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Taro Aso, vice-president of ruling LDP, said Yoko Kamikawa ‘not that good looking’, got her name wrong, used ageist jibe and mixed up her place in historyA Japanese former prime minister and vice-president of the ruling Liberal Democratic party has been accused of sexism after making insulting comments about the foreign minister’s appearance and age.“She’s not that good looking,” Taro Aso, who has a...

Moon probe starts taking pictures of lunar surface after bumpy landing left its solar cells pointing in the wrong directionJapan’s Moon lander has resumed operations, the country’s space agency said on Monday, indicating that power had been restored after it was left upside down during a slightly haphazard landing.The probe, nicknamed the “moon sniper”, had tumbled down a crater slope during its landing on...

Japan media reported Shinji Aoba held a grudge against the studio when he doused the entrance in petrol and set it ablaze in 2019A court in Japan has sentenced to death a man convicted of murdering 36 people in an arson attack on an animation studio in 2019.The attack on Kyoto Animation, better known as KyoAni, sent shock waves through Japan, where violent crime...

Women will take part in the hadaka matsuri in Inazawa, in which thousands of men dressed in next to nothing drive away evil spiritsWomen in Japan have been permitted to take part in an ancient ceremony, known as the naked festival, for the first time in the event’s history, albeit with modifications.Every February, thousands of men dressed in next to nothing take part in...

Slim spacecraft landed on the moon and is communicating with earth but is not generating electricityJapan’s Slim spacecraft lands on moon but struggles to generate power(I’m really enjoying the soft piano music being played in the background of this Japanese space agency live feed. Very calming in a tense situation!)The probe is now “scanning the surface” and looking for a place to land, space...

Higher costs as a result of Ukraine war, supply chain issues and effects of Covid force lunching office workers to tighten beltsEven in a city of tens of thousands of restaurants, including a large number with Michelin stars, is it really possible in Tokyo to spend as little as ¥500 (£2.60) a day on lunch without eating the same modest meal day in, day...

China urges US, UK and Japan not to interfere in ‘China’s internal affairs’ after they congratulate Lai Ching-te for election winGlobal leaders have congratulated Lai Ching-te for winning Taiwan’s presidential election, praising the high turnout and democratic process – and drawing ire from Beijing, which had hoped to see Taiwan’s ruling party ousted.Lai won an unprecedented third term in power for the pro-sovereignty Democratic...

All Nippon Airways flight was en route to Toyama airport when crack found in window of Boeing 737-800A domestic flight of Japan’s All Nippon Airways returned to its departure airport on Saturday after a crack was found on the cockpit window of the Boeing 737-800 aircraft midair, a spokesperson for the airline said.Flight 1182 was en route to Toyama airport but headed back to...

Tokyo district public prosecutors’ office says it has arrested Yoshitaka Ikeda, a former vice-education ministerProsecutors in Japan have made their first arrest in a financial scandal that has engulfed the country’s ruling party and sparked speculation about the future of the prime minister, Fumio Kishida.The Tokyo district public prosecutors’ office said on Sunday it had arrested Yoshitaka Ikeda, a former vice-education minister, who is...

Boy, five, among 126 people dead, after boiling water spilled on him during Monday’s 7.6 magnitude quakeA woman in her 90s has been pulled alive from a collapsed house in western Japan, 124 hours after a major earthquake hit the region, killing at least 126 people, toppling buildings and setting off landslides.The woman in Suzu city, Ishikawa prefecture, survived for more than five days...

Number of missing lowered to 211 as thousands of troops join rescue effort and experts warn of disease risk at evacuation centresThe death toll from a major earthquake in western Japan reached 100 on Saturday as rescue workers fought aftershocks to carefully pull people from the rubble.Deaths had reached 98 earlier in the day, but two more were reported in Anamizu, while officials in...

Only eight Australians were on the Japan Airlines flight that crashed in Tokyo rather than the 12 initially suspectedThere were four fewer Australians on the Japan Airlines flight that burst into flames after landing than originally feared but all are safe and accounted for.Only eight Australians were on the Japan Airlines plane rather than the 12 initially suspected. Continue reading...

Flight attendants needed permission from cockpit to open emergency exits, broadcaster reportsPilots on a Japan Airlines plane that became engulfed in flames just after all 379 passengers and crew escaped were initially unaware the aircraft was on fire, according to fresh details reported in local media.The airliner collided with a coast guard plane after landing at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport on Tuesday evening. All but...

In a recording from the control tower apparently taken before impact, a voice can be heard advising JAL’s flight to ‘continue approach’A passenger jet that collided with a coast guard plane in a catastrophic accident at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport had been given permission to land, Japan Airlines executives have said, as police reportedly prepared to investigate whether the crash involved professional negligence.Five people on...

Ishikawa and its Noto peninsula, one of the worst affected areas, has been hit by more than 100 aftershocksJapanese rescuers were scrambling to search for survivors as authorities warned of landslides and heavy rain after a powerful earthquake that killed at least 62 people.The 7.5-magnitude quake on Monday that rattled Ishikawa prefecture on the main island of Honshu triggered tsunami waves more than a...

Fumio Kishida, Japan’s prime minister, says country faces ‘battle against time’ to rescue people as at least 48 killed in earthquakesA Japan Airlines aircraft is on fire at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, NHK reports, adding that work is ongoing to extinguish the fire.Live footage of the plane, surrounded by smoke, can be seen here. Continue reading...

The quakes, the largest of which had a magnitude of 7.6, have left 48 dead and led to tsunami warnings which were later liftedJapan’s prime minister has said the country is facing a “battle against time” to rescue those affected by a series of major earthquakes which reportedly killed at least 48 people, injured dozens and sparked fires that destroyed homes.Police and local authorities...

Japan Meteorological Agency issues tsunami warnings for coastal prefectures of Ishikawa, Niigata and ToyamaThe first reports of injuries are coming in from hospitals, including broken bones, but no fatalities have been confirmed so far.Fires have broken out in what appear to be homes on the Noto peninsula. Continue reading...

Japan Meteorological Agency warnings apply to Ishikawa, Niigata and Toyama prefectures• Japan quake: latest updatesJapan has issued tsunami warnings for three of its central west coast prefectures after a series of earthquakes in the Sea of Japan, one with a preliminary magnitude of 7.6.A tsunami of 1.2 metres was confirmed to have arrived in Wajima city, in Ishikawa prefecture. The Japanese public broadcaster NHK...