Society
General News
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New Libraries Offer Boost to Withering Downtowns; Fifth of Municipalities without Any Library
Local governments are turning more and more to public libraries as they try to revive the hollowe...
March 19, 2024
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Shinkansen Extension Brings Hope to Hokuriku Region; Support Shrinking Population, Post-Quake Reconstruction
Operations began along the new section of the Hokuriku Shinkansen line on Saturday, connecting To...
March 18, 2024
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Production of Vibrant Warrior Banners for Japan’s Boys’ Day Festival on May 5 Underway in Aichi Pref.
Warrior banners wishing for the healthy growth and development of children are dried in the sun a...
March 18, 2024
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Sakura Blossoms for Someiyoshino Species Expected in Tokyo March 20; Earliest Prediction for All of Japan
When are the Someiyoshino sakura predicted to blossom this spring?
Tokyo and Hiroshima wi...
March 18, 2024
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551Horai, Butaman Pork Bun Maker, Recalling About 300,000 Pork Buns after Resin Chips Found in Filling
Horai Co., known for its 551 butaman pork buns, said Sunday that it is recalling about 300,000 po...
March 18, 2024
Crime & Courts
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Japan’s District Courts Divided over Same-Sex Marriage Ban; Lawsuits Expected to be Taken to High Courts
District courts have been divided on whether the lack of a legal framework for same-sex marriage ...
March 15, 2024
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Japan’s High Court Ruling Against Same-Sex Marriage Ban ‘Ground-Breaking’; Delights Plaintiff for Going Step Further than 2019 Ruling
SAPPORO – The Sapporo High Court’s ruling was clear and ground-breaking: The Constitution guarant...
March 15, 2024
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High Court Rules Same-Sex Marriage Denial Unconstitutional
SAPPORO/TOKYO (Jiji Press)— Sapporo High Court on Thursday ruled that existing provisions, includ...
March 14, 2024
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Sapporo High Court Rules Provisions of Civil Code Not Recognizing Same-Sex Marriage ‘Unconstitutional’; Three Same-Sex Couples File Lawsuit
SAPPORO - The Sapporo High Court ruled Thursday that the provisions of the Civil Code and other l...
March 14, 2024
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Ex-Lawmaker Kakizawa Found Guilty over Vote-Buying
TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Tokyo District Court on Thursday found former lawmaker Mito Kakizawa guilty ...
March 14, 2024
Imperial Family
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Crown Prince, Crown Princess Welcome Brunei’s Royal Couple at Haneda Airport; State Guests in Japan Until Monday
Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko welcomed Brunei’s Crown Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Bil...
March 9, 2024
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Emperor, Empress Visit Tokyo Art Exhibition; See Art Themed Around Environmental Crisis
The Emperor and Empress visited the Mori Art Museum on Tuesday to see the facility’s 20th anniver...
February 28, 2024
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Emperor Naruhito Voices Sympathy over Noto Quake at Palace Event
Tokyo, Feb. 23 (Jiji Press)—Japanese Emperor Naruhito on Friday mourned victims of a powerful earthq...
February 23, 2024
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Emperor, Empress Plan to Visit Quake-Hit Ishikawa Pref. in Late March; Second Time Visiting a Disaster-Hit Area Since Accession
The Emperor and Empress plan to visit quake-hit Ishikawa Prefecture in late March, it has been learn...
February 21, 2024
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Crown Prince Akishino Visits Kanazawa Hospital; Encourages Victims of Noto Earthquake, Medical Workers
KANAZAWA — Crown Prince Akishino visited Saiseikai Kanazawa Hospital in Kanazawa on Wednesday to en...
February 15, 2024
Obituaries
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Mutsumi Inomata, Illustrator, Animator Who Helped Design Characters for Mobile Suit Gundam Seed, Died on March 10 at 63
Mutsumi Inomata, an illustrator and animator who helped design characters for Mobile Suit Gundam ...
March 18, 2024
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Rally Driver Kenjiro Shinozuka Dies at 75; First Japanese to Win Paris-Dakar Rally (Update 1)
World-class rally driver Kenjiro Shinozuka, the first Japanese driver to win the Paris-Dakar Rall...
March 18, 2024
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Mario Zagallo, Brazil’s Four-Time World Cup Winner, Dies at 92
RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Mario Zagallo, who won four soccer World Cups for Brazil as either pla...
