Japanese musician Takumi wins Grammy for best global album
Japan Today -- Feb 06
Japanese musician and composer Masanori Takumi won a Grammy award on Sunday for his album featuring songs performed with traditional Asian instruments.
Takumi took the Best Global Music Album award for "Sakura," released in 2022. The 44-year-old, who plays the piano and shamisen, a three-string Japanese instrument, has said he created the musical pieces to express his perspective on Japan.
A nephew of the late singer Hideki Saijo, Takumi has worked as composer and producer for popular Japanese pop groups such as Exile and Da Pump as well as the South Korean all-girl group Kara since debuting as a drummer in a band in 2000. ...continue reading
Twin boys fall to death from 7th floor window
NOJ / TV Asahi - Mar 25
Two 2-year-old twin boys fell to their deaths from the 7th floor of their apartment in Nagoya City on Friday, with the possibility that furniture was used to step out of a window.
Weird things you should never do in Japan
Top Discovery - Mar 25
Japan's colors, views, and traditions have captivated tourists for thousands of years due to its one of the longest and most complicated histories of any nation on earth.
Vietnamese woman acquitted of abandoning stillborn twins
NHK - Mar 24
Japan's Supreme Court has acquitted a Vietnamese woman of abandoning the bodies of her stillborn twins, overturning lower court rulings.
Asian Dust reaches Japan for first time in two years
NOJ / TV Asahi - Mar 24
A meteorological phenomenon known as Asian Dust, or yellow sand, covered the skies of Niigata on Friday, the first such observation in Japan since May 2021.
Scientists explain alien comet 'Oumuamua's strange acceleration
Japan Times - Mar 24
The quirky comet ‘Oumuamua, the first interstellar object found visiting our solar system, has been the subject of fascination since being spotted in 2017, including its curious acceleration as it hurtled away from the sun.
New terminal building opens at Kumamoto Airport
NHK - Mar 24
A new terminal building has opened at Kumamoto Airport on Japan's southwestern island of Kyushu.
Hideki Tojo - The Face of Japan Militarism in WWII
Biographics - Mar 24
Allied propaganda posters during World War II frequently featured the characters of the three axis leaders: the German one with the moustache, the big jawed Italian and the stern bespect Japanese General.
Volcanic alert for Mt. Asama raised to Level 2
NHK - Mar 23
The Japan Meteorological Agency has raised the volcanic alert for Mount Asama from Level 1 to 2, warning people to refrain from approaching its crater.
Police urge cyclists to wear helmets ahead of mandate on April 1
Japan Today - Mar 23
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department has begun urging cyclists to wear helmets before a helmet-wearing mandate goes into effect nationwide on April 1.
Toshiba board accepts Japan Industrial Partners' $15 billion buyout proposal
Reuters - Mar 23
Toshiba Corp's board has accepted a buyout offer from a group led by private equity firm Japan Industrial Partners, valuing the company at 2 trillion yen ($15.2 billion), the company said on Thursday.
GaaSyy ordered to return passport
Kyodo - Mar 23
Japan's Foreign Ministry on Thursday ordered a popular online personality and former lawmaker, currently residing overseas and known as GaaSyy, to return his passport after police obtained an arrest warrant for him over celebrity defamation threat allegations.
ANA to resume flights between Haneda and mainland China
NHK - Mar 23
ANA Holdings says it will resume flights between Tokyo's Haneda and mainland China on April 1 after a lapse of about three years.
Suntory jacks up whisky prices by 20 percent
NOJ / TV Asahi - Mar 23
Suntory has announced that it will raise the prices of 11 domestically produced whisky brands, including Kakubin, starting July 1.
Keisen Jogakuen University set to close due to declining birthrate
NOJ / TV Asahi - Mar 23
Tokyo's Keisen Jogakuen has announced that it will stop recruiting undergraduate and graduate students from 2024 onwards.
The History of the Meiji-za (1873 – 2023)
Kabuki In-Depth - Mar 23
Next month, the kabuki world will celebrate the 130th anniversary of the Meiji-za theatre, one of the most important venues during the Meiji period of transition and reform.
Yakuza-related police investigations hit three-decade low
Japan Times - Mar 23
The number of members and associate members of yakuza crime syndicates investigated by police in 2022 fell below 10,000 for the first time since Japan enacted the anti-organized crime law in 1991, National Police Agency data showed Thursday.
