Researchers find no such link for women, suggesting connection between diet and bowel cancer is clearer for men
Eating a plant-based diet rich in vegetables, whole grains, nuts and legumes can reduce the risk of bowel cancer in men by more than a fifth, according to research.
A large study that involved 79,952 US-based men found that those who ate the largest amounts of healthy plant-based foods had a 22% lower risk of bowel cancer compared with those who ate the least.
Continue reading...Fans believe the Samurai Blue are part of wave of teams changing the face of football after defeat of Germany
After Japan’s stunning victory over Germany in their opening match of the Qatar World Cup, fans of the Samurai Blue are daring to dream their team could reach the quarter-finals for the first time.
Their remarkable comeback last week has electrified Japan, where hardcore and casual fans alike stayed up until midnight to watch their victory over the four-time world champions.
Continue reading...Victory in World Cup opener sparks street celebrations and banishes painful memories in Doha of failure to qualify for USA 1994
Japan’s shock victory over Germany in Qatar on Wednesday sparked late-night celebrations and calls to mark the Samurai Blue’s momentous feat in their 2022 World Cup opener with a public holiday.
The clock was nearing midnight when Takuma Asano rifled Japan’s winner into the roof of the net at Khalifa International Stadium in Doha – a result that had seemed impossible after a poor first half from Japan, playing in their seventh straight World Cup.
Continue reading...After two years of eating in silence, survey by mother finds 90% of schoolchildren want to converse again
Most children in Japan long for a return to the days when they could chat to their classmates over lunch – a pleasure they have been denied during the coronavirus pandemic.
After well over two years of eating in near silence to prevent the spread of the airborne virus, schoolchildren say they want their classrooms to reverberate to more than the sound of cutlery and crockery at lunchtime.
Continue reading...Investigation will focus on church’s finance and organisation amid public dismay at extent of its links to ruling party
Japan’s government has launched an investigation into the Unification church, five months after the former prime minister Shinzo Abe was shot dead, allegedly by a man with a longstanding grudge against the group.
The probe, announced on Tuesday, will focus on the church’s finances and organisation, and could see it stripped of its legal status, media reports said.
Continue reading...Former deputy chief whip Anne Milton tells Channel 4 Williamson used ‘leverage’ and threats against MPs
Sima Kotecha, Newsnight’s UK editor, has spoken to Tory MPs who are not surprised about the allegations about Sir Gavin Williamson being a bully.
Ian Murray, the shadow Scottish secretary, has said that if Alistair Jack, the Scottish secretary, was confident about defending his record at an election, he would not be getting ready to accept a peerage. Referring to today’s Times story (see 10.55am), Murray said:
We cannot comment on speculation about peerages. Alister Jack is absolutely committed to representing his constituents and working with the prime minister to continue to deliver for people in Scotland.
Continue reading...Scientists have long sought to farm the scarce seafood staple, but critics say animals are not suited to intensive methods
Scientists in Japan say they have developed a groundbreaking method of farming squid that could solve shortages of the seafood staple, amid warnings from environmental groups that aquaculture is incompatible with the animal’s welfare.
Researchers at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) say their system produced a reliable supply of squid and has the potential to be commercialised.
Continue reading...Ghibli Park, which opened this week, offers an immersive glimpse into the worlds created by the likes of Hayao Miyazaki, but don’t expect any rollercoaster rides
Fans of Studio Ghibli have begun flocking to a new theme park based on films made by the beloved anime hit factory that opened in Japan this week.
Set in a little over seven hectares of green parkland in Aichi prefecture, about 250km west of Tokyo, Ghibli Park has no rollercoasters or other rides. Its aim, instead, is to immerse visitors in the worlds created by the studio’s co-founder and director, Hayao Miyazaki.
Continue reading...Intercontinental ballistic missile is believed to have suffered in-flight malfunction, says Seoul, as Japan PM criticises ‘outrageous’ launch
North Korea’s launch of a suspected new type of intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) may have been a failure, military chiefs in South Korea have said. The missile was one of three fired on Thursday morning.
The ICBM was fired from the suburbs of Pyongyang but then appeared to have failed during normal flight after the separation of the propellant and warhead sections, defence sources told multiple South Korean media outlets.
Continue reading...Partnership certificates allow same-sex couples to be treated as married couples in areas like housing, health and welfare
Tokyo’s metropolitan government began issuing partnership certificates to same-sex couples who live and work in the capital on Tuesday, a move that’s been long-awaited in a country that still does not allow equal marriage.
The status does not carry the same rights as marriage, but allows LGBTQ partners to be treated as married couples for some public services in areas such as housing, health and welfare.
