Farmers in Kagawa Prefecture, western Japan, have started shipping square watermelons across the country.

Such watermelons were first developed by farmers in the district of Fudeoka in the city of Ze…

posted by  Yubi | 8 years ago | 1 comment

Rainy and humid June is the calm before the storm. That is, in terms of events and activities, it’s relatively quiet compared to May (what with its spring festivals) and July, which marks the start o…

posted by  Tanuki | 8 years, 1 month ago | 0 comments

People across Japan sweated it out in summer-like conditions, with temperatures on Saturday surpassing 30 degrees Celsius in some areas. Most observation points recorded their highest temperatures of…

posted by  Tanuki | 8 years, 1 month ago | 1 comment

Japan's Meteorological Agency says it appears the annual rainy season has begun in Okinawa and the Amami islands in the southwest.

The agency made the announcement on Saturday morning.

Officials at t…

posted by  Tanuki | 8 years, 1 month ago | 1 comment

In Japan, where seniority and experience continue to take precedence over qualifications or ability, the idea of “respect your elders” is at the forefront of daily working life. One of the ways this …

posted by  banzaitokyo | 8 years, 1 month ago | 0 comments

The controversial “baby hatch” set up at a Kumamoto hospital in 2007 to enable people to leave infants anonymously took in a total of 125 babies over nine years through March last year.

Ahead of its …

posted by  Yubi | 8 years, 1 month ago | 0 comments

A bronze statue of Japan's oldest elephant, Hanako, has been unveiled at a train station in Tokyo.

About 300 people attended a ceremony on Friday in front of JR Kichijoji Station.

The Asian elephant …

posted by  Tanuki | 8 years, 1 month ago | 0 comments

I saw this news story on mainstream media today:

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/05/02/national/social-issues/kochi-mountain-village-may-adopt-direct-democracy-system-council-population-slides/…

posted by  Yubi | 8 years, 1 month ago | 0 comments

Get indoors, keep away from windows and switch on the TV. That’s the latest advice from the government on how to prepare for a ballistic missile strike.

Japan has an early-warning system designed to …

posted by  Yubi | 8 years, 2 months ago | 0 comments

Jam-lovers tried out many varieties of the fruit spread at a promotional event in the central Japanese city of Komoro on Sunday.

Komoro in Nagano Prefecture is said to be the birthplace of strawberry…

posted by  Yubi | 8 years, 2 months ago | 1 comment