National
Toyota employee's suicide caused by workplace harassment
Labor authorities have determined the suicide of a Toyota Motor Corp employee in 2017 was caused by harassment from his superior, a lawyer for the man's family said Tuesday. The worker, who died at the age of 28, developed an adjustment disorder after he was constantly verbally abused by his… Read
Lawsuits detail deadly U.S. Navy collision off Japan's coast
A lawsuit filed Monday details a desperate scramble for safety as water rushed in when a container ship collided with a U.S. Navy destroyer off Japan's coast two years ago, killing seven sailors. The lawsuit filed against Tokyo-based NYK Line by survivors of the collision and relatives of those killed lays out… Read
Police question Kobe teachers over bullying of colleague
Police have started questioning schoolteachers in the city of Kobe involved in the bullying of a 25-year-old male colleague, a source close to the matter said. The police are questioning the teachers on a voluntary basis after a local education board said last month the male teacher at Higashisuma Elementary… Read
Brazilian man sues Japanese gov't for injuries at immigration center
A Brazilian man has sued the Japanese government after sustaining injuries in October last year while being forcibly restrained at an immigration facility in Tokyo, people familiar with the matter said Monday. Andre Kussunoki, 33, filed a lawsuit with the Tokyo District Court, claiming the physical restraint used by immigration… Read
Gov't says it is safe to release contaminated Fukushima water into ocean
Japan's industry ministry said Monday it would be safe to release water contaminated by the Fukushima nuclear disaster into the ocean, stressing that the health risk to humans would be "significantly small." Discharging the water into the Pacific Ocean over the course of a year would lead to between just… Read
Insurance claims linked to typhoons in Sept, Oct may top ¥2 tril
Insurance claims linked to two powerful typhoons that hit Japan in September and October may exceed 2 trillion yen, according to a recent analysis by Standard & Poor's. Typhoon Faxai in September triggered a prolonged power outage near Tokyo, while Typhoon Hagibis in October caused massive flooding and a series… Read
Pope Francis to bring anti-nuclear message to Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Pope Francis takes his mission to ban nuclear weapons this week to the only places where they were used in war, visiting the World War Two ground zeros of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as part of a tour of Japan and Thailand. The seven-day trip, one of his longest and most… Read
Japanese abductee may be receiving medical care in N Korea
An order has been issued in North Korea for authorities to provide "a sufficient degree of medical care" to a Japanese woman abducted by Pyongyang agents in the 1970s, a person familiar with the situation said Sunday. It is highly likely the order was issued by North Korean leader Kim… Read
Author passes legacy of A-bomb survivor mother to young readers
The late Toshiko Ishikawa Hilliker, a Hiroshima native who immigrated to the United States about 15 years after World War II, started to open up later in life about being a hibakusha, or atomic bombing survivor, who lived through the decimation of her home city on Aug 6, 1945. Her… Read
Japan's health sector continues to lure Filipinos workers 10 years on
Job opportunities in Japan's health industry continue to attract Filipinos a decade since it started accepting candidate nurses and caregivers under the two countries' economic agreement. Last week, a new group of Filipino health workers who aspire to work as nurses and caregivers in Japan began preparatory training in Japanese… Read
