National
Olympic stadium worker's suicide was 'death by overwork,' say parents
The parents of a worker on Japan's Olympic stadium who committed suicide have petitioned the government to recognise it as "death by overwork", an official said, with media saying he worked 200 hours of overtime a month before his death. Construction work on Tokyo's new National Stadium, the centerpiece of… Read
Princess Kako to study at University of Leeds from Sept
Princess Kako, a granddaughter of Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, will study at the University of Leeds in England from September to June next year, it was reported at a cabinet meeting on Friday. The 22-year-old daughter of Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko, currently a junior at International Christian University… Read
Chiba teacher suspended for touching student’s breast
A 26-year-old teacher at a high school in Chiba Prefecture has been suspended after a female student reported that he touched her breast at school, the Chiba Prefectural Board of Education said. According to reports, at around 6:10 p.m. on July 7, the teacher was conducting a one-on-one guidance session… Read
Wind-chime festival: Cooling sounds drive away heat in Japan
A Japanese traditional wind-chime festival has opened at a Buddhist temple near Tokyo for the summer. Japanese wind-chimes, called "furin," are one of the items most associated with the hottest season because of their refreshing sound in a country with oppressively high humidity. At Heiken Temple in Kawasaki, south of… Read
New Zealander's death puts mental patients' restraint in Japan under spotlight
A Japanese campaign group whose members include lawyers and academics called on Wednesday for a change in psychiatric hospitals' practice of putting patients under prolonged restraint after the death of a New Zealand man. Kelly Savage, a 27-year-old English teacher working in Japan, was sent to a psychiatric hospital near… Read
Japan Tobacco, other companies still subverting anti-smoking moves: WHO
The tobacco industry continues to subvert government attempts to prevent tobacco-related deaths, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday in a fresh call to counter corporate lobbying and litigation. Countries with partly state-owned tobacco companies, such as Japan which has a stake in Japan Tobacco Inc, should "firewall" their… Read
Foreign visitors to Japan increase 17% in first half of 2017
The number of foreign visitors to Japan increased 17.4 percent in the first half of 2017 from a year earlier to a record 13.76 million, the Japan Tourism Agency estimated Wednesday. A separately report showed spending by foreign tourists during the six-month period rose 8.6 percent to a record 2.05… Read
Students complain of stomach pain after eating bad cheese during school lunch
Students at a junior high school in Tochigi Prefecture’s Takenazawa town have felt ill after eating cheese at the school cafeteria, local board of education representatives said. According to officials, 20 students who had eaten cheese that “smelled strange” as part of their school-provided lunches on July 10, complained of… Read
Security cameras to be set up on bullet trains in southwestern Japan
Kyushu Railway Co. said Wednesday it will install security cameras on its shinkansen bullet trains running in the southwestern main island of Kyushu from November to enhance security ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. The railway operator will introduce the cameras in passenger cabins and the decks of… Read
Narita airport police find 30 bullets in U.S. plane crew member's bag
Japanese airport police found 30 bullets in an American Airlines crew member's carry-on bag and said Wednesday that the flight attendant apparently carried them through his security checks at U.S. airports. Police at Tokyo's Narita International Airport seized the bullets, loaded in two magazines, after finding them Saturday during a security check… Read
