National
Mt Aso in southwestern Japan erupts again
Mt Aso in Kumamoto Prefecture had a minor eruption Friday following a similar event observed earlier this week, the weather agency said. The eruption occurred at 8:24 a.m. at the No. 1 Nakadake crater, the same area as Tuesday's eruption, spewing smoke as high as 400 meters, according to the… Read
Patients well after world's 1st retina transplants via donor iPS cells
A Japanese team reported Thursday that five patients suffering a severe eye disease were doing well a year after they received in 2017 the world's first transplant surgeries using induced pluripotent stem cells from donors. As part of a clinical research program, the patients received the transplants of artificially grown… Read
TEPCO to employ foreign workers at Fukushima plant under new visa system
The operator of the disaster-stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant plans to have foreigners work at the complex through a new visa program that started earlier this month to address Japan's acute labor shortage, company officials said Thursday. Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc (TEPCO) has told dozens of its… Read
Emperor performs ritual to report abdication to Shinto gods
Emperor Akihito prayed at a Japanese shrine Thursday in a ritual to report his upcoming abdication to the Shinto gods. The 85-year-old emperor will retire on April 30 in the first abdication in 200 years and a rarity in Japan's ancient imperial history. Crown Prince Naruhito will succeed to the… Read
Body of elderly woman found floating in pond in Tokyo park
The body of an elderly woman was found floating in a pond in Inokashira Park in Mitaka, Tokyo, on Thursday morning. According to police, the body of the woman, who was fully clothed and wearing shoes, was spotted by a man walking in the park at around 6:50 a.m., Sankei… Read
Japanese museum show tries to clean up poop's image
A museum in Japan says it is trying to destigmatize feces with what it calls the world's first exhibition of cute and colorful poop. The roughly 1,000 visitors who come each day to the Unko(poop) themed museum in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, are encouraged to share pictures of exhibits on… Read
Kumamoto hopes to boost recovery with new statues of 'One Piece' characters
New statues from megahit comic and animated TV series "One Piece" will be installed throughout the southwestern prefecture of Kumamoto to promote tourism and the area's recovery from two massive earthquakes in 2016, the prefecture said Wednesday. The new figures, depicting protagonist Monkey D Luffy's crew, will be erected in… Read
Travel agents scramble to adjust itinerary of Golden Week tours to Paris after Notre Dame fire
Japanese travel agencies have received many calls from people planning to visit Paris during the 10-day Golden Week holiday period, specifically asking about the massive fire that broke out at the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, one of France’s symbolic UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The 850-year-old cathedral is a well-known… Read
Half of foreigners in Tokyo have experienced discrimination: survey
Nearly half of the foreigners living in Tokyo have experienced racial discrimination, according to a survey released Tuesday by a civic group. In the survey conducted by the Anti Racism Information Center, a group organized by scholars, activists and university students, 167 of 340 respondents including students said that they… Read
English level at Japan's secondary schools falls short of gov't target
The English-language ability of students at Japanese public secondary schools fell short of the government's target in the 2018 academic year through March, despite a slight improvement from a year earlier, a government survey showed Tuesday. The percentage of third-year students at junior high schools whose English skills were equivalent… Read
