Category Archives: Others

MIYAZAKI, Oct. 2 ― Typhoon Trami hammered Japan’s southern islands, including Kyushu, before making high winds and heavy rain in mainland Japan during the final weekend of September. As a result of Trami, there have been widespread power failures in Kyushu and Okinawa islands, local utility companies said. The storm has moved out of the area, leaving behind massive destruction, including the region’s agriculture industry. Yoshiufmi Inoue, an 80-year-old farmer in Miyazaki prefecture, found some of his dairy barn’s roof disappeared and a falling utility pole crashed into another part of the roof. “I was very worried if my cows would be electrocuted,” until the local utility cut the power … Continue reading →

TOKYO, Sept. 8 ― Ryuta Ibaragi, governor of Okayama Prefecture, which was hit hard by the torrential rains in July, has campaigned to promote his local grapes, Shine Muscat and Pione, which command huge price premiums. Ibaragi showed up at a Tokyo outlet to offer tasting local grapes to consumers at a Tokyo outlet on Sept. 7. “The grapes are sweet and luscious,” the governor said. “I was concerned about the acute heat after the heavy rains, but I am relieved to supply high-quality grapes.”

TOKYO, Sept. 14 ― The Tokyo metropolitan government will open a new wholesale food market, called the Toyosu market, replacing the aging Tsukiji market on Oct. 11. The market relocation comes about two years later than previously planned, because additional safety work was required to control soil pollution at the Toyosu site. The Tokyo metropolitan government held a ceremony on Sept. 13 to celebrate opening the new market. At the ceremony, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike said: “We will grow the Toyosu market as a new showcase center for the Japanese food culture.” The new market features cutting-edge equipment in enclosed facilities at an area of 400,000 square meters. That makes … Continue reading →

HOKKAIDO, Sept. 7 – A magnitude 6.7 earthquake, which registered up to 7 on the 7-point Japanese seismic intensity scale, hit the northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido on Sept. 6 at 3:07 a.m. The earthquake, with its epicenter in the Iburi region in southwestern Hokkaido, triggered massive landslides and damaged houses. The death toll rose to 35 (updated as of 8 p.m. Sept. 8), out of which 31 were confirmed at the worst-hit mountainous town of Atsuma,  and one each in Mukawa, Shinhidaka, Tomakomai and the prefectural capital of Sapporo, according to the Hokkaido Prefectural Government. Some 2.95 million households throughout the prefecture was temporarily left without power, as all thermal … Continue reading →