Pandemic

Japanese Researchers Are Developing Masks That Glow Under UV After Catching Coronavirus

December 10, 2021 by Japan Informer

A group of researchers in west Japan has created masks that glow if they contain trace amounts of coronavirus when exposed to UV light. The coronavirus is detected using antibodies derived from the eggs of ostriches.Yasuhiro Tsukamoto, the current acting president for the individual researchers involved in this project, has high hopes for the mask. He believes that the masks … [Read more...] about Japanese Researchers Are Developing Masks That Glow Under UV After Catching Coronavirus

Japan Retracts Its Statement To Ban Reservation Of Inbound Flights After Harsh Criticism

December 3, 2021 by Japan Informer

The Japanese government has reversed its decision to completely halt the booking of flights for inbound passengers until later this month after concerns that the move against the Omicron is excessive.Premier Secretary Fumio Kishida admitted the transport minister's announcement earlier in the day was due to confusion. He also told reporters that he had instructed staff to … [Read more...] about Japan Retracts Its Statement To Ban Reservation Of Inbound Flights After Harsh Criticism

Japan Registers Its First Omicron Variant Infection Case

November 30, 2021 by Japan Informer

Japan has confirmed the first infection from the new Omicron coronavirus variant. A source from the government confirmed it on Tuesday in less than a week since the identification in South Africa.According to the governmental source, a man in his 30s was found to have the highly mutated strain following his arrival via Namibia in the Narita airport close to Tokyo on … [Read more...] about Japan Registers Its First Omicron Variant Infection Case

Mysterious Japanese convenience store “ruins” could be a Studio Ghibli castle

Anyone who has spent time in Japan will tell you that outside of the multitude of services available at them, convenience stores live up to their name with their ubiquitous nature. In major cities, it can sometimes be difficult to walk a minute or two without passing by several convenience stores, so normally one wouldn’t […]

Echoes of Torture: Uncovering the Unimaginable in Junko Furuta’s Story

This chilling tale is about a 17-year-old Japanese girl named Junko Furuta that was kidnapped, raped, and tortured to hell for 44 days and then murdered with brutality by four men in 1988. The girl’s body was found in a concrete drum, and the murder trial followed, which was dubbed “the “concrete-encased high school girl murder case.” There […]

Japan’s Dolphin Meat Contains Mercury Levels up to 100 Times the Safe Limit, Tests Show

Marine conservation group, Action for Dolphins (AFD), has lodged a complaint with police in Japan, demanding the removal of ‘toxic’ dolphin meat from sale. A recent test carried out by a Japanese laboratory found that a sample of Risso’s dolphin offal exceeded the government’s recommended safe level of mercury by up to 97.5 times, while […]

Haneda airport to launch facial recognition gates for Japanese nationals

The Justice Ministry has unveiled unmanned facial recognition gates that will be introduced at Haneda airport on Wednesday to speed up immigration procedures for Japanese citizens. The system can judge whether passport photos match images of travelers taken by cameras at the gates in about 10 seconds, the ministry said Friday. The system will kick […]

The last photo of faithful dog Hachiko breaks yours heart

The dog is man’s best friend, or so the saying goes. Nowadays, it’s sometimes hard to believe those words when your loyal canine is dragging your dirty pants, underwear included, out into the living room for all your guests to see (true story). But one dog in Japan proved his undying loyalty, waiting for his […]

Now You Can Get Your Own Studio Ghibli Soot Sprite Erasers

In Japan, the soot sprites in the Studio Ghibli movie My Neighbour Totoro are referred to in the Japanese language as ” Makkuro Kurosuke,” which is the result of “makkuro” meaning ” pitch black,” “Kuro” meaning ” black” and “suke” being a common last name for boys. Despite their basic appearance, these huge-eyed dust dwellers […]

Japanese Billionaire And CEO Of Rakuten Donates 1 Billion Yen To Ukraine

Hiroshi Mikitani, a Japanese billionaire, announced Sunday that he would donate $8.7million to Ukraine’s government. He called Russia’s invasion “a challenge for democracy.” In a letter to Volodymyr Zelensky, the founder of Rakuten, an e-commerce company, stated that the 1 billion yen ($8.7million) donation will be used to support “humanitarian activities to assist people in […]

How Japan Handled COVID And Got A Huge Drop In Infection Cases

In mid-August, just following the Tokyo Olympics, Japan was in the grip of a 5th wave of COVID infection cases. New cases had risen to 25,000 per day in the country, and Japan’s medical system was stretched to the limit. In late September, the number of cases had decreased dramatically. As of December, the national […]

Japanese Company Brings Vertical Monitor Just To Consume Social Media

The standard laptop or PC monitor is essentially an evolution of the TV design, using an identical horizontal screen layout. However, while it’s excellent for long-form reading and videos, it’s not the best arrangement to use social networks, most of which are set in narrow, tall columns. In essence, if you’re scrolling through your social […]

Governor Koike Announces That Tokyo Will Start Recognizing Same-Sex Partnership

Finally LGBTQ activists can rejoice in Japan! On an announcement on Wednesday, Governor Yuriko Koike said that Tokyo finally would recognize same-sex partnerships, becoming the largest city in Japan to accept such tradition as activists push for national recognition. The constitution of Japan still states that “marriage shall be only with the mutual consent of […]