Japan halved last month after PM said an invasion of Taiwan could spark Japanese military involvementChinese tourism to Japan almost halved in December amid a bitter diplomatic row between Beijing and T…
Sanae Takaichi tells senior figures in ruling Liberal Democratic party she plans to dissolve lower house on 23 JanuaryJapan’s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, has called a snap election as she attempts to capitalise on high approval ratings since becomi…
A return to nuclear power is at the heart of Japan’s energy policy but, in the wake of the 2011 disaster, residents’ fears about tsunamis, earthquakes and evacuation plans remain The activity around the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant is reachin…
South Korean president Lee Jae Myung had his work cut out, picking up his drumsticks alongside Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi, a former heavy metal drummerIf international diplomacy is as much about tone as substance, the leaders of South Korea and Japan s…
Noodle dish is nation’s favourite comfort food and source of civic pride – but it has health risksThe road to ramen paradise ends in the unlikeliest of places. At Men Endo, located in a suburban street, next to a school and a low-rise apartment block, …
The head of the sushi restaurant chain Sushizanmai bid 510.3m yen (£2.4m) for a single bluefin tuna, the highest price ever paid at the annual New Year auction at Tokyo’s Toyosu fish market. ‘I hope the economy will get better this year. The Takaichi a…
Kiyoshi Kimura will turn prized 243kg fish into sushi rolls selling for £2.4o at his restaurant chainA sushi entrepreneur has paid a record 510.3m yen (£2.4m) for a giant bluefin tuna at a prestigious auction in Tokyo’s main fish market.Kiyoshi Kimura,…
Once host to a poisonous gas research facility, Okunoshima is now an Instagram-friendly tourist destinationThe bunny-ear designs on the window aside, there is little to indicate that the ferry has arrived on an island teeming with rabbits. Then, moment…
PM Sanae Takaichi joins petition calling for better facilities for women to match improved representationNearly 60 female lawmakers in Japan, including the prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, have submitted a petition calling for more toilets in the parli…
The town of Osaki has been making the headlines as a bear hotspot as Japan reels from a year of record ursine encounters and deaths. The Guardian’s Justin McCurry visited Naruko Onsen hot springs in the north-eastern town, equipped with bells and whist…
Bears are becoming a growing problem in some of Japan’s urban areas as they are forced to venture further in search of foodIt came as no surprise, least of all to the residents of Osaki, that “bear” was selected as Japan’s kanji character of the year e…
Hinata Goto reportedly fell as he was trying to get off the 30-metre-long walkwayA five-year-old boy has died after becoming trapped in a moving travelator at a ski resort in northern Japan, local media have said.The victim, Hinata Goto, died on Sunday…