Continue reading...Global heating is warming waters, changing salmon and tuna migration – and hurting fisheries
There is little at Shiogama seafood market to suggest that Japanese consumers could one day be deprived of their favourite seafood – from giant crab’s legs simmering in a winter nabe hotpot to spheres of salmon roe resting on a bed of rice wrapped in nori seaweed.
Stalls heave with huge sides of bluefin tuna, expertly transformed into more manageable portions by knife-wielding workers, while early-morning shoppers pause to inspect boxes of squid, flounder and sea pineapples landed only hours earlier.
Continue reading...Purchase likely to prove controversial, as Tokyo seeks to counter growing regional threats
Japan is looking into buying US-developed Tomahawk cruise missiles as it seeks to counter growing regional threats, including from North Korea, the government has said.
Any purchase would probably prove to be controversial, in a nation whose military is not officially recognised under its post-second world war constitution.
Continue reading...YouGov survey finds people in Australia more likely to favour sending troops than people in Japan and US
Almost half of Australians believe the country should send troops to help defend Taiwan against China if required, a much higher percentage of the population than in the US or Japan, a new survey suggests.
About a third of the public in the US and Japan agreed with sending military forces to respond to such a crisis, according to polling commissioned by the US Studies Centre at the University of Sydney.
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Continue reading...The updated security agreement aimed at sending a message to China will see Japanese troops train with their Australian counterparts
Japan and Australia will boost their security and energy ties as the prime ministers of both countries spruik the need for peace in the Indo-Pacific.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, and his Japanese counterpart, Fumio Kishida, met in Perth on Saturday at an annual Australia-Japan leaders’ meeting.
Continue reading...Funding will help tackle poverty and shore up security in the region and make Australia ‘more influential in the world’, Penny Wong says
The Albanese government will increase aid to Pacific countries by $900m as it declares next week’s budget will deliver the biggest rise in Australia’s official development assistance in more than a decade.
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, will announce the extra funding during a speech in French Polynesia on Friday, arguing the budget will be “a major step toward the goal of making Australia stronger and more influential in the world”.
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Continue reading...In interview with Guardian Australia, Shingo Yamagami also hints Australia is likely to be invited to G7 summit in Hiroshima
Japan and Australia will share intelligence assessments about China’s military buildup and intentions under a security deal to be signed by the two prime ministers this weekend.
Japan’s ambassador, Shingo Yamagami, also hinted that Australia was likely to be invited to the G7 summit in Hiroshima next year, saying its participation would be a “natural” step at a time of worsening tensions in the region.
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Continue reading...Worker mistakenly accelerated while the car was in reverse, crashing into the building’s roughly 500-year old wooden door
Japan’s oldest existing toilet, dating back hundreds of years, has been damaged after it was accidentally rammed by a car driven by an employee of an organisation that preserves cultural relics.
The 30-year-old man, who works for the Kyoto Heritage Preservation Association, damaged the communal toilet, located inside Tofukuji temple in Kyoto, after he mistakenly accelerated while the vehicle was in reverse, crashing into the building’s wooden door, according to media reports.
Continue reading...In Kyoto, local shop owners are ready to welcome back tourists but there is a way to go before a return to pre-Covid days
After more than two years of near-total isolation, Japan has reopened its borders to overseas visitors – but the road back to the pre-Covid tourism boom could be long and bumpy.
Last week, the country lifted some of the strictest pandemic border controls in the world when it removed a 50,000 daily cap on arrivals, reinstated waivers for short-term visas and dropped a rule requiring tourists to visit as part of group tours.
Continue reading...Move marks a reversal for Fumio Kishida who was reluctant to scrutinise Moonies’ connections with his own lawmakers
Japan’s prime minister, Fumio Kishida, has ordered an investigation into the Unification church as he attempts to revive his political fortunes amid a scandal linking his party to the religious group.
Kishida had initially been reluctant to increase scrutiny of the church – whose members are colloquially known as Moonies – but on Monday his education minister, Keiko Nagaoka, said the probe would begin “immediately”. Depending on the outcome, the church could lose its tax-exempt status, media reports said.
Continue reading...Japan removes strict Covid-19 travel curbs, fuelling hopes a tourist boom will reinvigorate the economy
Japan has fully opened its doors to visitors after more than two years of pandemic isolation.
On Tuesday, the country reinstated visa-free travel to dozens of countries, ending some of world’s strictest Covid-19 border controls. Japan has also lifted the 50,000-person entry cap and ended the requirement for tourists to travel as part of tour groups, Kyodo news agency reported.
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