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Now deceased man said he was Satoshi Kirishima who was allegedly member of radical group in 1970s that bombed Japanese firmsA dying man in a Japanese hospital told police that he was one of the country’s most wanted fugitives and had been on the run for nearly 50 years for being part of a radical group that carried out bombings in the 1970s, police...

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...