Japan

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Japanese Woman Dies After Working Almost Nonstop for Month

2013 death of reporter Miwa Sado only now getting attention

(Newser) - Japanese reporter Miwa Sado averaged five hours of overtime per day during a month in the summer of 2013 while covering Tokyo metropolitan government elections as well as a national House of Councillors election. It all proved too much. Sado, a 31-year-old who worked for public broadcaster NHK, died of...

After 600 Tons of Mercury Flowed, the Trouble Began

How Minamata disease in Japan changed what we know about mercury poisoning

(Newser) - It is, writes Joshua Sokol at Digg , "one of the most famous environmental disasters in history." And the cause is now known to be fairly straightforward: From 1932 to 1968, a chemical factory in Minamata, Japan, dumped 600 tons or so of mercury into the local harbor. One...

Seoul Responded to Latest Pyongyang Launch Within Minutes

Test shows Guam is now in range, experts say

(Newser) - Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called for "direct actions" against North Korea from oil suppliers China and Russia after the country launched another missile over Japan early Friday. China and Russia "must indicate their intolerance for these reckless missile launches by taking direct actions of their own,"...

Now in Japan: Drive-Thru Funerals
Now in Japan:
Drive-Thru
Funerals
Sep 10, 2017 1:45 PM CDT

Now in Japan: Drive-Thru Funerals

Aging population is impetus behind move

(Newser) - For those in wheelchairs or with other mobility issues, funerals can be tricky to navigate. And in Japan, where 1.43 million people are expected to die annually by 2020, the need for a solution is pressing, reports the Japan Times . Enter Kankon Sousai Aichi Group, based in central Nagano...

Japanese Princess to Marry Her College Sweetheart
Japan Is Losing a Princess
Sep 3, 2017 12:45 PM CDT

Japan Is Losing a Princess

Princess Mako confirms engagement that will lead to her becoming a commoner

(Newser) - Japanese Princess Mako on Sunday confirmed she is getting married to a university classmate , one who won her heart with bright smiles and sincerity, the AP reports. Emperor Akihito's oldest grandchild and fiancé Kei Komuro, both 25, said at a news conference that their relationship started when the princess...

North Korea Could Respond 'With Fury' to Latest US Move

US flies bombers, fighters in show of force

(Newser) - The United States flew some of its most advanced warplanes in bombing drills with ally South Korea on Thursday, a clear warning after North Korea l aunched a midrange ballistic missile designed to carry nuclear bombs over Japan earlier this week, South Korea's military said. North Korea hates such...

Atomic Bomb Survivor Dies After Life Fighting to Ban Nukes

Sumiteru Taniguchi was 88

(Newser) - Sumiteru Taniguchi, who devoted his life to seeking to abolish nuclear weapons after he was burned severely in the 1945 atomic bomb attack on his hometown of Nagasaki, died Wednesday of cancer, the AP reports. He was 88. Taniguchi died at a hospital in Nagasaki of cancer of the duodenal...

Guy's Twitter Account Blocked After Death Threat (Against Mosquito)

It appears a Twitter algorithm, not a human, picked up certain keywords

(Newser) - A Japanese man recently found his Twitter account permanently frozen after tweeting a violent message alongside a picture of a corpse: "Bastard! Where do you get off biting me all over while I'm just trying to relax and watch TV? Die! (Actually you're already dead)," wrote...

Japanese Deputy PM's Ideas on Hitler Not Well-Received

Taro Aso is apologizing after saying Hitler's 'motive was right'

(Newser) - Japan's deputy prime minister is backpedaling hard after suggesting Adolf Hitler had the right motives for murdering millions of people. During an address to members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party in Yokohama on Tuesday, Taro Aso used Hitler as an example of how politicians are judged by their...

In North Korea's Latest Test, a Possibly 'Ominous' Clue

38 North analysis: Distance suggests test of a potent missile booster

(Newser) - President Trump on Wednesday followed up on his "all options are on the table" warning to North Korea by suggesting that negotiations are not one of those options. "The U.S. has been talking to North Korea, and paying them extortion money, for 25 years," he tweeted...

