Japan

Stories 201 - 220 | << Prev   Next >>

Athletes Will Really Feel the Heat in Tokyo

This could be the hottest Olympics on record, bringing risk of heatstroke

(Newser) - Tokyo claimed "mild" summer weather made it an ideal candidate to host the Olympic Games in 2020. Consider that an oversell, as athletes could now be in for the hottest Olympics on record. The daily maximum temperature recorded at a Summer Olympics was in Sydney, Australia, in 2000 and...

Toyota May Be Distancing Itself From the Games

Company will not run Olympic ads in Japan

(Newser) - Coronavirus cases in Japan have risen to 1,000 per day just as the Tokyo Olympics are set to start. Now Toyota, a top sponsor of the Games, says it will not run any Olympics ads in the country, and its chief executive won’t attend the opening ceremonies, the...

At Tokyo Olympics, a 'Very Significant Change'

Athletes will put on their own medals to protect against COVID

(Newser) - Athletes at the Tokyo Olympics will put their medals around their own necks to protect against spreading the coronavirus. The "very significant change" to traditional medal ceremonies was revealed Wednesday by International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, per the AP . "The medals will not be given around the...

Amid COVID Surge, Tokyo Bans Fans From Olympics

City declares state of emergency

(Newser) - The celebration was premature. Less than three weeks after it was announced that local fans would be allowed at the Summer Olympics, Japan reversed course on Thursday because of a surge in COVID cases, reports the AP . Per the New York Times and the AP , the city reported 920 new...

Mudslide Levels Japan Town With Dozens Feared Dead

At least two were confirmed dead late Saturday

(Newser) - A gush of mud that swept away homes and cars in a resort town southwest of Tokyo left at least two people dead and about 20 missing, officials said Sunday. Ten people were rescued and as many as 80 homes buried in Atami, where hundreds of firefighters, military troops and...

First Came the Rain. Then, a Mudslide 'as Fast as a Car'

At least 19 are missing in Atami, Japan

(Newser) - A powerful mudslide carrying a deluge of black water and debris crashed into rows of houses in a town west of Tokyo following heavy rains on Saturday, leaving at least 19 people missing, officials said. Dozens of homes may have been buried in Atami, a town known for hot springs,...

Olympics Have Twice Forced This Man From His Home

Kohei Jinno describes 'sad, lonely feeling' as start date approaches

(Newser) - Kohei Jinno is among the minority in Japan who feel this summer's Olympic Games should go on. Otherwise, it would mean he was booted from his home of a half-century for nothing. The 87-year-old and his wife, Yasuko, were one of some 200 families forced out of a public...

Attempt of 'Black Widow' to Claim Dementia Goes South

Japan's Supreme Court upholds death sentence for Chisako Kakehi, who murdered 3

(Newser) - For nearly four years, Chisako Kakehi's legal team has been pushing back on her 2017 death sentence, arguing that the 74-year-old woman Japan knows as the "Black Widow" has dementia, rendering her incapable of understanding anything that's going on around her, including her own criminal trial. Those...

Prehistoric Hunter-Gatherer Was Ripped Apart by a Shark

Researchers: Earliest known evidence of shark attack on a person identified in Japan

(Newser) - Three millennia ago, a hunter-gatherer ventured to Japan's inland sea in search of a meal. He then became one himself. Researchers believe this Neolithic man, found buried in the Tsukumo Shell-mound cemetery site near the Seto Inland Sea, is the earliest known victim of a shark attack on a...

Zoo Director on Panda Birth: 'I Was Relieved,' Then 'Shocked'

Japan's Ueno Zoo welcomes its first twin panda cubs

(Newser) - Japan's oldest zoo was one of the most popular tourist attractions in the country before closing for five months due to the pandemic. Shortly after reopening, it's suddenly even more attractive. In a surprise, a giant panda at Tokyo's Ueno Zoo gave birth to twins early Wednesday....

Japan Sets Its Rules on Olympic Fans

Venues will be capped at 10K, at least officially

(Newser) - Olympic athletes in Tokyo won't be competing in empty venues. Japan made the controversial decision Monday to allow fans to attend next month's games, reports USA Today . The move comes with stipulations: Venues are supposed to be only half-full at most, and capacity for any venue will be...

Tokyo Drops Livestreaming Games at 6 Public Sites

Vaccinations will take place there instead

(Newser) - Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike says plans to hold mass public viewings of the Olympics at six sites have been canceled, as worries grow about the coronavirus pandemic during one of the slowest vaccine rollouts in the developed world. "These are necessary measures to make the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics...

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...

Stories 201 - 220 | << Prev   Next >>