National
Tokyo residents seek to block building of massive data center
A group of residents in Tokyo said on Wednesday they were aiming to block construction of a massive logistics and data center planned by Singaporean developer GLP, in a worrying sign for businesses looking to Japan to meet growing demand. The petition by more than 220 residents of Akishima city… Read
Missing woman rescued near Tokyo after 36 hours adrift at sea
A woman was rescued from the sea off Chiba Prefecture, near Tokyo, on Wednesday morning after drifting some 80 kilometers over about 36 hours, a local coast guard office said. The 21-year-old Chinese woman, who was on a swim ring, was found dehydrated but conscious, according to the office. She… Read
Japan court OKs gender change without confirmation surgery
A Japanese high court on Wednesday approved an official gender change for a transgender woman who has not undergone confirmation surgery as legally required, in a rare decision. The clause requiring gender confirmation surgery is "suspected of being unconstitutional" as it forces an individual to choose between undergoing surgery or… Read
Body of Japanese climber who died a week ago after scaling mountain in Pakistan found
A group of Pakistani volunteers found the body of a Japanese climber who died while trying to descend from one of the highest mountains in the country, officials said Tuesday. The body of 64-year-old Hiroshi Onishi was brought down the previous day from the 7,027-meter (23,054 feet) Spantik Peak —… Read
Woman dies after being found with knife in chest in apparent suicide
Police in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, said Wednesday that a 58-year-old woman was found with knife protruding from her chest, in the car parking lot of an apartment complex where she lived on Tuesday night. A man called 119 at around 10:50 p.m. and said there was a woman lying on… Read
Akita bear attack warning poster may be too cute for its own good
Akita, located in Japan’s northeastern Tohoku region, is one of the country’s more rural prefectures. While its human population might not be very big, though, Akita has one of Japan’s larger bear populations. So among the public awareness posters the prefectural government has recently designed is one about bears, which… Read
Senior defense officials, SDF members to be disciplined over scandals
Japan's Defense Ministry is planning to take disciplinary action later this week against some senior officials and a number of Self-Defense Force members over abuse of power and the mishandling of classified information, government sources said Tuesday. The move comes with public mistrust toward the ministry and the SDF mounting… Read
Ex-SDF member Gonoi settles with 3 sexual assault perpetrators
Rina Gonoi, who was sexually assaulted while serving in Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force, said Tuesday she has reached a civil settlement with three of her convicted former colleagues. In the lawsuit filed at the Yokohama District Court in January 2023, Gonoi, 24, had sought damages from the state and five… Read
Japan's unused defense budget in FY 2023 totals 130 bil. yen
The Japanese government left unused about 130 billion yen ($807 million) from the over 6.8 trillion yen that was earmarked as the defense budget for fiscal 2023, sources familiar with the matter said Tuesday, a move that could raise questions over the current record-level of defense buildup. The amount of… Read
Crew failure to keep lookout behind April chopper crash: ministry
Japan's Defense Ministry said Tuesday crew failing to keep a lookout was among the causes for two Maritime Self-Defense Force helicopters colliding in April over the Pacific in an incident that claimed the lives of all eight personnel aboard. The two SH-60K choppers may have mistaken the distance between them… Read
