Boy’s Football Lost in Tsunami Turns Up in Alaska
A teenager who lost his home in Japan’s devastating tsunami now knows that one prized possession survived: a football that drifted all the way to Alaska. A man found the ball with the youngster’s name...
View ArticleMasked Hero to the Rescue Daily at Tokyo Subway Station
A 27-year-old Japanese shop-assistant dons a superhero disguise in his spare time in order to help strangers maneuvering the dimly lit stairs of a Tokyo subway station which has no escalators or lifts....
View ArticleRenewable Village Offers Lifeline to Fukushima Farmers
It seems the most unlikely place to try to put a utopian blueprint into practice. Yet a patch of land in Fukushima, the Japanese region contaminated by nuclear fallout in 2011, holds the foundations of...
View ArticleKind Driver Empties Bakery Truck for Snow-stranded Japanese Motorists
Last Friday the biggest snowstorm of the last decade hit the Tokyo area. Some of the worst off were drivers along the Chuo Expressway that runs through mountainous Yamanashi region into Tokyo. 39...
View ArticleHomelessness in Tokyo Drops 75% in 10 Years
The number of homeless people in Tokyo dropped to a record low, plummeting from 6,731 people in 2004 to 1,697 in August. (WS Journal) The post Homelessness in Tokyo Drops 75% in 10 Years appeared first...
View ArticleOut of Japan’s Nuclear Disaster, New Indoor Farms Grow 100x More Food
Although his vision for indoor food cultivation dates back many decades, a Japanese botanist, Shigeharu Shimamura, used the earthquake and tsunami disaster of 2011 as a catalyst to start a stunning new...
View ArticleCaroline Kennedy Had Played With Japanese Dolls, Now Meets 92-yo Sender
A mystery has been unraveled for U.S. Ambassador to Japan, Caroline Kennedy, who has been searching for the sender of a set of Japanese hina dolls that were sent 53 years ago to her father, U.S....
View ArticleJust One Man Remains in Fukushima Radiation Zone – He’s Feeding All the...
Naoto Matsumura is adamant: “Animals and people are equal.” That’s why the 55-year-old rice farmer returned to the Fukushima exclusion zone after being forced to evacuate. Despite warnings about high...
View ArticleLife-sized Thomas the Tank Engine Chugs Into Fans’ Hearts (Video)
Japan is known for its high-speed bullet trains and old-fashioned locomotives, which still tug at our hearts. But, nothing compares to the attention this life-sized Thomas the Tank Engine has received...
View ArticlePower Cables a Thing of the Past? How About Solar Energy Beamed From Space?
Annoyed with power lines that can be knocked over by trees, rain and wind? The Japanese might get rid of them for good, now that they’ve discovered how to deliver energy by wireless transmission....
View ArticleGood News in History, March 27
160 years ago on this date, Canadian inventor Abraham Gesner received US patents for his innovation called kerosene. He and New York City investors in the North American Kerosene Gas Light Company...
View ArticleGood News in History, April 8
On this date 5 years ago, the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty was signed by President Obama and Russian President Medvedev in Prague, to reduce each nation’s nuclear arsenals to their lowest levels...
View ArticleRonaldo Scores Big for Kids in Nepal and Japan
Soccer great Cristiano Ronaldo may play as a forward on the field, but when it comes to kids, he’s an all-star defender. Ronaldo, who has the largest Facebook following in the world, recently used that...
View ArticleTeen’s Device to Clear Plastic Garbage from Oceans is Almost Ready
Remember the teen who unveiled an ambitious plan to clean up the plastic floating in the world’s oceans? Well, his invention is set to be deployed in 2016. After completing a $2 million crowdfunding...
View ArticleJapan’s Ban on Dancing After Midnight Finally Lifted After 67 Years
Japanese club-goers and night owls can soon bust a move – legally – and dance til dawn. Until last week, dancing was prohibited by law in public places after midnight. The ban dates back to post-World...
View ArticleThousands Attend Lavish Funeral for This Cat, the Railroad Stationmaster
A famous cat conductor who saved a railway from ruin was given a royal send-off by three thousand mourners in a traditional Shinto funeral in Japan on Sunday. Tama the cat had been attracting travelers...
View ArticleJapan’s Abandoned Golf Greens Find New Life As Solar Power Farms
Japan’s abandoned and bankrupt golf courses are getting a “Mulligan” — a second chance — as solar power stations. The Kyocera Corporation announced last week it will turn a former golf course in Kyoto,...
View Article‘Sea Bunnies’ Making Waves in Japan Are The Cutest Things You’ll See Today
Photos of fuzzy sea slugs are popping up all over social media in Japan – a nation known for its love of all things “kawaii” – or “cute.” Found in the cooler waters of the Pacific Ocean, these small,...
View ArticleThe Force is Strong in This Village: Star Wars Images Grown in Rice Paddy
Star Wars fans have created fan art through countless mediums. Rice paddies, however, are definitely a first. For decades, rice farmers in Inakadate Village in Japan have been creating images using...
View ArticleUltra-Strong Bridge Made of Cardboard Inspires Shelter Design
There’s reducing, reusing, recycling—and then, there’s an architect who transforms cardboard tubes into miracle building materials. Shigeru Ban, a Japanese architect renowned for his functional, sturdy...
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