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Jessica Speed

Pigeons — and their droppings — can be extremely difficult to manage once they settle in.

JAPAN / Society / FOCUS

Mar 25, 2025

A new year, a new home and new unexpected guests: pigeons

They might seem harmless at first, but their droppings pose serious health risks to humans and the birds can be extremely difficult to manage once they settle in.

Blooms are seen on the Meteorological Agency's sample cherry tree at Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on Monday.

JAPAN

Mar 24, 2025

Cherry blossom season kicks off in Tokyo after warm weekend

At approximately 2 p.m. Monday, the Meteorological Agency announced that its reference Somei-Yoshino cherry tree at Yasukuni Shrine was officially in bloom.

Snow falls on a narrow drinking alley in Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward on Wednesday morning.

JAPAN

Mar 19, 2025

Snowfall in Tokyo as storm sweeps country

A rapidly intensifying low-pressure system was unleashing heavy snow and strong winds across much of Japan.

NASA's SpaceX Crew-10 members Takuya Onishi, of Japan, and Kirill Peskov, of Russia, depart from the Operations & Checkout Building at the Kennedy Space Center for transport to Launch Complex 39-A ahead of their launch to the International Space Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Friday.

WORLD / Science & Health

Mar 15, 2025

NASA launches ISS-bound SpaceX rocket with Japanese astronaut aboard

Japan's Takuya Onishi is scheduled to command a fresh crew after it relieves a mission that includes two astronauts who have been aboard the station for nine months.

Urbanization is amplifying pollen-related allergies as grasslands and soft soil give way to concrete and asphalt.

JAPAN / Science & Health

Mar 14, 2025

As pollen season peaks, Japan's allergy struggle emerges from hibernation

In Tokyo and Sendai, high cedar pollen levels will persist into late March, followed by cypress pollen peaking from late March to early April.

Oto, Japan's oldest lion, died Monday at Toyohashi Zoo & Botanical Park in Toyohashi, Aichi Prefecture.

JAPAN / Science & Health

Mar 10, 2025

Oto, Japan’s oldest lion, dies at 25 — equivalent to 100 human years

Born in 1999 at Asahiyama Zoo in the city of Asahikawa, Hokkaido, Oto had been at Aichi Prefecture's Toyohashi Zoo & Botanical Park since 2001.

Three workers died Friday in Oga, Akita Prefecture, after being found unconscious at a sewage construction site inside a manhole.

JAPAN

Mar 7, 2025

Three construction workers die inside manhole in Akita Prefecture

The three — all residents of the city of Akita — had been repairing sewer pipes since early that morning, according to the prefectural government.

The illuminated advertising board of a host club in Tokyo's Kabukicho entertainment district. The bill approved by the government on Friday aims to ban hosts from emotionally manipulating customers into making excessive purchases — a common tactic in the industry.

JAPAN / Crime & Legal

Mar 7, 2025

Japan looks to crack down on host club exploitation with tighter regulations

Police received 2,776 consultations nationwide related to host clubs last year, with many involving women coerced into sex work to cover unpaid bills.

A Weathernews forecast shows the cherry blossom season will begin on March 21 in Tokyo.

JAPAN

Mar 6, 2025

Cherry blossom season set to kick off on March 21 in Tokyo

Blossoms are expected to reach full bloom at a pace similar to or slightly faster than average years in western and eastern Japan.

An explosion at a factory in Toyota, Aichi Prefecture, left one person killed on Thursday.

JAPAN

Mar 6, 2025

Explosion at Aichi auto parts factory kills one and injures two

A dust collector inside Chuo Spring's Fujioka plant, which produces springs for automobiles, exploded shortly after 8 a.m.

Officials from the Meteorological Agency hold a news conference about the heavy snow forecast, on Sunday in the city of Saitama.

JAPAN

Mar 4, 2025

Snow forces highway closures in Tokyo

The closures are set to begin at around 4 p.m. for major routes including the Tomei Expressway, Shin-Tomei Expressway and Joshinetsu Expressway.

Major Japanese banks are tightening controls on the management of safe-deposit boxes after a string of thefts involving bank employees rocked public confidence.

BUSINESS / Companies

Feb 24, 2025

Japanese banks to rethink security measures for safe-deposit boxes

A string of thefts involving bank employees have intensified scrutiny of a segment already grappling with weak demand and thin margins.

Efrat Machikawa (center) and others protest in white near the Knesset in Jerusalem on Feb. 14, advocating for the safe return of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

JAPAN / Society

Feb 24, 2025

The terror, the protests and the reunion: Efrat Machikawa's life since the Israel-Hamas war

The family of Machikawa's uncle, 80-year-old Gadi Moses, taken hostage from southern Israel by Hamas in their October 2023 attack, waited nearly 500 days for him to return home.

Ofunato in Iwate Prefecture. As the flames move dangerously close to residential neighborhoods, officials from the city issued evacuation orders late Thursday.

JAPAN

Feb 21, 2025

Wildfire rages in Iwate as firefighters struggle to contain blaze

No injuries or property damage from the wildfire have been reported so far.

Local authorities on Tuesday confirmed the deaths of three hotel staff members who went missing in the city of Fukushima on Monday.

JAPAN

Feb 18, 2025

Three hotel staffers found dead after going missing in Fukushima mountains

The three men were found collapsed in the snow near the hot spring source at around noon on Tuesday.

A "biohybrid" robot hand developed by a research team from the University of Tokyo and Waseda University

JAPAN / Science & Health

Feb 13, 2025

Japanese research team develops world’s largest 'biohybrid' robot hand

Lack of nutrients, necrosis and muscle fiber alignment issues have limited the scale of previous "biohybrid" systems.

A car is buried under snow in a residential parking lot in the city of Toyama on Wednesday.

JAPAN

Feb 7, 2025

Heavy snow blankets Japan with one dead and four severely injured

More snowfall is expected through Saturday as another wave of frigid air moves in.

Snow-covered streets in Obihiro, Hokkaido, on Tuesday

JAPAN

Feb 4, 2025

Record-breaking snowfall hits Hokkaido as cold front sweeps Japan

The cold air mass is expected to fluctuate in intensity and persist until the weekend, with heavy snow forecast for Hokkaido, Tohoku and Hokuriku later this week.

Construction workers near a sinkhole in Yashio, Saitama Prefecture, on Monday

JAPAN / Society / EXPLAINER

Feb 3, 2025

Why it's taking so long to reach the driver trapped in a Saitama sinkhole

The biggest challenge for the operation, now in its seventh day, is that the sinkhole continues to expand, complicating the rescue efforts.

A sinkhole at an intersection on a road in the city of Yashio, Saitama Prefecture, on Thursday morning

JAPAN / Crime & Legal

Jan 31, 2025

Heavy machinery to be deployed in bid to save man trapped in Saitama sinkhole

To stabilize the site and facilitate rescue efforts, crews are excavating a 4-meter-wide, 30-meter-long ramp to deploy heavy equipment and clear debris.

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

The sun shines from behind a waving Philippine flag at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial.

Eighty years after the Battle of Manila, old foes forge new ties

By Anton L. Delgado

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