Tokyo

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Japan's View of Customers as 'Gods' Is Backfiring

Tokyo introduces first-of-its-kind ordinance to address customer harassment

(Newser) - A first-of-its-kind ordinance in Japan, a country known for high levels of customer service, seeks to block customer harassment, or "kasuhara." The local ordinance, to go in effect in April in Tokyo, states "no person shall engage in customer harassment anywhere" and though it includes no penalties,...

Campaigning for Governor in Tokyo Has Gone a Bit Wild

Publicity stunts have incorporated AI, pets, even scantily clad women

(Newser) - Tokyo elects a new governor this weekend, but residents say personal publicity stunts have overtaken serious campaigning to a degree never seen before, with nearly nude women in suggestive poses, pets, an AI character, and a man practicing his golf swing. It's impossible to ignore. With internet campaigning still...

Tokyo Is Giving a 'Gentle Push' to People Looking for Love

Japanese city to launch a dating app to help with the 'marriage hunting' process

(Newser) - In Japan, where birth rates are low , it's not unusual to see local governments hosting matchmaking events to encourage people to hook up and start a family. Now, the country's capital is taking things a step further and launching a dating app, expected to be released this summer,...

This Nation Just Weighed In on Swift at the Super Bowl

DC's Japanese Embassy says star could technically get to Vegas 'comfortably' after her Tokyo concert

(Newser) - There's still no official word on whether Taylor Swift will be swooping into Las Vegas' Allegiant Stadium on Feb. 11 to watch boyfriend Travis Kelce play in the Chiefs-49ers Super Bowl—but Japanese officials are stepping in to assuage fears that the "Karma" singer won't be able...

Nearly 400 Escape Burning Plane on Tokyo Runway

5 members of Japan's coast guard dead at Haneda airport

(Newser) - A passenger plane collided with a Japanese coast guard aircraft and burst into flames on the runway of Tokyo's Haneda Airport on Tuesday, officials said. NHK TV reported that all occupants of Japan Airlines flight JAL-516, believed to total 379 people, got out safely before the plane was entirely...

Tokyo Taxi Driver Charged With Killing Pigeon

He could get up to a year in prison for driving into flock of birds at green light

(Newser) - A taxi driver in Tokyo ran afoul of the country's strict wildlife laws when he deliberately drove into a flock of pigeons, killing one, police say. The driver, 50-year-old Atsushi Ozawa, allegedly accelerated and drove into the flock last month after a traffic light turned green, the Mainichi reports....

2 US Cities Make Cut in World 'Destinations' List
2 US Cities Make Cut
in World 'Destinations' List
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Dec 16, 2023 12:45 PM CST

2 US Cities Make Cut in World 'Destinations' List

Paris is No. 1, but New York and L.A., make the cut in Euromonitor International's annual ranking

(Newser) - With international travel making a comeback after the peak of the pandemic, the sky's the limit on possible destinations. To help you narrow down where to visit, CNN Travel reveals the most attractive cities worldwide, at least according to Euromonitor International's "Top 100 City Destinations Index 2023....

Want to Live Where the Cool Kids Are? Try Here

'Time Out' does a global neighborhood ranking

(Newser) - In every city, locals know where the hot spots are: the best eateries, the hippest watering holes, the most happening cultural events. Time Out has posted its sixth annual roundup of the coolest neighborhoods in the world, based on input from more than 12,000 city dwellers and input from...

Panda Leaves Tokyo to Tears
Panda Leaves Tokyo to Tears
Feb 19, 2023 4:50 PM CST

Panda Leaves Tokyo to Tears

Thousands at zoo say goodbye to Xiang Xiang, who's headed to China

(Newser) - Thousands of Japanese fans, some wiping away tears, bid farewell to a beloved Japanese-born giant panda that made her final public appearance Sunday before flying to her home country, China. The panda fans gathered at Tokyo's Ueno Zoo for one last look at Xiang Xiang, the park's idol...

Japan Offering Families Hefty Sum to Leave Tokyo

New incentive is announced

(Newser) - Japan wants to push some of its population out of Tokyo and into other parts of the country, and it's using money as a carrot. The Guardian reports the government is making a dramatic increase to its relocation fee, which had been 300,000 yen (about $2,250) per...

