National
3 people found dead in car in apparent joint suicide
The bodies of three people have been found inside a car in a Tokyo suburb, in what police believe was a joint suicide. According to police, the bodies of two women and one man, who all appeared to be in their 20s, were found at around 10:50 a.m. Monday in… Read
Pope Francis hoping to visit Hiroshima, Nagasaki around end of 2019
Pope Francis has expressed his desire to visit Japan, including the atomic-bombed cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, around the end of next year, the Japanese cardinal said Monday. If the plan is realized, he will become the first pope to travel to Japan since John Paul II visited the two… Read
Japanese Buddhist seeks to educate West on swastika of good fortune
When monk Rev Kenjitsu Nakagaki was honoring Buddha's birthday with a sacred flower ceremony at a shrine in Seattle in 1986, he was met with sharp criticism for the chrysanthemums he arranged in the shape of a counterclockwise swastika. Nakagaki, then 25, who moved to Seattle from Osaka, for his… Read
7-Eleven removing storefront ashtrays across Tokyo
As 2018 wraps up and we come one year closer to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, government policies and company initiatives to encourage better health are on the rise. In one such move, the convenience store chain Seven-Eleven Japan, owned by retail giant Seven & i Holdings Co., announced that they… Read
Giant panda cub born at Wakayama zoo named Saihin
A female giant panda cub born at a zoo in the western Japan prefecture of Wakayama has been named Saihin, the zoo said Monday. The Adventure World amusement park selected the name for the 4-month-old, 75-centimeter panda cub weighing over 6 kilograms from about 120,000 suggestions solicited from the public.… Read
Prominent artist defends colleague's disputed LA school mural
Artist Shepard Fairey will insist that one of his murals be removed from a Los Angeles school if officials follow through on plans to cover up another artist's mural that some community activists find offensive, the Los Angeles Times reported Monday. Fairey told the Times that seeking removal of his… Read
42 people injured after suspected gas explosion destroys buildings in Sapporo
Forty-two people were injured when wooden buildings housing a Japanese-style pub, a real estate agency and a clinic collapsed following a suspected gas explosion Sunday night in Sapporo, northern Japan, local authorities said. The blast occurred at around 8:30 p.m. Sunday in Toyohira Ward, causing a fire that burned until… Read
2 more sue state over forced sterilization under eugenics law
Two men sued the state on Monday for damages over their forced sterilization under a now-defunct eugenics protection law that mandated the government to stop people with intellectual disabilities from reproducing. The two men in their 70s and 80s filed the lawsuits at the Sendai District Court seeking a combined… Read
Experts question Tokyo medical school's reasoning behind gender bias
A prominent medical university in Tokyo, which recently admitted setting higher hurdles for female applicants in entrance exams, is now being criticized for the reason it gave for its gender discrimination. Juntendo University, which received the Tokyo metropolitan government's top award this year for its contribution to female empowerment, acknowledged… Read
Putin calendar sales surpassing those of Japanese stars in Japan
The current leader in 2019 calendar sales at a popular chain store in Japan is not a fresh-faced young idol, nor is it a sexy heart-throb actor. Rather, Vladimir Putin, the 66-year-old president of Russia, takes the cake in that category. That’s right, the very same exercise buff that also has claim to a fragrance in… Read
