Teenage Prince Hisahito’s elaborate ceremony overshadowed by questions over royal family’s male-only succession rules
Japan has heralded the coming of age of Prince Hisahito with an elaborate ceremony at the Imperial Palace, where a succession crisis is brewing.
The nephew of Emperor Naruhito, Hisahito received a black silk and lacquer crown at Saturday’s ceremony in Tokyo, which marks the beginning of his royal adult life.
Continue reading...Kokichi Akuzawa climbed with 70-year-old daughter to break record for oldest person to make ascent – a second time
Kokichi Akuzawa has become the oldest person to climb to the top of Mount Fuji at the age of 102 – despite almost giving up during his trek.
“I was really tempted to give up halfway through,” Akuzawa said. “Reaching the summit was tough, but my friends encouraged me, and it turned out well. I managed to get through it because so many people supported me.”
Continue reading...Takeshi Niinami bought supplements in the belief that they were legal, says Jim Beam and Laphroaig owner
Takeshi Niinami, one of Japan’s best-known business leaders, has resigned as chief executive of the drinks company Suntory after police raided his home as part of an investigation into suspected illegal supplements.
His resignation from the owner of the Jim Beam whisky brand has sent shockwaves through Japan’s corporate world, with Suntory executives attempting to reassure investors and consumers at a hastily arranged news conference.
Continue reading...Draft ordinance in Toyoake has triggered a backlash from locals, with some calling it an attack on individual freedom
A town in Japan is to urge all residents to restrict their smartphone use to two hours a day in an attempt to tackle online addiction and sleep deprivation.
Officials in Toyoake, Aichi prefecture, said the measure would target not only children but also adults, amid growing concern about the physical and psychological toll excessive smartphone use is taking on people of all ages.
Continue reading...Cities in Japan have received thousands of complaints amid confusion over scheme that was intended to foster closer ties
An attempt to promote friendship between Japan and countries in Africa has transformed into a xenophobic row about migration after inaccurate media reports suggested the scheme would lead to a “flood of immigrants”.
The controversy erupted after the Japan International Cooperation Agency, or JICA, said this month it had designated four Japanese cities as “Africa hometowns” for partner countries in Africa: Mozambique, Nigeria, Ghana and Tanzania.
Continue reading...Flash of light visible for hundreds of miles was an exceptionally bright meteor, say experts
A huge fireball dashed across the skies of western Japan, shocking residents and dazzling stargazers, though experts said it was a natural phenomenon and not an alien invasion.
Videos and photos emerged online of the extremely bright ball of light visible for hundreds of miles shortly after 11.00pm local time (1400 BST) on Tuesday.
Continue reading...Koryo high pulled out of the popular competition after an outcry over reports that some of its members had bullied a junior player
One of Japan’s most popular sports tournaments is reeling after the sudden withdrawal of a team whose teenage players have been accused of abusing a younger teammate.
Koryo high school, which had been representing Hiroshima prefecture in the summer high school baseball championships, announced on Sunday it would no longer take part.
Continue reading...Mayor of Japanese city used the anniversary of US bombing to urge the world to stop armed conflicts, warning nuclear war was ‘looming’ over everyone
Twin cathedral bells rang in unison in Nagasaki for the first time in 80 years on Saturday, commemorating the moment the city was destroyed by an American atomic bomb.
The two bells rang out at Immaculate Conception cathedral, also called the Urakami cathedral, at 11.02am, the moment the bomb was dropped on 9 August 1945, three days after a nuclear attack on Hiroshima.
Continue reading...On 80th anniversary of atomic bombing, Kazumi Matsui urges younger people to recognise ‘inhumane’ consequences of nuclear weapons as a deterrent
The mayor of Hiroshima has led calls for the world’s most powerful countries to abandon nuclear deterrence, at a ceremony to mark 80 years since the city was destroyed by an American atomic bomb.
As residents, survivors and representatives from 120 countries gathered at the city’s peace memorial park on Wednesday morning, Kazumi Matsui warned that the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East had contributed to a growing acceptance of nuclear weapons.
Continue reading...In today’s newsletter: Years of preparation and global coordination ensured communities from Japan to Hawaii were not caught off guard
Good morning. Yesterday one of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded hit a sparsely populated region in far east Russia.
It triggered a tsunami that started crossing the ocean at hundreds of miles an hour. What followed was a race against time – early warning systems went into alert mode as waves fanned out towards the coastlines of Japan, Hawaii and the US west coast.
Travel | The head of the UK’s air traffic control company is facing calls to resign after hundreds of flights were delayed when the system went down for about 20 minutes on Wednesday.
Israel-Gaza war | A British-Israeli woman who was held hostage by Hamas for more than 15 months has accused Keir Starmer of “moral failure” after he set the UK on course to recognise a Palestinian state. Emily Damari, 29, who was released in January, said the prime minister was “not standing on the right side of history” and should be ashamed.
UK news | The co-founder of Palestine Action can bring a legal challenge to the home secretary’s decision to ban the direct action group under anti-terrorism laws, a high court judge has ruled.
