Japan

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Student Fails University Exam for Not Wearing Mask Properly

They were told 7 times to cover nose

(Newser) - A student who failed to wear their mask properly failed their university entrance exam in Japan. Authorities say the student, one of more than 535,000 who took the standardized exam at 681 locations across Japan Saturday, was disqualified because they didn't wear their mask over their nose and...

Court Orders Japan to Compensate WW2 Sex Slaves

Tokyo refuses to accept 'comfort women' ruling

(Newser) - A South Korean court has ordered Japan to pay compensation to a dozen women who were forced into sexual slavery by its military during World War II—but seven of them have died since the lawsuit was filed in 2013, and the survivors may not live to see the money....

Amid 'Dire Circumstances,' a New COVID Record

United States registers record number of deaths from virus, 2 days in a row

(Newser) - The United States saw its deadliest day of the pandemic on Wednesday, with 3,865 new COVID deaths registered, per Johns Hopkins stats—beating the previous record of 3,775 deaths, which had been registered only the day before, ABC News reports. In an additional two-day streak, the nation saw...

On the Horizon: a Satellite Made of Wood?

Japan hopes project will cut down on space debris

(Newser) - When satellites burn up in the atmosphere, they don't entirely disappear. Tiny pieces of aluminium remain, contributing to an increasing mass of space junk. According to Daniel Oltrogge, director at the Center for Space Standards and Innovation, there are an estimated 760,000 objects larger than a centimeter (0....

Japan Describes What It Got From That Asteroid

Chips that look like charcoal

(Newser) - They resemble small fragments of charcoal, but the soil samples collected from an asteroid and returned to Earth by a Japanese spacecraft were hardly disappointing. The samples Japanese space officials described Thursday are as big as 0.4 inches and rock hard, not breaking when picked up or poured into...

Snowstorm Traps 1K Drivers for 2 Days

(Newser) - The US Northeast isn't the only place digging out after a massive snowfall. In Japan, more than 1,000 people have been stranded on a highway, some of them for more than 40 hours, by a heavy snowstorm that began late Wednesday, CNN reports. Authorities say that at one...

&#39;Twitter Killer&#39; Hears His Fate
'Twitter Killer' Hears His Fate
Dec 15, 2020 6:40 AM CST

'Twitter Killer' Hears His Fate

Takahiro Shiraishi gets death after pleading guilty to murdering, dismembering 9 in Japan

(Newser) - The "Twitter Killer" of Japan has heard his fate, and he didn't react. Takahiro Shiraishi received the death penalty Tuesday after pleading guilty in September for the murder and dismemberment of nine people, and the judge who handed down the sentence had to ask if the "stone-faced"...

Boat Washed Away by Tsunami Drifted for Almost 10 Years

It ended up back in Japan, covered in coral

(Newser) - A fishing boat washed away in a tsunami has turned up 400 miles away almost a decade later. The small boat was pulled ashore after fishermen spotted it floating near Yaene port in Hachijo Island, south of Tokyo, NHK reports. A registration number confirmed that it belonged to a fishermen'...

She Accused Mayor of Sexual Assault, Got All the Punishment

Japanese councilwoman Shoko Arai says expulsion—her 2nd—is 'unjust'

(Newser) - The sole female councilor in Kusatsu, Japan, has been forced out of her seat after residents decided her sexual assault claim against the mayor had damaged the town's reputation. Now, officials worry the decision has put a black mark on the town on the international stage. Shoko Arai, 51,...

Japan Thrilled About 'Treasure Box' From Space

Capsule with material from asteroid was successfully dropped to Earth

(Newser) - China's mission to retrieve moon rocks isn't the only successful space feat in the news these days. A small capsule containing asteroid soil samples that was dropped from 136,700 miles in space by Japan's Hayabusa2 spacecraft landed as planned in the Australian Outback on Sunday, per...

He Was Taking Off on Suicide Mission When the War Ended

Kamikaze pilot Kazuo Odachi is telling his story

(Newser) - He's a 93-year-old former fighter pilot for Japan, but Kazuo Odachi has one more highly unusual entry on his military resume. He was a kamikaze pilot and thus not supposed to survive World War II. But as the New York Times explains, Odachi did indeed survive and has begun...

Nike Japan Ad Garners Praise and Outrage

The video explores racism and bullying in Japan

(Newser) - Another day, another controversy—this one brought to you by Nike Japan. A video posted on the company's Twitter feed shows three teenage girls of different backgrounds facing discrimination or bullying. One is Japanese, one Korean, and one has a Black father and Japanese mother. Each faces unique challenges...

Things Aren't Looking Great for Princess Mako's Wedding

She pushed the date off again, and her dad says the Japanese people aren't into it

(Newser) - It looks like Princess Mako's long-delayed wedding isn't imminent. The Japanese princess, who became engaged to Kei Komuro in 2017, had first planned to marry him a year later but that date was pushed off, with the couple saying the wedding would happen in 2020. In early November,...

In Japan, Many More Are Dying From Suicide Than COVID

Rate is up a shocking 80% among women

(Newser) - Japan has been spared the worst of the pandemic, but authorities are alarmed by a sharp rise in suicides this year, especially among women. Japan already had the highest suicide rate among G7 nations, with the US close behind, and October was the worst month for suicides in more than...

For Now, Olympics Are Still On. But First, a Test

18 spring test events will include some athletes, fans

(Newser) - The postponed Tokyo Olympics are getting a kick-start. Local organizers on Friday announced a series of 18 test events set to begin in March and run into May, before the Tokyo Olympics are set to open on July 23, 2021, reports the AP . The announcement in an online news conference...

Greenpeace: Fukushima Water Has a Lurking Danger

Group says it has an isotope that could damage human DNA, warns against ocean dump

(Newser) - Almost a decade after an earthquake triggered a tsunami that caused a meltdown at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, Japan is still grappling with the aftermath of the triple disaster—and with the question of what to do with more than a million metric tons of radioactive water. The government...

Fukushima Wastewater Destined for Pacific: Reports

Formal announcement is reportedly coming soon

(Newser) - Japan's government has decided to release some 1.3 million tons of contaminated water from the Fukushima power plant into the ocean as speculated . That's according to local media reports published Friday. Reuters reports a formal announcement will come later this month, though Japan's industry minister Hiroshi...

Japan's 'Twitter Killer' on Charges: 'All Correct'

Takahiro Shiraishi, who pleaded guilty, could face death penalty

(Newser) - He allegedly killed and dismembered nine victims, mostly young women, and in court on Wednesday, Takahiro Shiraishi put all doubts about the accusations to rest. "All correct," the 29-year-old defendant known as the "Twitter Killer" said, confirming the murder counts against him during his guilty plea in...

Major Airline Is Retiring 'Ladies and Gentlemen'

Passengers will now be greeted as 'passengers'

(Newser) - Japan Airlines is bringing in a small but significant change to passenger announcements. The airline says it is going to replace the phrase "ladies and gentlemen" with "passengers" or similar gender-neutral language. The move only affects English-language announcements, since the equivalent Japanese phrase is already gender-neutral, but the...

Japanese Celeb Found Dead by Her Husband

Yuko Takeuchi died by suspected suicide

(Newser) - A Japanese actress known as the female Sherlock Holmes has apparently killed herself—which, if confirmed, continues a spate of suicides among Japanese entertainers. Yuko Takeuchi was found at home Sunday by her husband without a note, but Variety reports that it looks like suicide. "It came all of...

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