Ishikawa and its Noto peninsula, one of the worst affected areas, has been hit by more than 100 aftershocks
Japanese rescuers were scrambling to search for survivors as authorities warned of landslides and heavy rain after a powerful earthquake that killed at least 62 people.
The 7.5-magnitude quake on Monday that rattled Ishikawa prefecture on the main island of Honshu triggered tsunami waves more than a metre high, sparked a major fire and tore apart roads.
Continue reading...Six coastguards were on plane, which was delivering earthquake relief supplies, which hit Japan Airlines plane at Haneda airport. This live blog is closed
Roughly 400 people on board a Japan Airlines plane that is now on fire at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport have evacuated, Reuters reports citing NHK.
Here’s what we know about the situation at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport.
A Japan Airlines plane appears to have struck a Japan Coast Guard plane as it was coming in to land at Tokyo’s Haneda airport.
Japan Coast Guard said it was looking into whether its plane collided with the airline flight.
Footage shows a Japan Airlines plane on fire and surrounded by smoke on the ground, with crews around it trying to extinguish the flames.
It is not yet clear if the coastguard plane had anything to do with rescue efforts for the quake or whether there are casualties.
A spokesperson for the airline said the plane carries more than 300 passengers, Reuters reports. It is unclear where the passengers are at the moment.
Continue reading...Hundreds evacuated from burning passenger jet after collision with coastguard plane at Haneda airport
Five crew members on a coastguard plane were killed and 379 people forced to evacuate a burning Japan Airlines jet after a horrific collision on a runway at Haneda airport in Tokyo.
JAL flight 516, an Airbus A350, was engulfed in flames soon after landing as it struck the smaller coastguard aircraft waiting to deliver aid to the earthquake-hit Noto peninsula.
Continue reading...The quakes, the largest of which had a magnitude of 7.6, started a fire and collapsed buildings on the west coast of Japan’s main island, Honshu
Japan has dropped its highest-level tsunami alert after issuing one after a series of major earthquakes on Monday but told residents of coastal areas not to return to their homes as deadly waves could still come.
The quakes, the largest of which had a magnitude of 7.6, started a fire and collapsed buildings on the west coast of Japan’s main island, Honshu. It was unclear how many people might have been killed or hurt.
Continue reading...Major tsunami warnings downgraded but residents in coastal areas told not to return to homes
A powerful earthquake has struck central Japan’s western coastline, triggering waves over a metre high and prompting tsunami alerts and warnings for people to evacuate.
The quake, which is estimated to have been magnitude 7.6, struck the Noto peninsula in Ishikawa prefecture on the main central island of Honshu at about 4.10pm local time (07.10 GMT). It knocked out power to tens of thousands of homes and disrupted flights and rail services.
Continue reading...Buildings collapse, trapping residents, and fires break out but tsunami warning lowered after series of major earthquakes in Japan
The first reports of injuries are coming in from hospitals, including broken bones, but no fatalities have been confirmed so far.
Fires have broken out in what appear to be homes on the Noto peninsula.
Continue reading...Freight and logistics sector is turning to women to fill gap as demand for drivers grows alongside cap on overtime
When Mayumi Watanabe tells people what she does for a living, most struggle to hide their surprise, and not just because of her diminutive stature. As a truck driver with 23 years behind the wheel, she is one of a small but growing number of women coming to the rescue of an industry that is the beating heart of Japan’s economy.
“I can see they’re thinking, ‘How can such a tiny woman drive a big truck?’ ” Watanabe, who is 152cm (5ft) tall, told the Observer as she prepared for the busy run-up to the end of the year. “But I’ve always loved cars, so it felt natural to want to be a truck driver.”
Continue reading...Electronics firm taken private in £11bn deal by consortium led by Japan Industrial Partners
Toshiba, the Japanese company synonymous with the country’s 20th-century dominance of electronics, has delisted from the Tokyo stock exchange after 74 years.
The manufacturer, associated in the UK with its 1980s “Ello Tosh, gotta Toshiba” advertising campaign, was taken private on Wednesday in an £11bn deal by a consortium of investors led by the private equity investor Japan Industrial Partners (JIP).
Continue reading...Four ministers resign amid reports that prosecutors were poised to raid offices of dozens of ruling party MPs
Japan’s prime minister, Fumio Kishida, is battling to contain the fallout from a political fundraising scandal that forced the resignations of four of his ministers, amid reports that prosecutors were poised to raid the offices of dozens of ruling party MPs.
The chief cabinet secretary, Hirokazu Matsuno, confirmed that he was stepping down, while the economy and industry minister, Yasutoshi Nishimura, the internal affairs minister, Junji Suzuki, and the agriculture minister, Ichiro Miyashita, have also resigned.
Continue reading...The sardines and mackerel were found floating on the surface of the sea near the fishing port of Hakodate in Hokkaido
Officials in Japan have admitted they are struggling to determine why hundreds of tonnes of fish have washed ashore in recent days.
