Japan

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Olympic Athletes to Receive 160K Condoms. There's One Problem

Games organizers forbid sex in Olympic Village amid pandemic, tell athletes to bring condoms home

(Newser) - If Olympic athletes preparing to descend on Tokyo for the delayed 2020 Games were thinking of getting some side action while they're there (i.e., having sex), they'll have to rethink those plans. Per the Guardian , the International Olympic Committee has laid down the law for those staying...

Bear Injures 4 in Japan Rampage
Bear Injures 4 in
Japan Rampage
Jun 18, 2021 7:12 AM CDT

Bear Injures 4 in Japan Rampage

Brown bear, later killed, ventured into military base, airport in Sapporo

(Newser) - A brown bear invaded one of Japan's largest cities Friday, storming through a military base and airport, before it was shot and killed. Four people were injured by the bear, which was spotted running through residential neighborhoods and scaling fences in Sapporo on the northern island of Hokkaido. "...

After 73 Years, Fate of Tojo's Remains Revealed

US aircraft scattered WWII Japanese leader's remains over ocean

(Newser) - Until recently, the location of executed wartime Japanese Prime Minister Hideki Tojo's remains was one of World War II's biggest mysteries in the nation he once led. Now, a Japanese university professor has revealed declassified US military documents that appear to hold the answer. The documents show the...

This Is the Most Livable City in the World

Auckland, NZ, takes top spot in Economist's rankings, though Kiwis give honor the side-eye

(Newser) - The pandemic has caused a major upset on the Economist Intelligence Unit's annual list of the most livable cities on the planet. Thanks to their relative isolation from the rest of the world, the island nations of New Zealand, Australia, and Japan all had strong showings in the top...

Olympics Chief: Let the Games Go on

'Biggest challenge will be how we can control and manage the flow of people'

(Newser) - Are the Tokyo Olympics happening? Amid Japan's fourth wave of coronavirus cases and growing public resistance, a major newspaper has said the Games should be called off . Per Kyodo News , the country's top coronavirus adviser Shigeru Omi said Wednesday that the Games, if held, should be scaled down...

Driver in Trouble After Bullet Train Arrives 1 Minute Late

He admitted abandoning cab for unauthorized bathroom break

(Newser) - A driver on one of Japan's famously punctual bullet trains took an unauthorized bathroom break, leaving a conductor alone in the cab—and if the train had been on time, he might have gotten away with it. But the bullet train ended up a minute behind schedule, prompting an...

As Olympics Loom, Japan Expands State of Emergency

IOC Chairman Thomas Bach's trip has been canceled

(Newser) - Japan is set to further expand a coronavirus state of emergency , currently in Tokyo and five other prefectures, to nine areas as the government is determined to hold the Olympics in just over two months. Japan, where less than 2% of the public has been fully vaccinated, has been struggling...

An Olympic Visit Illustrates COVID Tensions in Japan

IOC president's planned visit to Tokyo is likely to be canceled because of lockdown

(Newser) - The International Olympic Committee president is supposed to attend a torch relay ceremony in Japan in days, though the visit is looking less and less likely because of COVID. Broadcaster NHK reported Friday that Thomas Bach's visit was likely to be canceled, reports Reuters , the latest development in growing...

Surviving WWII Sex Slave 'Dumbfounded' by Ruling

S. Korean judge rejects earlier ruling on compensation for 'comfort women'

(Newser) - In January, Amnesty International praised a South Korean court ruling as the first time Japan had been held accountable by a court for forcing hundreds of thousands of women and girls into sexual slavery during World War II. There was shock and dismay Wednesday as another judge in the same...

Clock Stopped by Earthquake a Decade Ago Restarts

After another earthquake in Japan

(Newser) - A clock that stopped working after the catastrophic 2011 earthquake in Japan has resumed ticking a decade later—after another strong earthquake. The BBC reports that the century-old, spring-driven clock in a Buddhist temple stopped keeping time when the temple was damaged by the quake and ensuing tsunami. The temple'...