March 14, 2024
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Paul Alexander Thrived While Using An Iron Lung for Decades after Contracting Polio as a Child
DALLAS (AP) — Confined to an iron lung after contracting polio as a child, Paul Alexander managed...
March 14, 2024
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Dorie Ann Ladner, Civil Rights Activist Who Fought for Justice in Mississippi and Beyond, Dies at 81
Dorie Ann Ladner, a longtime fighter for freedom and equality in her home state of Mississippi wi...
March 14, 2024
Social Series
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13 Years Since the Great East Japan Earthquake / Japan’s Fisheries Look for New Sales Channels as China Continues Ban on Imports
This is the fifth and final installment of a series that explores the current reality in areas a...
March 10, 2024
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13 Years Since the Great East Japan Earthquake / Decommissioning of Fukushima Nuclear Plant in 40 Years Seems Doubtful; Three Mile Island Cleanup to Take Nearly 60 Years
This is the fourth installment of a series that explores the current reality in areas affected by...
March 8, 2024
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13 Years Since the Great East Japan Earthquake / Soil Decontamination Advancing in Fukushima Pref.; More Evacuees Able to Return Home, But Not Many Do
“I wish we had been allowed to return home a little earlier,” lamented Takeshi Horikawa, 75, who ...
March 8, 2024
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13 Years Since the Great East Japan Earthquake / Car Use Reconsidered in Tsunami Evacuation Plans; Traffic Jams Are Deadly, But Some Cannot Flee on Foot
The city government of Kamaishi, Iwate Prefecture, held an evacuation drill on Sunday on the prem...
March 7, 2024
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13 Years Since the Great East Japan Earthquake / 2011 Quake Survivors Aging in Reconstruction Housing; New Communities Did Not Take Deep Root
About 30,000 public housing units were constructed for people affected by the disaster in Iwate, ...
March 6, 2024
Coronavirus
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Alarming Surge in Japan’s COVID-19 Cases; 10 Weeks Straight Increase, Half Aged 14 and Under
The Health, Labour and Welfare Ministry provided an update on Friday regarding the COVID-19 situatio...
February 2, 2024
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Injections Start for First Japan-made COVID Vaccine, Targeting XBB 1.5 Variant
TOKYO — Shots of the first Japan-made vaccine for the novel coronavirus are finally being administer...
December 14, 2023
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Japan to Introduce Routine COVID-19 Vaccinations for Elderly
TOKYO (Jiji Press) — A special group of the health ministry Wednesday approved a plan to change COVI...
November 23, 2023
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Japan’s Daiichi Sankyo to Develop Flu-COVID Combo Vaccine Using mRNA
Japanese pharmaceutical company Daiichi Sankyo Co. will develop a combination vaccine that protects ...
October 13, 2023
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Free Vaccinations for XBB Omicron Variant Start in Japan; Elderly, At-Risk People Especially Urged to Get Shots
Free vaccinations for XBB — a new omicron variant of the novel coronavirus — began Wednesday....
September 21, 2023
Noto Peninsula Earthquake
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Ishikawa Native Living in North Korea Expresses Regret Over News of His Japanese Mother’s Death
A man who lives in North Korea after his disappearance from Japan in the early 1960s has expresse...
March 14, 2024
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Water Restored at Some Places in Quake-Hit Central Japan City
SUZU, Ishikawa (Jiji Press)—The water outage caused by the Jan. 1 major earthquake in central Jap...
March 10, 2024
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Store Selling Specialties of Quake-Hit Ishikawa Opens in Tokyo; Promote Local Attractions ahead of an Extended Section of the Hokuriku Shinkansen Bullet Train Line
TOKYO (Jiji Press) — A store that sells food and other specialties and promote culture of Ishikaw...
March 10, 2024
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Rebuild of Yuriage Market in Tohoku Offers Lessons for Wajima; Market Seeing More Traffic Than Before 2011 Quake
Only the frames and outer walls of buildings remained, and burnt debris littered the ground. Gone...
March 10, 2024
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Japan’s Quake-Hit Fish Market to Hold Event in Kanazawa on March 23; One-Day Market Organized by Noto’s Wajima Morning Market Members
KANAZAWA — People who owned stores in the Wajima Morning Market in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, h...
March 7, 2024
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