Breaking News, Latest Philippines Headlines, World, Entertainment, Politics, Weather & Video News
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A new species of orchid with delicate, glass-like blooms has been discovered by Japanese scientists, who found the pink and white plant hiding in plain sight. Despite its presence in Japan’s parks and gardens, it took researchers at Kobe University a decade to confirm that the plant — dubbed the “Spiranthes hachijoensis” — was a previously unknown species. “It was a surprise to discover a new species of spiranthes, which is […]
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Tuesday expressed strong “indignation” during a visit to Bucha, a town near the Ukrainian capital Kyiv where Russian forces were accused of widespread atrocities. Russian troops were accused of massacring civilians in Bucha, which they occupied for several weeks in early 2022. Moscow denies the allegation. “As I step foot in Bucha today, and witness all the brutality that took place here, I have a strong sentiment of […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea confirmed Tuesday it had moved to normalize a military intelligence-sharing pact with Japan, as the two countries thaw ties in the face of growing threats from Pyongyang. The decision by Seoul’s Foreign Ministry follows a summit between South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida in Tokyo last week. During the first top-level bilateral meeting in 12 years, the two sides agreed to mend […]
Tokyo, Japan | AFP | Friday 3/17/2023 Japanese prosecutors on Friday charged three ex-soldiers over sexual abuse of a colleague, who is suing the government for failing to prevent the assaults, local media reported. Rina Gonoi, 23, went public about the alleged assaults last year, after an investigation into her claims was dropped on the grounds of insufficient evidence. Friday’s move by the prosecutors in Fukushima region, where Gonoi was previously stationed, is a reversal […]
A celebrity gossip YouTuber-turned-lawmaker became the first MP expelled by Japan’s parliament in over 70 years Wednesday, having not shown up to work once. Yoshikazu Higashitani, known by his online moniker GaaSyy, had been ordered to apologise for his months-long absence earlier in March. But the lawmaker, one of two elected members of the fringe party Seijika Joshi 48, or “Politician Girls 48”, did not attend that parliamentary session either. Higashitani, 51, had not set […]
by Andrew MCKIRDY Agence France-Presse TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani has been having a ball at the World Baseball Classic and is determined not to let Italy wipe the smile off his face in Thursday’s quarter-final. Japan won all four of their first-round games in Tokyo and Ohtani appears to be relishing playing in his home country for the first time in five years. The Los Angeles Angels ace can be seen […]
BEPPU, Japan (AFP) — Using geothermal resources to generate electricity is a divisive prospect in Japan, but there is little disagreement about another use for it: natural steam for cooking. The geothermal sources that make Japan a haven for hot springs or onsen are also used to produce a range of delicacies. There’s the “onsen tamago” — eggs cooked in geothermally heated water at around 65 degrees (149 degrees Fahrenheit) to produce a relatively firm […]
by Etienne BALMER / Kyoko HASEGAWA Nobel-winning Japanese novelist Kenzaburo Oe, a leading liberal voice who defended the disenfranchised and challenged the conformity of modern society, has died aged 88. “He died of old age in the early hours of March 3,” publisher Kodansha said in a statement on Monday, adding that a family funeral has already been held. Known for his pacifist and anti-nuclear views, Oe saw himself as part of a generation […]
by Mathias CENA Agence France-Presse TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s government eased its mask guidelines on Monday, recommending them only on crowded trains and in hospitals or care homes, but there was little sign residents were keen to unmask. Japan has never had a mask mandate, but residents have adhered to guidelines to wear them indoors and outside from the early days of the pandemic, and masks were common even pre-Covid during cold and hayfever […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s next-generation H3 rocket failed after liftoff on Tuesday, with the space agency issuing a destruct command after concluding the mission could not succeed. The failure is a blow for Japan’s space agency JAXA, after the rocket failed to even lift off on its first try last month. Tuesday’s launch from the Tanegashima Space Center in southwestern Japan initially appeared to be a success, with the flagship rocket lifting off at […]
by Kang Jin-kyu Agence France-Presse SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea announced plans Monday to compensate victims of Japan’s forced wartime labor, but without direct Japanese involvement, as Seoul seeks closer ties with Tokyo to counter Pyongyang. South Korea and Japan are both key regional security allies of the United States, but bilateral ties have long been strained over Tokyo’s brutal 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean peninsula. Around 780,000 Koreans were conscripted into […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s coastguard said Monday it was searching for seven people missing after their boat capsized and was spotted in waters off the Tokyo-controlled Senkaku islets, which are also claimed by China. The overturned boat was spotted on Sunday afternoon, drifting in waters north of the islands by a Japanese navy patrol in the area, coastguard spokesman Keisuke Nakao told AFP. The crew are one Taiwanese and six Indonesians, he added. “We […]
