Japan

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US Pro Skier Kyle Smaine Dies in Avalanche

'An all around great skier, an all around great, kind person'

(Newser) - Celebrated American freestyle skier Kyle Smaine was one of two men killed in an avalanche at a ski resort in central Japan Sunday. The Lake Tahoe-based skier's father confirmed the death to NBC . Smaine, 31, posted an Instagram video of himself skiing Sunday, praising the "unbelievable snow quality,...

Japanese Vending Machines Now Dispensing Whale Meat

Conservationists are worried about the development

(Newser) - A Japanese whaling operator, after struggling for years to promote its products amid protests from conservationists, has found a new way to cultivate clientele and bolster sales: whale meat vending machines. The Kujira (Whale) Store, an unmanned outlet that recently opened in the port town of Yokohama near Tokyo, houses...

Deadly Cold Rushes Over Asia
Freezing Temps
Wreak Havoc in Asia

Freezing Temps Wreak Havoc in Asia

Parts of Japan could see coldest weather in a decade; more than 100 are dead in Afghanistan

(Newser) - Snow, wind, and freezing temperatures are wreaking havoc across Asia, and in some places it's turned deadly. Earlier this week, more than 120 people died in Afghanistan from the cold, while in China's northernmost city of Mohe, known as "China's North Pole," record lows of...

Stefani's 'I Am Japanese' Comment Raises a Ruckus

Entertainer defends her embrace of Japan's culture in her career

(Newser) - Gwen Stefani inadvertently sparked a conversation about the difference between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation this week in an Allure interview. At one point, Stefani declared, "My God, I'm Japanese and I didn't know it," then added after a pause, "I am, you know."...

Japan Offering Families Hefty Sum to Leave Tokyo

New incentive is announced

(Newser) - Japan wants to push some of its population out of Tokyo and into other parts of the country, and it's using money as a carrot. The Guardian reports the government is making a dramatic increase to its relocation fee, which had been 300,000 yen (about $2,250) per...

As Snow Buries US, Japan Faces Similar Deadly Plight

At least 17 are dead, dozens injured in large portions of the nation

(Newser) - Heavy snow in large swaths of Japan has killed 17 and injured more than 90 people and left hundreds of homes without power, disaster management officials said Monday. Powerful winter fronts have dumped heavy snow in northern regions since last week, stranding hundreds of vehicles on highways, delaying delivery services,...

3 Nations Team Up on 'Ambitious' Fighter Jet

UK, Japan, Italy will develop 6th-generation GCAP warplane

(Newser) - A new warplane is in the works, and Britain, Italy, and Japan are the countries behind it. CNN reports that development will soon be underway on a sixth-generation fighter jet under the Global Combat Air Program (GCAP), an "ambitious endeavor" to fend off increasing "threats and aggression,"...

You Won't Believe How Long Folks Will Wait for This Delicacy

Place your order now, get the Kobe beef delicacies in 2052

(Newser) - If you're looking to hold a party in 2052 and would like to serve what the Mirror says are "arguably the most famous croquettes in the world," you'd better order now. That's because there's a 30-year-plus waiting list for the "Extreme" Kobe beef...

Tokyo's Idea Amid Energy Crisis: Put On a Turtleneck

Yuriko Koike, the city's governor, credits French president as an inspiration on how to stay warm

(Newser) - Winter is coming, and amid Japan's energy crisis, Tokyo officials are offering a suggestion to save energy and stay warm in the coming months. "Warming the neck has a thermal effect," Yuriko Koike, the capital city's governor, told reporters Friday, per the Guardian . "I'm...

Biden Agrees With South Korea, Japan on Missile Provocations

President says the alliance is more important than ever

(Newser) - President Biden and the leaders of Japan and South Korea on Sunday vowed a unified, coordinated response to North Korea's threatening nuclear and ballistic missile programs, with Biden declaring that the three-way partnership is "even more important than it's ever been" when North Korea is stepping up...