Environment | Ethnic minorities and people living in the most deprived areas of England are at increased risk of dying due to excess heat, according to new research.
Technology | Five million extra online age checks a day are being carried out in the UK since the Online Safety Act introduced age-gating for pornography sites, according to new data from the Age Verification Providers Association.
Continue reading...The public-spirited sport of spogomi is catching on across Britain, which boasts its world champion team
Armed with gloves, metal tongs and plastic rubbish sacks, hordes of determined litter-pickers will descend on Hackney Marshes in east London this weekend.
Spogomi, a Japanese litter-picking sport, has come to the UK. Invented in 2008, it was intended as a competition to encourage people to clean up public spaces. It is now played in schools across the country as people gamify collecting rubbish.
Continue reading...Analysts say the Japanese are suffering a crisis of confidence that is feeding xenophobia amid economic insecurity and a record number of foreign residents
The emergence of a rightwing populist party in Japan’s upper house election on Sunday running on a Trump-style “Japanese First” slogan has raised concerns of a backlash against the growing foreign presence in the country.
The party, Sanseito, has successfully tapped into unease around an expanding immigrant population and a huge influx of tourists after the pandemic. But many see the underlying cause as economic insecurity among a population that both understands the need for overseas labour and visitors, and feels anxiety at the changes they bring and symbolise.
Continue reading...Tokyo’s failure to secure a US deal sooner had caused political unease and economic uncertainty in Japan
Donald Trump has announced a trade deal with Japan, potentially resolving weeks of fraught negotiations between the two allies which had caused economic uncertainty in Tokyo and mounting speculation about the future of the prime minister, Shigeru Ishiba.
“We just completed a massive deal with Japan,” the US president announced in a post online, adding: “Japan will invest, at my direction, $550 billion dollars into the United States.”
Continue reading...Ballot heaps pressure on Shigeru Ishiba’s minority government just as it attempts to negotiate deal to avert Trump tariffs
Japanese prime minister Shigeru Ishiba’s future was unclear on Monday after his coalition lost its upper house majority in elections that saw strong gains by a rightwing populist party.
While the ballot does not directly determine whether Ishiba’s minority government falls, it heaps pressure on the embattled leader, who also lost control of the more powerful lower house in October and who has never been popular within his own party.
Continue reading...Search for missing man comes after series of attacks across Japan this month in which at least two people have died
Authorities in Japan are searching for a hunter who went missing on a mountain in Hokkaido near where a brown bear was recently spotted, amid a spate of deadly attacks by the animals that has triggered the declaration of a bear emergency in one town.
The hunter was reported missing by a friend on Mt Esan on Tuesday afternoon in the northern island of Hokkaido after he failed to return home. A rifle believed to belong to the missing man was found on the side of a mountain road, and bloodstains were discovered nearby. A large brown bear was seen near the road on Saturday.
Continue reading...Rosario in Sante Fe likely be to 10C above normal, as Japan braces for Tropical Storm Nari
An unseasonably mild start to the week is expected in northern and central parts of Argentina, where it is winter. A plume of warm air will sink southwards from neighbouring Paraguay on Monday, lingering through Tuesday, before giving way to a cold front on Wednesday.
The maximum daytime temperatures on Monday and Tuesday will be up to 5C (9F) higher than normal in these regions, while Buenos Aires is forecast to be about 7C above average on Tuesday.
Continue reading...No major damage has been reported in the Tokara island chain, Japan’s meteorological agency says
More than 900 earthquakes have shaken a remote island chain in southern Japan in the past two weeks, according to the country’s weather agency, leaving residents unable to sleep and fearful of what might come next.
Although no major damage has been reported, the Japan Meteorological Agency has acknowledged that it does not know when the quakes would end.
Continue reading...The execution of Takahiro Shiraishi would be the first instance of capital punishment in Japan since 2022
Japan has executed a man dubbed the “Twitter killer” who murdered and dismembered nine people he met online, in the nation’s first enactment of the death penalty since 2022.
Takahiro Shiraishi was sentenced to death for murdering and dismembering nine people he met on the social media platform, now called X, in 2017. He was hanged on Friday.
In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counsellor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org
Continue reading...A dozen flights cancelled at Yamagata airport as attempts to chase furry trespasser away continue
Authorities at a Japanese airport are locked in a “stalemate” with a black bear which has been roaming the runway despite attempts to chase it off, forcing air traffic controllers to cancel a dozen flights.
The bear first appeared at northern Yamagata airport in the early hours of Thursday, and officials immediately shut operations down, causing delays.
Continue reading...Nicholas Tarasenko, 15, gets rare chance to break into professional sumo ranks after winning amateur tournaments and learning Japanese
A teenager from Hull has arrived in Japan to pursue his dream of becoming a grand champion sumo wrestler, as only the second Briton to win a place at one of the ancient sport’s professional stables.
Nicholas Tarasenko, 15, left Yorkshire for Japan straight after finishing his GCSEs, to become the first British hopeful to join a stable since Nathan Strange – a Londoner who fought under the ring name Hidenokuni – in 1989.
Continue reading...