Nobutaka Machimura
latest news & developmentsChinese troops battle rain to drain quake lake
Chinese troops racing to drain an ”earthquake lake” ahead of more forecast rain made substantial progress digging a diversion channel and have created emergency escape paths in…
Japan’s whalers accused of smuggling whalemeat
Anti-whaling campaigners said on Thursday that they had uncovered an embezzlement ring at the heart of the Japanese whaling fleet, accusing crew members of stealing choice cuts…
Cyber-bullying common among Japan’s children
Japan has more than 38 000 unofficial middle- and high-school websites that are not overseen by the schools, and harassment, sexual content and violent slang are prevalent among…
Japanese whaling ship attacked by activists
Militant environmentalists hurled stinging acid for more than an hour onto a Japanese whaling ship off Antarctica on Monday, hurting three crew members, officials said. Both…
Japan: China dumpling poisoning may be deliberate
Japan’s health minister raised the possibility on Tuesday that someone had deliberately contaminated Chinese-made dumplings imported into Japan with pesticide in an incident that…
Japan removes humpback whales from kill list
Japan’s whaling fleet in the Antarctic will avoid killing humpback whales for now, but will press on with plans to slay 1 000 other whales by early in the New Year, a government…
Japan’s defence minister braces for aliens
As Japan takes a more active role in military affairs, the defence minister has more on his mind than just threats here on Earth. Shigeru Ishiba became the second member of the…
Japan’s Fukuda elected PM, forms new Cabinet
Yasuo Fukuda, a seasoned moderate lawmaker, was chosen as Japan’s Prime Minister on Tuesday, then tapped veteran ministers from his predecessor’s Cabinet to confront a resurgent…