Japan

[ad_1] Jera, Japan's biggest power generator, will check two thermal power plants that are using woody biomass fuel similar to the Taketoyo thermal power station which was hit by a fire on Jan. 31, it said in a statement.Japan is the world's second biggest buyer of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and any disruptions at its domestic power plants — be that thermal or nuclear facilities — are closely watched by […]

[ad_1] After a brief awakening, Japan's Moon lander is out of action again but will resume its mission if it survives the two-week lunar night, the country's space agency said Thursday.The unmanned Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) touched down last month at a wonky angle that left its solar panels facing the wrong way.As the sun's angle shifted, it came back to life for two days this week and […]

[ad_1] Joso, Ibaraki Pref. – Honda Motor said Thursday that it will conduct demonstration tests of a self-driving electric vehicle and a logistic robot in Ibaraki Prefecture from mid-February. The four-seater EV, named CiKoMa, can travel at speeds of up to 20 kph. It will transport people between a michi no eki roadside rest station in the city of Joso and a strawberry-picking farm 850 meters away for free. At […]

[ad_1] Police said Thursday that they have launched an investigation into international soccer player Junya Ito after local media reports said two women had accused him of sexual assault, a claim he denies. "We received a criminal complaint against him and have started an investigation," said a police spokesman in Osaka working in the department covering crimes including sexual assaults. He declined to give further details including what the complaint […]

[ad_1] A month after a magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck Ishikawa Prefecture’s Noto Peninsula on New Year’s Day, myriad challenges remain in the recovery effort, with about 14,000 people still living at evacuation shelters as officials race to repair infrastructure in the region.In the quake, more than 46,000 houses in the prefecture were severely damaged or destroyed. A large portion of the population was also cut off from water supplies.For some […]

[ad_1] In the last 12 months, the cost of running Jean-Marie Dirat's lamb farm in southwest France has jumped by €35,000 ($38,000), driven up by increasingly expensive fertilizers, fuel, electricity and pesticides. [ad_2] Source link

[ad_1] Kofu, Yamanashi Pref. – Climbers ascending Mount Fuji from the most commonly used trail in Yamanashi Prefecture will be charged ¥2,000 ($13) from this summer to ease congestion at the landmark mountain and to fund safety measures, a local government source said Thursday.The move comes amid growing concerns over unsafe climbing practices such as "bullet climbing," or trying to reach the summit of Japan's tallest peak for sunrise in […]

[ad_1] Republican front-runner and former U.S. President Donald Trump has said he would block Nippon Steel’s deal to buy United States Steel if he wins the November election, highlighting how his economic nationalism could imperil foreign investment in the U.S."I would block it instantaneously. Absolutely,” Trump said Wednesday after meeting with the members of the Teamsters union in Washington. "We saved the steel industry. Now, U.S. Steel is being bought […]

[ad_1] One of Japan’s biggest unions plans to push for pay gains above 6% in a bid to kick-start a virtuous wage-price cycle that would enable the Bank of Japan to raise interest rates and strengthen the yen."The yen’s depreciation has gone too far, and I would like to see the BOJ take some policy steps to correct the situation,” said Akihiko Matsuura, president of UA Zensen, a labor union […]