Japanese Told to Take Shelter as North Korea Launches Missile

Though missile did not ultimately fly over the country

(Newser) - Evacuation warnings were triggered in Japan amid North Korea's latest round of missile launches. Pyongyang fired at least three ballistic missiles Thursday, the first a presumed long-range missile that triggered warnings in the northern Miyagi, Yamagata and Niigata prefectures urging residents to shelter at home or go underground, Fox...

Multimillionaire Manga Creator Secretly Died a 'Hero'

Kazuki Takahashi drowned in Japan in July while attempting to save a girl and her parents

(Newser) - When Kazuki Takahashi, creator of the popular manga Yu-Gi-Oh!, died in July, Japanese authorities gave few details on what had happened. They said the 60-year-old, whose body was found in snorkeling gear off the coast of Nago city in Okinawa, had died by drowning. But that wasn't the whole...

Car Crashes Into Japan's Oldest Toilet

Kyoto heritage worker didn't realize it was in reverse

(Newser) - A employee of the Kyoto Heritage Preservation Association accidentally caused serious damage to part of the city's heritage—Japan's oldest toilet. Authorities say the 30-year-old man, who had parked his car outside the toilet building at Tofukuji, started his vehicle and hit the accelerator without noticing it was...

Fake Astronaut Wooed Woman to Pay for Return Ticket to Earth
Woman Duped Out of $30K
in Out-of-This-World Scam
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Woman Duped Out of $30K in Out-of-This-World Scam

Online lover convinced 65-year-old in Japan he was astronaut who needed cash to return to Earth

(Newser) - Nigerian prince scams are so 1990s—welcome to the 21st century and the Russian cosmonaut scam. Kyodo News reports that police are looking into the claims of a 65-year-old woman in Japan's Shiga prefecture who said she fell in love with a man online who tricked her into...

Rocket Ordered to Self-Destruct Minutes After Liftoff

Japan's space agency is investigating failure of Epsilon-6 satellite-carrying rocket

(Newser) - A Japanese rocket carrying eight satellites was ordered to self-destruct minutes after liftoff in the biggest failure for Japan's space agency in nearly 20 years. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency—JAXA—said in a statement that the self-destruction command was sent to the Epsilon-6 rocket because it had "...

North Korea Sends Missile Over Japan, Into Ocean

Residents in northern prefectures are told to take cover

(Newser) - North Korea fired a ballistic missile over Japan on Tuesday, an escalation from the barrage of tests conducted in the past few days while the US and other nations conduct military drills in the region. In a rare move, Japan told residents in two northern prefectures to seek shelter. It...

His 'Fight of the Century' Against Ali Made Him Famous

Popular Japanese wrestler and lawmaker Antonio Inoki is dead at 79

(Newser) - Popular Japanese professional wrestler and lawmaker Antonio Inoki, who faced world boxing champion Muhammad Ali in a mixed martial arts match in 1976, has died at 79. Inoki brought Japanese pro wrestling to fame and pioneered mixed martial arts matches between top wrestlers and champions from other combat sports like...

'You Were a Person Who Should Have Lived Much Longer'

Japan's Shinzo Abe was given a state funeral Tuesday

(Newser) - Japan's assassinated hawkish former leader, Shinzo Abe, was given a state funeral Tuesday, making him just the second politician to receive the honor in post-war Japan, reports the BBC . The event has deeply split public opinion. In addition to the thousands who took to the streets in protest, Japan'...

Abe's $12M State Funeral May Have Spurred Self-Immolation

Man set himself on fire near Japanese prime minister's office in Tokyo

(Newser) - A man set himself on fire outside the Japanese prime minister's office in apparent protest of a state funeral for the assassinated ex-leader Shinzo Abe. It happened on Wednesday, on what would've been Abe's 68th birthday. The elderly man, initially found unconscious with burns to his entire...

High-Tech Japan Struggles to Ditch Floppy Disks

Nation's digital minister pledges to get rid of them in government use

(Newser) - Japan may be known for its tech savvy, but government offices still use the humble floppy disk for data storage. As a result, the nation's digital minister has announced that he is declaring "war" on the technology, which first surfaced in the 1960s, reports the Sydney Morning Herald ...

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