• LGBTQ groups want equality law in Japan before Tokyo Olympics

    LGBTQ groups want equality law in Japan before Tokyo Olympics

    Mar 25, 2021 10:24 PM EDT

    ... for the law is rising as Japan gets attention over its handling of gender equality, diversity and other human rights issues. "Many LGBT people in Japan are still discriminated against ... We need legislation to guarantee human rights and equality of LGBT people," said Yuri Igarashi, director of the Japan Alliance ...

  • Japan marks 10th anniversary of Fukushima nuclear disaster

    Japan marks 10th anniversary of Fukushima nuclear disaster

    Mar 11, 2021 11:30 PM EDT

    ... Japan is a geologically unstable part of the world. I mean, it suffers -- there was just an earthquake recently, a couple of weeks ago. So, Japan has geological problems that are far greater than most of the United States and its nuclear reactors. So, the Japanese government can claim that ...

  • Animated ‘Demon Slayer’ strikes chord with Japan amid pandemic

    Animated ‘Demon Slayer’ strikes chord with Japan amid pandemic

    Mar 04, 2021 10:02 PM EDT

    Japan has never had a lockdown, and movie theaters are open with social-distancing measures. The hero of "Demon Slayer" is Tanjiro Kamado, who sets out to become a warrior to save his sister, and ultimately the world, from the demons, or "oni." Like a cute doe-eyed Musashi, the ...

  • Two Americans who helped former Nissan chairman escape are in Japanese custody

    Two Americans who helped former Nissan chairman escape are in Japanese custody

    Mar 01, 2021 05:03 PM EDT

    ... equipment, authorities said. Meanwhile, Ghosn, free on bail, headed to the Grand Hyatt in Tokyo and met up with Peter Taylor, who was already in Japan, authorities say. The elder Taylor and Zayek met up with the two others at the Grand Hyatt and shortly after, they split up. Peter ...

  • Japan launches COVID-19 vaccination campaign

    Japan launches COVID-19 vaccination campaign

    Feb 17, 2021 02:48 PM EDT

    ... because their side effects have often been played up by media here. “I think it is more important for the Japanese government to show the Japanese people that we have done everything possible to prove the efficacy and safety of the vaccine to encourage the Japanese people to take the ...

  • Japan approves its first COVID-19 vaccine

    Japan approves its first COVID-19 vaccine

    Feb 15, 2021 03:14 PM EDT

    ... its population. Vaccines being developed by Japan are still in the early stages, so the country must rely on imports. AstraZeneca applied for approval in Japan only recently, while Moderna hasn't applied yet. Japan's reliance on the imports, many of them subject to EU export controls, is also ...

  • Strong quake hits Japan's northeast coast; no tsunami alert

    Strong quake hits Japan's northeast coast; no tsunami alert

    Feb 13, 2021 10:14 PM EDT

    TOKYO — A strong earthquake hit off the coast of northeastern Japan late Saturday, shaking Fukushima, Miyagi and other areas, but there was no threat of a tsunami, officials said. Tokyo Electric Power Co. said there were no irregularities at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, which experienced meltdowns following a ...

  • Japan space agency confirms asteroid soil inside landed capsule

    Japan space agency confirms asteroid soil inside landed capsule

    Dec 14, 2020 08:14 PM EDT

    ... 15 inches) in diameter, was dropped by Hayabusa2 from space onto a spot in a sparsely populated Australian desert on Dec. 6. It arrived in Japan last Tuesday for research that will hopefully provide insights into the origins of the solar system and life on Earth. The Japan Aerospace Exploration ...

  • Japan prime minister pledges $19 billion to promote ecological businesses

    Japan prime minister pledges $19 billion to promote ecological businesses

    Dec 04, 2020 11:37 PM EDT

    TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga pledged a 2 trillion yen ($19 billion) fund on Friday to promote ecological businesses and innovation to achieve his goal of zero net carbon emissions by 2050. Suga, who took office in mid-September, set climate change as one of his main policy ...

  • Japan spacecraft carrying asteroid soil samples nears home

    Japan spacecraft carrying asteroid soil samples nears home

    Nov 27, 2020 08:31 PM EDT

    ... may help explain how Earth evolved. It took the spacecraft 3½ years to arrive at Ryugu, but the journey home was much shorter because of the current locations of Ryugu and Earth. Ryugu in Japanese means “Dragon Palace,” the name of a sea-bottom castle in a Japanese folk tale.