Police in Japan have charged a man 10 months after he allegedly set fire to an animation studio in Kyoto, killing 36 people. Shinji Aoba, 42, had been in hospital since the arson attack in July 2019. He was so badly burned that police had been unable to question him until now. Dozens more people […]
Japan PM Shinzo Abe today lifted the state of emergency in the country which was imposed to combat the coronavirus pandemic after decline in the number of cases. “Today we will lift the state of emergency nationwide,” the Japan PM said adding, “we had very stringent criteria for lifting the state of emergency. We have […]
Hana Kimura, a professional Japanese wrestler who appeared in the latest series of Netflix’s reality show Terrace House, has died at the age of 22. Stardom Wrestling, Kimura’s organisation, confirmed the news and asked fans to be respectful. The cause of death was not immediately clear. Shortly before she died, she issued a series of […]
Tennis sensation Naomi Osaka has become the highest paid female athlete in history after earning $37.4 million over the last year, according to Forbes. The 22-year-old amassed her staggering pre-tax total through a combination of prize money and endorsements, raking in $1.4 million more than Serena Williams over the last 12 months. Williams, a 23-time […]
As Japan’s restaurants and bars slowly open up from a coronavirus lockdown, many are looking to reassure the public that dining out is safe again and one Japanese-style izakaya pub thinks it has found the perfect solution. The pub in Tokyo’s normally-bustling Shinjuku district has installed a machine that sprays customers with hypochlorous acid water […]
Animal parks in Tokyo have reopened as a “drive-though” attraction, allowing local residents to take in the scenery and wildlife from the safety of their cars. Mother Farm, located 70 km south of central Tokyo, suspended its operations in early April after the Japanese government declared a state of emergency. Now they have opened their doors […]
Japan has fallen into recession for the first time since 2015 as the financial toll of the coronavirus continues to escalate. The world’s third biggest economy shrank at an annual pace of 3.4% in the first three months of 2020. The coronavirus is wreaking havoc on the global economy with an estimated cost of up […]
SoftBank Group Corp said on Monday that Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma will resign from its board, in the latest departure by a high-profile ally of CEO Masayoshi Son. The departure of Ma, who retired as Alibaba’s executive chairman in September, comes as he pulls back from formal business roles to focus on philanthropy. SoftBank will […]
More than 90 percent of hospital beds secured for COVID-19 patients in Tokyo have already been occupied, the Japanese Health Ministry said on Sunday, underscoring the pressing need to curb the further spread of the new coronavirus. The ministry said 1,832 COVID-19 patients were hospitalised in the capital as of April 28, or 91.6 percent […]
A Japanese aquarium asks people to video call eels under lockdown after a lack of people interaction is posing a problem for animals in captivity. The Sumida Aquarium, which is housed in the Tokyo Skytree tower, noticed that its hundreds of tiny spotted garden eels have started acting oddly, such as burrowing into the sand […]
Flower lovers in Japan will have to wait until next year to tip-toe through the tulips after a park razed more than 100,000 stems to comply with social-distancing rules to help control the coronavirus. Officials in the city of Sakura, 50 km east of Tokyo, mowed the tulip beds at “Sakura Furusato Hiroba” and cancelled […]
Japan has decided to offer 100,000 yen ($930) as a cash payment to every resident. The announcement was made by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as a measure to contain the accelerated coronavirus cases which has been affecting the world’s third-largest economy. In a televised news conference Shinzo Abe said: “We are moving quickly to […]