Japan Ready to Dump Wall of Fukushima Water

China says move 'will pose serious harm' to people outside Japan

(Newser) - Japan has confirmed that more than 1.25 million tons of treated wastewater from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant will be dumped in the Pacific Ocean . The radioactive water pumped through three damaged reactor cores to keep them from melting will be gradually released beginning in two years, according...

Transplant From Husband, Son Saves Life of COVID Patient

Infection destroyed Japanese woman's lung function

(Newser) - Surgeons in Japan say they have carried out a first-of-its-kind operation that will give hope to coronavirus patients with severe lung damage. In the world's first transplant of lung tissue from living donors to a COVID patient, a woman who had spent months on a life support machine received...

Online Bully's Fine in Netflix Star's Suicide: $80

'When will you die?' he asked Hana Kimura

(Newser) - A Japanese man has been fined $80 over online abuse directed at a reality star who later took her own life. Pro-wrestler Hana Kimura committed suicide last May after suffering social media abuse related to her appearance on Netflix's Terrace House, a reality show following six young people who...

Earliest Ever Cherry Blossoms Come With a Warning

Trends in Japan, Washington, DC, show impact from climate change

(Newser) - Japan's cherry blossoms have hit their earliest peak in more than 1,200 years, in a rather gorgeous sign of a devastating problem: ongoing climate change. Emperors, monks, and governors have kept records on cherry blooms since the 8th century, making it "incredibly valuable for climate change research,...

After Long Delay, More Bad News for Olympics Fans

Spectators from overseas have been banned from the summer event in Tokyo

(Newser) - Spectators from abroad will be barred from the Tokyo Olympics this summer. The decision was announced after a meeting of the International Olympic Committee, the Japanese government, the Tokyo government, the International Paralympic Committee, and local organizers, reports the AP . Officials say the risk was too great to admit fans...

Tokyo Olympics Official Resigns Over Cringey 'Olympig' Idea

Creative director Hiroshi Sasaki quits after idea involving plus-sized comedian Naomi Watanabe

(Newser) - Japan just may have an Olympic-sized problem with its "old men's club." One month after the 83-year-old head of the Tokyo Olympics organizing committee stepped down for sexist comments, another top Olympics official is quitting in the wake of his own eyebrow-raising remarks. This time, per the...

IOC Makes Surprise Vaccination Deal With China

But Japan says its athletes won't take China's vaccine

(Newser) - Japan will not take part in China's offer—accepted by the International Olympic Committee—to provide vaccines for participants in the postponed Tokyo Games and next year's Beijing Winter Games. Olympic Minister Tamayo Marukawa said Friday that Japan had not been consulted by the IOC about the Chinese...

Japan Marks 10th Anniversary of Triple Disaster

More than 18K died in earthquake, tsunami

(Newser) - Japan on Thursday marked the 10th anniversary of the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster that hit its northeastern region, where many survivors' lives are still on hold. Carrying bouquets, many walked to the coast or visited graves to pray for relatives and friends washed away by the tsunami, the AP...

Harvard Academic Claims 'Comfort Women' Chose to Be Sex Workers

J. Mark Ramseyer's article condemned by governments, historians

(Newser) - Historians agree that Japan forced many thousands of women into sexual slavery in World War II, euphemistically calling them "comfort women." Harvard law professor J. Mark Ramseyer, however, has caused an uproar by claiming that the women were actually sex workers who had chosen to work in military...

Want to Go on SpaceX Flight to the Moon? He's Paying

Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa launches contest for 8 to ride with him to lunar orbit in 2023

(Newser) - It's a Frank Sinatra song come to life, courtesy of a billionaire. In 2018, tycoon and art collector Yusaku Maezawa, founder of Japanese online fashion mall Zozotown, was announced as the first signed passenger aboard SpaceX's Starship rocket, set to fly to the moon sometime in 2023. At...

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