Japan

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Japan Supreme Court: Couple Must Use Same Surname

Women's rights activists say the rule is antiquated, discriminatory

(Newser) - Japan's Supreme Court issued a ruling Wednesday that maintains a longtime civil rule some say is unconstitutional and discriminatory: forcing married couples to officially choose one surname, the BBC reports. Presiding Justice Itsuro Terada said that the surname mandate wasn't discriminatory, since a couple could choose to use...

&#39;Ghost Ships&#39; With Corpses Keep Turning Up Near Japan
'Ghost Ships' With Corpses Keep Turning Up Near Japan
in case you missed it
Dec 5, 2015 8:10 AM CST

'Ghost Ships' With Corpses Keep Turning Up Near Japan

Authorities think they're from North Korea

(Newser) - Over the past two months, the Japanese coast guard has been towing in gruesome finds off its western shores: fishing boats filled with nets, hooks, and, in some of the boats, decomposing corpses, NBC News reports. A total of between 20 to 25 bodies on 11 vessels (the latest boat...

Hunted Whales Could Net Japan $33 Million

Whale meat fetches a hefty price in certain countries

(Newser) - Tuesday marked the beginning of Japan's controversial fishing expedition to hunt and kill 333 Antarctic minke whales in defiance of the UN . So why does Japan think killing these whales is worth earning the ire of the international community and environmentalists? Discovery reports the estimated value of $33 million...

Japan to Begin 3-Month Antarctic Whale Hunt

Critics say whales don't need to be killed for conservation research

(Newser) - Japan is wasting little time in resuming its "scientific" whale hunte : Its whaling fleet will leave Tuesday for the Antarctic for a three-month, scaled-down hunt, the government says, despite protests. Monday's announcement comes days after Japan submitted its final plan to the International Whaling Commission after the...

Japan Is Going to Start 'Scientific' Whaling Again

Country plans to defy UN court ruling

(Newser) - Japan's whale meat restaurants are set to get fresh supplies with the resumption of what the country's government insists is scientific whaling. The country has decided to buck last year's International Court of Justice ruling and send its whalers back to sea under a revised plan. Under...

Study Suggests These Are the Least Honest Countries

Here's how the US did

(Newser) - China ranks as one of the least honest countries and the UK as one of the most, if a new study out of the University of East Anglia in the UK holds any weight. Presenting their findings at the London Experimental Workshop this week, researchers say they analyzed more than...

Tsunami Warning After 7.0 Earthquake Hits Japan

Tsunamis of up to 3 feet could hit

(Newser) - A tsunami advisory was issued for parts of southern Japan on Saturday after a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off the coast of the island of Kyushu. The Japan Meteorological Agency said tsunamis of up to 3 feet could hit the coast of Kagoshima prefecture on Kyushu and small islands...

Japan Paying 1st Fukushima Worker With Cancer

Country concedes possible radiation link, awards compensation

(Newser) - A Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant worker is the first diagnosed with cancer from possible radiation exposure and will receive compensation under the country's labor laws, the Japanese health and labor ministry said Tuesday, per the Wall Street Journal . The unnamed man, said by various sources to be in his...

Mom, Dad to 20-Year-Old Kid: Happy Birthday, Now Grow Up
Mom, Dad to 20-Year-Old:
Happy Birthday, We're Done
in case you missed it
Oct 11, 2015 6:38 AM CDT

Mom, Dad to 20-Year-Old: Happy Birthday, We're Done

He's given 'Notice of Expiration of Child-Rearing Services'

(Newser) - When young adults in the US reach the age of majority, they take on full legal responsibility for themselves and can do fun things like vote, sign contracts, and open bank accounts. In Japan, the same milestone means they get hit with rent charges and manifestos from their parents on...

