The Sapporo Snow Festival is a wintery white paradise where castles, celebrities, and the nation’s favorite anime characters are brought to life in ice and snow. For a week every February, the city of Sapporo on Japan’s northernmost island of Hokkaido ... ( read original story ...)
Proof: It’s Dumping in Hokkaido, Japan
The post for the video which you can see above said: "They said on the news last night that Japan is going to experience a heavy snow cold La Niña winter. Conditions so far? "All time" does not do it justice. With that much snow stacked up, it's high time ... ( read original story ...
China marks Nanking Massacre by offering Japan ‘friendship’
the official Xinhua news agency said, telling them, "Lessons learned from the past can guide one in the future." In Tokyo, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga spoke of the importance of looking to the future. "The leaders of Japan and China have agreed ... ( read original story ...)
Behind bitcoin boom, Japanese retail investors pile in
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s army of retail investors, no strangers to high risk bets in the past, have emerged as a major force in bitcoin’s spectacular rally, now accounting for an estimated 30-50 percent of trading in the cryptocurrency as it spikes to ... ( read original story ...)
Japan court orders shutdown of nuclear reactor near volcano
TOKYO — A court has ruled that a nuclear reactor in southwestern Japan should not operate because it's too close to an active volcano and could be affected by a major eruption. The Hiroshima high court's decision Wednesday is likely to force the Unit 3 ... ( read original story ...)
Osaka city assembly urges central government to pressure San Francisco to remove ‘comfort women’ memorial
London Breed, who became San Francisco’s acting mayor, held a news conference Tuesday, but did not touch on how she would deal with the issue. While Yoshimura formally announced his decision to scrap Osaka’s sister city relationship to city leaders ... ( read original story ...)
US helicopter part crashes on Japanese school in Okinawa
These are external links and will open in a new window Part of a US helicopter has crashed on a school in Okinawa, Japan, renewing tensions with the local population. The window dropped on the school grounds, slightly injuring one boy, news agency Kyodo said. ( read original story ...)
Japanese kanji of the year is ‘north’ – thanks to Kim Jong-un
Earlier this year some supermarket shelves were emptied of packets of crisps due to a potato shortage in Hokkaido, the northernmost island of Japan. Hokkaido again made the news earlier this month when Shohei Ohtani, who played for the local baseball team ... ( read original story ...)
Japan carmakers make fresh push on hydrogen stations
A consortium of Japanese auto giants on Tuesday announced plans to set up a new company next year to build more hydrogen refuelling stations, in an effort to bring fuel-cell cars into the mainstream. There are currently 2,200 fuel-cell cars in Japan with ... ( read original story ...)
Tokyo airport to be ‘scattered’ with robots for 2020 Olympics
Visitors to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics can expect to arrive at an airport "scattered" with robots to help them, an official said Tuesday as he unveiled seven new machines to perform tasks from helping with luggage to language assistance. Among the seven ... ( read original story ...)
Pregnant woman wants seat on Tokyo metro: there’s an app for that
Pregnant women struggling to bag a seat on the famously packed Tokyo subway could find their salvation in a new app connecting them with nearby passengers willing to give up their coveted perch. The digital match-making app being trialled this week on the ... ( read original story ...)
Ex-U.S. deserter to North Korea who married Japan abductee dies
TOKYO -- Charles Jenkins, a U.S Army deserter to North Korea who married a Japanese abductee and lived in Japan after their release, has died. He was 77. Jenkins was found collapsed outside his home in Sado, northern Japan, on Monday and rushed to a ... ( read original story ...)
Japan picks ‘North’ as 2017 symbol amid N. Korea threat
Japan on Tuesday chose the Chinese character for "North" as ... At the end of every year, the general public votes for a Chinese character they think embodies the key news and events of the previous 12 months. A total of 7,104 people out of 153,594 voted ... ( read original story ...)
IOC ‘confident’ Tokyo 2020 venues will be ready on time
TOKYO: Tokyo organisers are back on track and will complete ... designs for the official Games logo were ditched following accusations of plagiarism. There was more bad news in October when organisers admitted that prolonged summer rain had brought high ... ( read original story ...)
Review: Osaka Kohai
Eating at Osaka Kohai can feel a lot like dining in someone's home, which may be appropriate since the restaurant occupies the bottom half of a house. Chau and her son greet guests and take turns in the kitchen, often bringing plates to the table when one ... ( read original story ...)
No news, just snooze: Japan’s paper deliverers enjoy press holiday
There is a good chance that Japan’s light sleepers have at times been stirred by the purr of an approaching moped, followed by the squeak of a brake and footsteps on the street. The sounds punctuate the pre-dawn routine of the paper delivery worker ... ( read original story ...)