Japan

Japan again calls for emergency restrictions on Pacific tuna catches

Japan aims to have the proposal approved at a meeting of the Northern Committee of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) set to start in Busan, South Korea, on 28 August.
 
The committee comprises 10 members including Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, while the WCPFC has 26 members.
 
The Japanese proposal calls for automatically imposing strict restrictions on Pacific bluefin tuna catches if an annual assessment finds that there is over a 60 percent chance of the adult bluefin tuna population failing to recover from a target level.
 

Woman destroys ex's $1m violin collection in Japan

A woman has been arrested for destroying her former partner's violin collection and 70 bows, together worth 105.9m yen ($950,700, £770,000).

The 34-year-old suspect broke into his apartment in Nagoya and wrecked the instruments, police said.

The incident took place in 2014 in the midst of their breakup but the woman has only just been arrested.

Her 62-year-old former husband is said to have been both a maker and collector of violins.

The most valuable instrument among the 54 casualties was an Italian-made violin worth 50m yen, the Kyodo news agency said.

Magnitude 5.8 earthquake hits northwest of Tokyo

The United States Geological Survey measured the quake at a depth of 33km about 79km east-northeast of Iwaki on Honshu.

There was no immediate warning of a tsunami issued by the Hawaii-based PTWC.

 

Photo: Screenshot / United States Geological Survey The red dot shows the centre of the earthquake, according to the United States Geological Survey. 

"It was like rape": Women in Japan tricked into pornography

Conmen promising fortune and fame trick young women into signing modelling contracts, then later threaten them if they do not do what they ask.

Kurumin Aroma, 27, was one of them.

She dreamt of one day becoming a TV star or a musician.

When she was approached on the streets of Tokyo by a man who offered to give her a start in modelling, she thought she would take a chance.

14-year-old first-ever ransomware creator in Japan arrested by police

Now, there is a news about the arrested of a 14-year-old kid in Osaka Prefecture Japan for creating and distributing a ransomware. It is being said that this arrest is of the first of its kind in Japan.

According to Japan Times, the police hasn’t revealed any personally identifiable information about the kid considering his juvenile status. However, it is known that the kid created a ransomware using a free encryption software.

Tattoo trial could determine the legal future of Japan's taboo ink tradition

As strange as it sounds, it's the truth. In Japan, tattooing can only be done legally by a doctor, though up until the Osaka raids police had only targeted tattooists linked to the yakuza, Japan's powerful organised crime syndicates.

The unusual legal situation is due to regulations aimed at keeping permanent-make-up-style tattooists in check — the same health notice also listed laser hair removal and chemical peels as doctor-only procedures.

Toyota 'backs flying car project' in Japan

It will give 50 million yen (£274, 000) to the Cartivator group that operates outside Toyota city in central Japan.

The Nikkei Asian Review reports Toyota and its group companies have agreed in principle to support the project.

So far crowdfunding has paid for development of the so-called Skydrive car, which uses drone technology and has three wheels and four rotors.

PIC booth stirs much interest at Japan’s Marine Diving Fair

While cherry blossoms were in full bloom, despite bad weather, more than 50,000 visitors attended the fair with more anticipation than last year.

Among them were many enthusiastic divers and travel lovers who were looking for new ocean resorts.

A corner of the main aisle at the fair was almost completely occupied by Pacific islands booths from Palau, Papua New Guinea, Kosrae of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Cook Islands and Marshall Islands, which was a first-time participant on the initiative of tourism authorities and diver groups.

Japan sends biggest warship to protect US supply vessel

The helicopter carrier Izumo is escorting a US supply vessel within Japanese waters.

The US ship is heading to refuel the naval fleet in the region, including the Carl Vinson aircraft carrier group.

North Korea has threatened to sink the Carl Vinson and a US submarine, amid rising tensions in the region.

It also carried out a failed missile test on Sunday, despite repeated warnings from the US and others to stop its nuclear and missile activity.

Is Pokemon Go helping stop suicide at hotspot in Japan?

Tojinbo in Fukui prefecture is famous for its cliffs. Tall basalt columns rise dramatically out of the Japan Sea, drawing sightseers from around the region.

Sadly, it has also become notorious for another kind of visitor, often from further afield, drawn by its reputation as a suicide cluster site.

Fourteen people killed themselves there in 2016, and 12 the year before. But in the first months of this year, there have been no deaths at Tojinbo.