Ultrasounds on Fukushima Kids Alarm Researchers
Ultrasounds on Fukushima Kids Alarm Researchers
NEW STUDY
Oct 9, 2015 8:05 AM CDT

Ultrasounds on Fukushima Kids Alarm Researchers

Study: Kids near the nuclear plant have thyroid cancer rates 20 to 50 times higher

(Newser) - For four years, nearly all kids living in Japan's Fukushima prefecture have received ultrasounds to gauge the effects of the nuclear disaster there in March 2011. Now a research team says the alarming results are in: Children living near the nuclear plant have thyroid cancer rates that are 20...

Entire Buildings Are Underwater in Japan

Rescue workers are overwhelmed in Joso, home to 60K

(Newser) - Raging floodwaters broke through a flood berm in Japan today and swamped a city north of Tokyo, washing away houses, forcing dozens of people to rooftops to await helicopter rescues, and leaving one man clinging for his life to a utility pole. There were no immediate reports of casualties, but...

Drunk Guy Arrested for Assaulting Robot

Because he was angry at store clerk, apparently

(Newser) - A drunk guy in a SoftBank cellphone store in Japan was unhappy with a clerk's attitude ... so he kicked a robot, he admitted to cops. Not just any robot, but a four-foot-high Pepper "humanoid" robot, whose development SoftBank funded, Gizmodo reports. The robot is designed to detect human...

Fukushima Ghost Town Given All-Clear

But most residents are holding back for now

(Newser) - Japan's government today lifted a 4 1/2-year-old evacuation order for the northeastern town of Naraha that had sent all of the town's 7,400 residents away following the disaster at the nearby Fukushima nuclear plant. Naraha became the first to get the order lifted among seven municipalities forced...

Japan Has 8M &#39;Ghost Homes&#39;
 Japan Has 8M 'Ghost Homes' 
Aug 24, 2015 3:31 AM CDT

Japan Has 8M 'Ghost Homes'

Large parts of the country are emptying out as population shrinks

(Newser) - Millions of dilapidated, empty homes isn't the first image to come to mind when most people think of Japan, but that's now the reality for large swaths of the country and the problem is only going to get worse. The country's population is shrinking and is forecast...

Explosion Shakes US Base in Japan

It lit up the sky in Tokyo suburb

(Newser) - Multiple explosions and a large fire at a US Army depot lit up the night sky in a Tokyo suburb early today. The blast happened after midnight at the Sagami General Depot in Sagamihara, a city about 25 miles southwest of Tokyo, a Pentagon press officer says. The building that...

Japan to Centenarians: No More Pricey Gifts for You

Expensive congratulatory cups for centenarians may be downgraded or dumped

(Newser) - This year's Respect for the Aged Day in Japan is fast approaching, but this time the country's government won't be commemorating the September holiday with its usual wares. Every year since 1963, Japan's newly inducted centenarians have received a sakazuki , a special commemorative silver sake cup...

Japan Is Done Apologizing for World War II

Prime minister makes a notable break with tradition

(Newser) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe today made a speech to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, and he's making headlines for what he didn't say: We're sorry. Abe expressed "deepest remorse" for Japan's actions and "sincerest condolences" to its...

Cops: Man's Penis Severed, Flushed by Jealous Husband

Tokyo grad student accused of cutting off man's genitals with garden shears

(Newser) - If you just Googled "jealous husband," "Japan," "penis," and "toilet" to see if there could possibly be any stories that merge all of those keywords into one mind-blowing story, today's your lucky day. One person who's not having a lucky day:...

Man, 80, Sets Self on Fire Over WWII Brothels

He had joined protesters demanding apology from Japan for 'comfort women'

(Newser) - For more than 20 years, South Korean activists have organized weekly protests in front of Seoul's Japanese Embassy to demand an apology for its women and girls who were used as sex slaves by the Japanese military during World War II, reports the AP . But while those demonstrations have...

Nuclear Power Is Back in Japan

Restarting of first reactor in 2 years brings protests

(Newser) - A power plant operator in southern Japan restarted a nuclear reactor today, the first to begin operating under new safety requirements following the Fukushima disaster . Kyushu Electric Power Co. says it has restarted the No. 1 reactor at its Sendai nuclear plant as planned. The restart marks Japan's return...

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