85% of Japan's schools can survive upper-6 temblor, leaving 3,545 that can't: survey
News On Japan via Japan Times -- Aug 03
A total of 3,545 public elementary and junior high school buildings nationwide might collapse if an earthquake measuring an upper-6 on Japan's seismic intensity scale to 7 strikes, the government said Thursday.
While the number out of the 122,069 buildings surveyed fell from 4,614 a year earlier, the speed of ongoing work to make such structures quake-resistant varies significantly from one region to another, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology said.
Source: Japan Times
| Jun 20 | Convenience store believed to have been robbed by same man twice |
Police said Wednesday they are looking for a man who robbed a convenience store in Ome City, Tokyo, on Tuesday morning. Police believe the same man robbed the store in April. (Japan Today |
| Jun 19 | UNESCO register adds archive of pre-modern Japan mission to Spain |
A collection of materials related to a 17th century mission sent by a Japanese feudal lord to Europe and the world's oldest autographic diary left 10 centuries ago by a Japanese regent have been selected for the UNESCO Memory of the World registry, the Japanese education ministry said Wednesday. (Global Post |
| Jun 19 | Over 1,000 people hospitalized in Japan for heatstroke |
Almost 1,500 people were transported to hospitals by ambulance due to heatstroke last week, up sharply from 942 in the preceding week, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said Tuesday. (Japan Times |
| Jun 19 | Mummified remains found in restaurant in Morioka |
Police said Tuesday that a mummified body was found earlier this month in a storage cabinet in a restaurant in Morioka, Iwate Prefecture. (Japan Today |
| Jun 19 | Traffic lights on the blink / Many too old for use; some even collapse |
Among about 200,000 traffic signals nationwide, 16 percent are being used beyond the end of the expected lifetime of their electrical systems and some have even toppled over due to age, according to the National Police Agency. (Yomiuri |
| Jun 19 | Local govts wary of Mt. Fuji 'traffic jam' |
Mt. Fuji, the tallest mountain in Japan, will likely see its summer "traffic jam" of climbers worsen this year thanks to its expected addition to the UNESCO World Heritage List. (Yomiuri |
| Jun 19 | 'Abenomics' not raising low-end prostitution prices in Tokyo |
In May, Akira Ikoma, the editor of a guide to men's entertainment called Ore no Tabi (My Journey), said that "Abenomics" had caused a spike in prices at high-end soapland bathhouses in Tokyo. However, the same editor tells Shukan Post (June 28) that the initiative is not impacting the low-end market in the same way. (Tokyo Reporter |
| Jun 18 | Best biwa selected as gift for Imperial Household |
A competition has been held near Tokyo to choose the season's best loquats, or biwa fruit, to be presented to the Imperial Household. (NHK |
| Jun 18 | 64-year-old woman arrested for stabbing 59-year-old boyfriend |
Police said Monday they have arrested a 64-year-old woman in connection with the murder of her 59-year-old partner in Seki, Gifu Prefecture. (Japan Today |
| Jun 18 | Tokyo cops bust Gotanda massage parlor for prostitution, arrest 7 |
Tokyo Metropolitan Police on Monday announced the bust of a massage parlor in the Gotanda area of Shinagawa Ward on charges of prostitution. (Tokyo Reporter |