Sea Shepherd Gives Up on Japan Whaling Fight—for Now

Conservation organization says it's no match for Japan's funding, military-level technology

(Newser) - For more than a decade, a marine conservation group has dogged Japanese ships trolling for whales near Antarctica. But the BBC reports that Sea Shepherd is now being forced to cancel those efforts, noting it's been outplayed by Japan's cutting-edge technology and deep wallet. "Japan is now...

Foo Fighters Pull Off Biggest Rickroll Ever

Astley joins them for music festival mash-up

(Newser) - In scenes that would have almost certainly confounded Kurt Cobain, the Foo Fighters pulled off the most spectacular Rickroll of all time at a music festival in Tokyo on Sunday. After the band performed a few of their own songs, lead singer Dave Grohl told the audience at the Summer...

Zoo's Tortoise Spends 2 Weeks on the Lam, Gets Nowhere

Abuh was found less than 500 feet from the zoo

(Newser) - The top speed of a giant tortoise on dry land, according to Gizmodo , is about 0.17mph. That turned out to be great news for Japan's Shibukawa Animal Park, which had a 121-pound Aldabra giant tortoise named Abuh escape earlier this month. Channel News Asia reports Abuh is allowed...

Original Man in Godzilla Suit Dies
Original Man in 
Godzilla Suit Dies
OBITUARY
Aug 8, 2017 12:01 AM CDT

Original Man in Godzilla Suit Dies

Haruo Nakajima was 88

(Newser) - Haruo Nakajima, the actor who stomped in a rubber suit to portray the original 1954 Godzilla, helping to make the Japanese monster an iconic symbol of the nuclear era, has died. He was 88. Nakajima's daughter Sonoe Nakajima says he was hospitalized last month and died of pneumonia Monday,...

Japan Discovers How to Keep Popsicles From Melting

And it was completely by accident

(Newser) - Eating ice cream on a hot summer's day presents something of a challenge—one must tackle the meltiest spots fast enough, before the treat becomes a mess on the ground. But this summer in Japan, people are enjoying better living through chemistry with a new type of popsicle that...

Woman Accused of Destroying Ex&#39;s $950K Violin Collection
$950K Violin Collection Ruined.
3 Years Later, Ex-Wife Arrested
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Jul 30, 2017 5:31 PM CDT

$950K Violin Collection Ruined. 3 Years Later, Ex-Wife Arrested

The destroyed collection included 54 violins and 70 bows

(Newser) - The world's tiniest violin might not be enough to express one man's loss, allegedly at the hands of his ex-wife. The Japan Times reports 34-year-old Midori Kawamiya was arrested Tuesday, accused of destroying her ex-husband's $950,000 violin collection in 2014 as the two were divorcing. Authorities...

Scientists Create World&#39;s First True-Blue Mum
Scientists Just Achieved
'Holy Grail' of Plant Breeding
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Jul 30, 2017 6:33 AM CDT

Scientists Just Achieved 'Holy Grail' of Plant Breeding

Japanese team engineers the first blue chrysanthemum

(Newser) - A development of "great impact" has been made in the world of flowers—specifically among chrysanthemums, which researchers have just turned a true-blue hue for the first time, per Science . The magazine explains that vibrant blue flowers are hard to find in nature—only a few species exist, and...

N. Korea Launches Missile That Lands Near Japan

It traveled 45 minutes and 620 miles

(Newser) - North Korea continues to defy warnings to quit messing with missile tests, this time with an apparent launch into the sea near Japan, the AP and Reuters report. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the missile, which was launched Friday night, looks to have landed in the country's exclusive...

A Loaf-Sized Robot Just Took This Important Photo

Locating melted fuel at Fukushima is key, and this is believed to be it

(Newser) - An underwater robot captured images of lava-like lumps Thursday inside a damaged reactor at Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear plant , spotting for the first time what is believed to be nuclear fuel that melted six years ago. Locating the fuel in each of the three wrecked reactors is crucial for...

'Black Widow' Makes Stunning Claim in Murder Trial

'I killed my husband,' Chisako Kakehi tells court

(Newser) - When Chisako Kakehi took the stand during her murder trial Monday, she vowed to remain silent. But that's not what happened. In what the New York Times calls a "cinematic turn," the so-called black widow of Japan admitted to killing her fourth husband, one of at least...

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