Japan

[ad_1] WASHINGTON – The Dodo, the famous flightless bird that inhabited the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius, is a case study in extinction caused by humans. The Dodo, finely adapted to its isolated ecosystem but unprepared for the arrival of people, was first encountered by Dutch sailors in 1598. Hunting, habitat destruction and the introduction of non-native species doomed it in under 80 years. It is hardly alone. New research […]

[ad_1] LOS ANGELES – The waves of Japanese tourists that have descended on Dodger Stadium since Shohei Ohtani joined the club this season could provide a boost to the Japanese sensation as he embarks on his first MLB postseason this weekend.Ohtani-mania was on full display hours before a recent game at the scenic ballpark in Los Angeles, with fans freshly off their flights from Japan heaping praise on their country's […]

[ad_1] Eleven Japanese nationals and five foreign nationals have fled Lebanon for Jordan aboard a Air Self-Defense Force C-2 transport aircraft, the Japanese government said Friday. This was the first evacuation of Japanese nationals from Lebanon using SDF aircraft since tensions flared up in the Middle East in October last year. A similar mission has been conducted twice in Israel. About 50 Japanese nationals stayed in Lebanon as of Thursday, […]

[ad_1] The transport ministry plans to support the installation from fiscal 2025 of manually operated gates and fences at Class 4 railway crossings, which do not have alarms or barriers, in order to boost the safety of dangerous crossings. The measures are designed to reduce accidents by urging pedestrians to temporarily stop at railroad crossings. The ministry sought necessary funding under the government's budget for the fiscal year that starts […]

[ad_1] Maebashi, Gunma Pref. – Aziz Ahmed is hoping to support children who interpret for family members who cannot speak Japanese through a nonprofit organization that he set up in August last year.The 25-year-old Pakistani established the NPO in Maebashi, Gunma Prefecture to raise awareness of young language carers who must often translate documents and write on behalf of parents and other family members originally from abroad. As a young […]

[ad_1] Busan, South Korea – Kiyoshi Kurosawa, cinema's "master of horror" and recipient of the Busan International Film Festival's Filmmaker of the Year Award, said on Thursday he'd like to see more Japanese artists explore genre cinema.Celebrated Asian filmmakers including South Korea's Bong Joon-ho, the Oscar-winning director of "Parasite," admire 69-year-old Kurosawa, whose works are renowned for their keen observations and psychological depth. Kurosawa received the BIFF Filmmaker of the […]

[ad_1] WASHINGTON – As Israel pounded northern Gaza with air strikes last October and ordered the evacuation of more than a million Palestinians from the area, a senior Pentagon official delivered a blunt warning to the White House.The mass evacuation would be a humanitarian disaster and could violate international law, leading to war crime charges against Israel, Dana Stroul, then the U.S. deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle […]

[ad_1] Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar is unrepentant about the Oct. 7 attacks a year ago, people in contact with him say, despite unleashing an Israeli invasion that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, laid waste to his Gaza homeland and rained destruction on ally Hezbollah.For Sinwar, 62, architect of the Hamas cross-border raids that became the deadliest day in Israel's history, armed struggle remains the only way to force […]

[ad_1] Wajima, Ishikawa Pref. – Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Saturday that the government plans to classify the torrential rain that struck the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture in September as a severe disaster.Ishiba announced the plan during a visit to areas damaged heavily by the rain as well as the powerful Jan. 1 earthquake that jolted the peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture, following a request for aid from Ishikawa Gov. […]