Category Archives: Japan

Japan to trial AI bear warning system after record number of attacks

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Six people have been killed and more than 200 injured in attacks by bears over the past year

Japan is to trial an AI bear-warning system after a record number of attacks on humans over the past year as the animals struggle to find their staple foods.

A pilot system in Toyama prefecture, central Japan, will monitor live feeds from government, municipal and private security cameras to identify bears on the move in areas close to people, and send instant warnings to relevant local authorities, police and hunters. AI will also be used to monitor bears movement patterns and try to predict their future whereabouts.

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Schoolgirl impresses at Japanese gamer event with win in retro game

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Girl of between 12 and 16 was making her first appearance at Evo Japan as contests previously finished past her bedtime

A girl scored a win at one of Japan’s top fighting video game contests, in a competitive puzzle game released before she was born.

The girl, known as “Money Idol-chan” after the game she competed in, has grown up playing competitive video games. Since 2022, her parents have run Anegasaki Shooting Star, a tiny arcade on the east side of Tokyo Bay. Her name has not been released and her age has been given only as between 12 and 16.

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Anger at party funding scandal in Japan threatens to bring down PM Kishida

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Despite talk of a Nobel peace prize, Japan’s leader is facing a backlash among voters as key byelection approaches

In the past fortnight Fumio Kishida has been mentioned as a possible recipient of the Nobel peace prize and praised for a speech to congress in which he urged the US not to retreat into isolation.

But since his return to Tokyo after a successful summit with Joe Biden, Japan’s prime minister has been buffeted by domestic political headwinds that this weekend could spell the beginning of the end of his administration.

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Mount Fuji view to be blocked as tourists overcrowd popular photo spot

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Fujikawaguchiko town official says choice to erect huge barrier is ‘regrettable’ and last resort

A huge barrier to block views of Mount Fuji will be installed at a popular photo spot by Japanese authorities exasperated by crowds of badly behaved foreign tourists.

Construction of the mesh net – 2.5 metres (8ft) high and the length of a cricket pitch at 20 metres – will begin as early as next week, an official from Fujikawaguchiko town said on Friday.

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Russia vetos UN resolution to prevent nuclear arms race in space

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Moscow described the security council resolution, which would have called on countries not to deploy weapons of mass destruction in outer space, a ‘dirty spectacle’

Russia has vetoed a UN security council resolution calling on all nations to prevent a dangerous nuclear arms race in outer space, describing it as “a dirty spectacle”.

The resolution, sponsored by the United States and Japan, would have called on all countries not to develop or deploy nuclear arms or other weapons of mass destruction in space, which are already banned under a 1967 international treaty.

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‘Horizontally’ recycled nappies go on sale in Japan in world first

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Product made from used nappies will go on sale in shopping centres after sterilisation, bleaching, and deodorising

A company in Japan has started selling the world’s first “horizontally” recycled nappies, as the country’s ageing society undergoes a shift in demand for children’s diapers to those for older adults.

Unicharm, based in the south-western prefecture of Kagoshima, put the adult and baby nappies on sale this month in shopping centres in Kyushu – one of Japan’s four main islands – in collaboration with local governments, the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper reported.

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Japan navy helicopters crash, leaving one dead and seven missing

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Defence minister says possibility of a collision between the two helicopters is being analysed

One person was dead and seven missing after two Japanese military helicopters crashed after possibly colliding while out to sea, officials said.

A spokesperson for Japan’s self-defence force said the crash took place late on Saturday and one person was recovered and later confirmed dead.

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Japan to allow divorced parents to share custody of children

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Change to civil code will bring Japan into line with other G7 countries, amid concerns existing law inflicts psychological harm on children

Divorced couples in Japan will for the first time be able to negotiate joint custody of their children after parliament voted this week for changes to laws permitting only sole custody.

Under Japan’s civil code, couples must decide which parent will take custody of their children when their marriage ends – a requirement that critics say causes children psychological harm and prevents the “left-behind” parent from playing a fuller role in their upbringing.

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Dynamic in South China Sea is changing through growing US and Japan ties, says Philippines president

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Ferdinand Marcos Jr says building trilateral ties vital, after the three countries criticise China’s ‘dangerous and aggressive behaviour’ in the region

A cooperation agreement by the Philippines, the United States and Japan will change the dynamic in the South China Sea and the region, the Philippine president has said, while seeking to assure China it was not a target.

“I think the trilateral agreement is extremely important,” Ferdinand Marcos Jr told a press conference in Washington on Friday, a day after meeting President Joe Biden and the Japanese prime minister, Fumio Kishida, in the nations’ first trilateral summit.

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While Biden and Kishida exchange praise in Washington, Japan is asking ‘what if Trump’?

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Despite warm words from the US and Japanese leaders during their summit this week, back in Japan the spectre of a second Trump White House looms large

Joe Biden was effusive in his praise for Japan and its “bold” prime minister, Fumio Kishida, during a state visit that took place this week amid new and growing security threats in the Asia-Pacific, wars in Ukraine and Gaza, and months of political uncertainty ahead for both leaders.

The first ladies, Jill Biden and Yuko Kishida, exchanged gifts and hugs, there was talk of cherry blossoms and a state banquet menu inspired by Japanese cuisine – and even a half-decent joke from Kishida about the Flintstones.

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Japanese leader asks US to overcome ‘self-doubt’ about global leadership

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Fumio Kishida warns of risks from China in address to Congress and says Japan determined to do more to share responsibility

Japan’s prime minister, Fumio Kishida, on Thursday called on Americans to overcome their “self-doubt” as he offered a paean to US global leadership before a bitterly divided Congress.

