Japan

A huge forest fire is raging through Ofunato in northeastern coastal Japan, burning thousands of acres of land, homes destroyed, and evacuees forced. Firefighters and emergency personnel are working around the clock to bring the fire under control. Fire Spreads Over Thousands of Acres According to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency, the fire broke out Wednesday and has since …

Research firm Teikoku Databank recently highlighted that the prices for more than 2,000 food and drink products are set to increase during March. By category, 1,381 processed foods such as frozen items are likely to see the biggest hikes. Companies stress that the price rises are due to the higher cost of imported ingredients and the state of the currency. …

The number of childbirths in Japan has fallen again, underscoring the deepening challenge of shouldering increasing social security costs for an aging population as the number of taxpayers reduces. This is a concerning situation for the country. The number of infants in 2024 fell 5% from the year before to 720,988, extending a nine-year streak of declines, according to preliminary …

On Thursday Japan’s Iwate region in Ofunato city observed a major wildfire that burned 80 buildings and compelled authorities to send nearly 600 people from their homes. Because of strong wind gusts the forest fire traveled quickly across the area and burned most of the homes to ash. NHK broadcast aerial images showing homes burned in Ofunato Japan while only …

Climate change is becoming a bigger global problem each day. This largely anthropogenic crisis is increasing temperatures in different countries and triggering natural disasters such as storms and floods of much higher frequencies. There is trouble on the horizon in Hokkaido as poor fishing conditions triggered by global heating are endangering Japan’s prized salmon. The prolonged decline in salmon numbers …

Japan’s male police cadets are learning makeup skills. This change has sparked discussions on social media, luring mixed reactions. Some users are making humorous remarks, but others are supporting the idea. Traditionally, police academies across Japan focus on physical and legal training. But the latest introduction of training for makeup, skincare and grooming is seen as an effort to promote …

The educational institutions Green Field School based in Dehradun established a significant international partnership which links them to Jiyugaoka Gakuen High School located in Tokyo Japan for educational collaboration. The 2nd Virtual Student Interaction Programme held on 19 February serves to develop “Global Citizens” under this student partnership. Dr. Tomoko Imai at Jiyugaoka Gakuen High School believes the initiative holds …

Only around 1 in 6 Japanese citizens hold valid passports, according to the latest data. There’re 21.6 million passports in circulation as of December 2024, representing around 17.5% of the country’s population, the Foreign Ministry said on Thursday. The number of Japanese citizens travelling abroad has picked up pace but is still much less than the numbers seen before the …

Samsung decides to introduce its Galaxy S25 phones to Japan ahead of their worldwide debut. Traditionally Samsung’s new phone releases waited three months in Japan but this launch took place on February 14 after global marketing. Since 2015 Samsung Phones dropped their previous brand name Galaxy for their new phones and returned to using their complete company name “Samsung“. SoftBank …

Tomoya Yanagimoto, 28, has been sentenced to life in prison for sexually assaulting 10 elementary school girls in the period from 2016 to 2022. Presiding Judge Hiroki Ito noted that the “mental and physical anguish of the girls is unimaginable.” The Osaka District Court ruled that the man – a former hospital personnel – sexually assaulted the girls under the …