Lights Out, Tokyo—It's Going to Be a Hot One

Government asks 37M residents to use less electricity to avoid power outages amid heat wave

(Newser) - Temps in Japan usually hover below 85 degrees Fahrenheit in the month of June, but a heat wave that's descended upon Tokyo and surrounding areas has led the government to plead with 37 million residents to switch off their lights to avoid power outages. The BBC reports that the...

Man Stabs Passengers on Tokyo Train, Sets Fire
Man Dressed as Joker
Stabs Tokyo Train Passengers
updated
Oct 31, 2021 12:40 PM CDT

Man Dressed as Joker Stabs Tokyo Train Passengers

Riders jumped through windows to flee fire set by attacker

(Newser) - A man dressed in Batman's Joker costume and brandishing a knife on a Tokyo commuter train stabbed several passengers on Sunday before starting a fire, which sent people scrambling to escape and jumping from windows, police and witnesses said. The Tokyo Fire Department said 17 passengers were injured, including...

'It's Like Somebody Hit Me In the Face With a Shovel'

Canadian Rocker stunned to get back guitar stolen in 1976

(Newser) - An amateur internet sleuth needed a project for the pandemic lockdowns, so he took a break from researching the DB Cooper mystery to help an aging Canadian rocker reunite with his favorite guitar. William Long is a fan of Guess Who and Bachman-Turner Overdrive guitarist Randy Bachman. He heard the...

They Were Promised 'Paradise.' The Destination: North Korea

Lawsuit in Japan seeks retribution for decades-long repatriation program

(Newser) - Some 93,000 people moved from Japan to North Korea in the latter half of the 20th century, many believing they would encounter a "paradise." North Korea—desperate for labor amid efforts to rebuild following two tragic wars—suggested these migrants, many of whom were ethnic Koreans who'...

2 Evacuees Reach Tokyo to Compete in Paralympics

International effort gets athletes safely out of Kabul, to Paris, then to the Paralympic Village

(Newser) - An international, multi-organization effort has delivered two Kabul evacuees to Tokyo, by way of Paris, in time to compete in the 2020 Paralympics. Zakia Khudadadi and Hossain Rasouli have safely arrived in Paralympic Village, CNN reports. The Afghanistan Paralympic Committee had said they wouldn't be able to go to...

2020 Paralympics Open in Empty Stadium

A volunteer carried Afghanistan's flag in Tokyo

(Newser) - The Paralympics began Tuesday in the same empty National Stadium—during the same pandemic—as the opening and closing ceremonies of the recently completed Tokyo Olympics. Japanese Emperor Naruhito got it all started again, this time under the theme “We Have Wings.” Among the few on hand were...

Hurdler Who Won Gold Thanks Volunteer Who Got Him to the Race

Hansle Parchment almost missed his chance at Olympic medal after he went to wrong venue

(Newser) - If your mother always told you give yourself plenty of time to get to the airport, or to your Olympic 110-meter hurdling competition, we hope you've listened. Hansle Parchment will likely leave the house way early from now on, after the Jamaican hurdler almost missed his chance to compete...

10 Injured in Stabbings on Tokyo Train
Assailant Stabs 10
on Tokyo Train
Aug 6, 2021 12:45 PM CDT

Assailant Stabs 10 on Tokyo Train

Suspect is arrested; no fatalities are reported

(Newser) - A man with a knife stabbed at least 10 passengers on a commuter train in Tokyo on Friday and was captured by police after fleeing, fire department officials and news reports said. NHK public television said one passenger was seriously injured, per the AP . It said the suspect left his...

Fleeing the Games, Sprinter Made a Last-Minute Switch

Wary of security, Belarus sprinter changed flight plans from Warsaw to Vienna at last minute

(Newser) - Change of travel plans for Krystsina Tsimanouskaya—she's headed to Vienna instead of Warsaw, at least initially. The Washington Post reports on the continuing drama swirling around the 24-year-old Olympic sprinter, who boarded a plane bound for Poland on Wednesday, less than three days after Belarus authorities took her...

High Jumpers' Unusual Request Is an Olympic Hit

Competitors from Qatar and Italy decide to share gold medal rather than go to a jump-off

(Newser) - It’s the ultimate moment in game recognizing game. Mutaz Barshim of Qatar had been competing against, and making friends with, Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi for years. Both had suffered ankle injuries that took a season away from them. Tamberi was in Barshim’s wedding, the Washington Post reports. Sunday,...

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