Earlier this month, an estimated 1,200 tonnes of sardines and mackerel were found floating on the surface of the sea off the fishing port of Hakodate in Hokkaido, forming a silver blanket stretching for more than a kilometre.
Continue reading...Competition winner reflects growing anxiety about tax rises, while second place for word of the year went to ‘hot’ after a sweltering summer
The kanji character for “tax” has been chosen as Japan’s word of the year, in a reflection of growing public anxiety over the cost of living and impending tax rises.
The single character – which can be read as zei or mitsugi – was unveiled this week at Kiyomizu Buddhist temple in Kyoto, whose head priest, Seihan Mori, reproduced it with a huge brush on a white washi paper canvas.
Continue reading...Victory for former self-defence forces member after fight for justice that challenged taboos in male-dominated society
A court in Japan has found three former male soldiers guilty of sexually assaulting a female colleague, in what is being seen as a rare victory for survivors and a challenge to taboos surrounding abuse.
The Fukushima district court sentenced Shutaro Shibuya, Akito Sekine and Yusuke Kimezawa to two years in prison, suspended for four years, for “forced indecency” against Rina Gonoi during a military drill in 2021.
Continue reading...Dozens of the animals died after they were treated with anti-parasitic medicine
A Japanese zoo has launched an investigation after apparently killing 31 of its 40 squirrels by mistake with treatments meant to kill parasites, officials said.
Keepers at the Inokashira Park Zoo in Tokyo treated the animals with anti-parasitic medicine on 4 December as part of a sanitary precaution, while also spraying insecticide over their nest boxes.
Continue reading...The Japanese director’s animation beats The Hunger Games prequel and Godzilla Minus One on its opening weekend in the US and Canada
The Boy and the Heron, reportedly the final film from Japanese master animator Hayao Miyazaki, has taken the number one spot at the box office on its North American release, as well as achieving record figures for the director.
Preliminary box office returns report that The Boy and the Heron took $12.8m in the US and Canada on its opening weekend, putting it a significant distance ahead of The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, which managed $9.4m. In third place was another Japanese film, the monster movie Godzilla Minus One, on $8.3m.
Continue reading...Shinji Aoba has admitted starting fire but has pleaded not guilty, saying a psychological disorder makes him incapable of distinguishing between right and wrong
Prosecutors in Japan are seeking the death penalty for the suspect in an arson attack in 2019 that killed 36 people in one of the country’s deadliest crimes for decades.
Shinji Aoba, who was not arrested until he had recovered from the burns he sustained in the attack on an animation studio in Kyoto, admitted in court in September 2023 to starting the fire.
Continue reading...Internet references conflating the two films drew anger in Japan, which was twice attacked by nuclear weapons during the second world war
Audiences in Japan will finally get to see Oppenheimer – Christopher Nolan’s hit biopic about the creator of the nuclear bomb – following criticism that it was marketed in a way that trivialised the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The movie’s distributor in Japan, Bitters End, said on Thursday that the film, which examines L. Robert Oppenheimer’s moral quandary over his key role in the world’s first nuclear attack on 6 August 1945, would be released in 2024.
Continue reading...Atsushi Ozawa accused of using car to kill common pigeon, which vets said died of traumatic shock
To some, they are another species of feathered friend; to others, they are rats with wings whose droppings deface historic buildings.
But in Japan, pigeons may have become the victims of crime, after police arrested a Tokyo taxi driver on suspicion of deliberately driving into a flock of the birds, killing one of them.
Continue reading...Diplomats for Climate group says if government wants to use that defence ‘it needs to be the dealer who takes their clients to rehab and supports them off their habit’
The Albanese government should do more to leverage its relationship with Japan – arguably the world’s most important energy partnership – to help its trading partner move away from gas and towards a rapid and ambitious decarbonisation, former diplomats say.
Diplomats for Climate, an organisation supported by more than 100 former Australian officials, says “the future of gas lies in the ground”, but that a ban on new fossil fuel developments – the focus of a growing community campaign backed by scientific evidence – would not cut global emissions unless international demand was reduced.
Continue reading...Aircraft crashed last week off south-western Japan carrying eight American personnel on training mission
US and Japanese divers have discovered wreckage and remains of five crew members from a US air force Osprey aircraft that crashed last week off south-western Japan, the air force announced on Monday.
The CV-22 Osprey carrying eight American personnel crashed last Wednesday off Yakushima island during a training mission. The body of one victim was recovered and identified earlier.
Continue reading...Six people have been killed and more than 200 injured since April, with warnings of more to come during winter
The number of people injured or killed in bear attacks in Japan this year exceeded 200 for the first time, as experts warned of more encounters during the winter, when the animals are supposed to hibernate.
The environment ministry said 212 people were attacked in the eight months from April, including 30 in November alone, according to the public broadcaster NHK.
Continue reading...