Warning of risks from the rise of China, Kishida said that Japan – stripped of its right to a military after the second world war – was determined to do more to share responsibility with its ally the United States.

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£52,000 golden teacup stolen from Tokyo department store

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Takashimaya to increase security after theft of 24-carat gold teaware from unlocked display box

A golden teacup worth more than 10m yen (£52,100) has been stolen from a department store in Tokyo after being showcased in an unlocked box.

The teacup, made of pure 24-carat gold, went missing from an outlet of the Takashimaya chain, where an array of gold items for sale were being displayed as part of an event.

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Pioneering Hawaiian-born sumo champion Akebono dies aged 54

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Tributes paid to wrestler, who was born Chad Rowan and became the sport’s first non-Japanese grand champion in 1993

Tributes have been paid in Japan to Akebono, the first foreign wrestler to reach the pinnacle of the sport of sumo, who has died aged 54.

The wrestler, who was born Chad Rowan in Hawaii, is regarded as a pioneer after he broke down cultural barriers in the centuries-old sport to become the first non-Japanese yokozuna grand champion in 1993.

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US and Japan announce new military agreements aimed at countering China

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Tokyo and Washington have struck 70 pacts on defence cooperation during Japanese PM’s White House state visit

Joe Biden and Fumio Kishida, the Japanese prime minister, have announced a new era of military cooperation during the pomp and pageantry of a White House state visit aimed at countering China.

The US president said the two nations’ forces will cooperate on a joint command structure and, along with Australia, develop a new air missile defence network.

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Cherry blossoms, steak and Paul Simon: the Bidens put on a show for Japan’s PM

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Fumio and Yuko Kishida honoured with state dinner to recognise ‘flourishing’ relationship between US and Japan, says Jill Biden

Dry-aged rib eye steak, cherry blossoms and Paul Simon playing a selection of his songs will be the centerpieces of a state dinner the White House is hosting for Japan’s prime minister, Fumio Kishida, and his wife, Yuko. More than 200 guests are expected to attend.

A lavish state dinner is a tool of US diplomacy, and a high honour that is used sparingly and only to America’s closest allies. In the case of Japan, Joe Biden has chosen to celebrate an ally that he sees as a cornerstone of his policy toward the Indo-Pacific region.

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Swapping red meat for herring, sardines and anchovies could save 750,000 lives, study suggests

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Switch could also cut prevalence of disability linked to diet-related disease and help tackle the climate crisis, researchers found

Swapping red meat for forage fish such as herring, sardines and anchovies could save 750,000 lives a year and help tackle the climate crisis, a study suggests.

Mounting evidence links red meat consumption with a higher risk of disease in humans as well as significant harm to the environment. In contrast, forage fish are highly nutritious, environmentally friendly and the most abundant fish species in the world’s oceans.

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Taiwan earthquake: search for survivors continues into night after nine people killed in quake – as it happened

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This live blog is now closed. You can read our latest full report below:

People are trapped in collapsed buildings in Taiwan’s city of Hualien according to local media and the local government has suspended schools and classes in the region.

According to Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration, the epicentre of the quake was 25km southeast of Hualien.

Based on tsunami wave models and early tide gauge records of the tsunami in the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, coastal areas in the Philippines fronting the Pacific Ocean are expected to experience high tsunami waves.

It is forecasted that the first tsunami waves will arrive between 08:33 AM to 10:33 AM, 03 Apr 2024 (PST). It may not be the largest and these waves may continue for hours.

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Taiwan earthquake: nine dead and 900 injured as buildings collapse

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Dozens believed trapped and awaiting rescue after island hit by 7.2-magnitude quake, its strongest in 25 years

Taiwan’s strongest earthquake in 25 years has killed nine people and injured at least 900, causing building collapses, power outages and landslides on the island, and triggering initial tsunami warnings in southern Japan and the Philippines.

The fire agency said 64 people were trapped in one coalmine, and six in another, while rescue workers had lost contact with 50 people who were travelling in minibuses through a national park as the earthquake wiped out phone networks.

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Everyone in Japan will be called Sato by 2531 unless marriage law changed, says professor

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Sato will become the only option by 2531, suggests modelling as part of campaign to overturn outdated law requiring spouses to have same surname

Japanese citizens will all have the same family name in 500 years’ time unless married couples are permitted to use separate surnames, a new study has suggested as part of a campaign to update a civil code dating back to the late 1800s.

The study, led by Hiroshi Yoshida, a professor of economy at Tohoku University, projected that if Japan continues to insist that couples select a single surname, every single Japanese person will be known as “Sato-san” by 2531.

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Bonsai trees and a royal birthday: Japan’s imperial family dips a careful toe in world of Instagram

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Meme-worthy content appears in short supply, at least initially, as world’s oldest royal family embarks on its social media journey

The rarefied world of Japan’s imperial family has entered the age of social media, but fans expecting selfies, emojis and casual shots of the emperor and empress, or princes and princesses away from the limelight may be disappointed.

Far from photographs of sunrises, sunsets or moments of mindfulness that form the stock in trade of many Instagram profiles, the initial images released followed a steady course favoured by other royal families around the world. They featured a dignified attendance at a medical awards ceremony, a bonsai exhibition and a meeting with the president and first lady of Kenya. Another post features them with the crown prince and princess of Brunei.

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