Japan

Japan


Japan’s nuclear watchdog halts plant’s reactor safety screening over falsified data

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s nuclear watchdog said Wednesday it is scrapping the safety screening for two reactors at the Hamaoka nuclear power plant in central Japan, after its operator was found to have fabricated data about earthquake risks. It was a setback to Japan’s attempts to accelerate nucler reactor restarts. Less than a quarter of […]

Read More


Oscar-nominated documentary ‘Black Box Diaries’ has delayed premiere in Japan after legal issues

TOKYO (AP) — “Black Box Diaries,” a documentary in which Japanese journalist Shiori Ito investigates her own sexual assault case and the barriers she faced in pursuing justice, has been screened widely abroad since its 2024 festival debut and earned an Oscar nomination early this year. It finally premiered in Japan on Friday, a long-delayed […]

Read More


Interpol takes anti-whaling campaigner Paul Watson off its most-wanted list

PARIS (AP) — Interpol said Tuesday it was removing a most-wanted designation for anti-whaling campaigner Paul Watson, who is sought by Japan over an encounter with a whaling ship and who was jailed for several months last year in Greenland. Watson, 74, is a former head of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, whose high seas […]

Read More


Japan links Chinese hacker MirrorFace to dozens of cyberattacks targeting security and tech data

TOKYO (AP) — Japan on Wednesday linked more than 200 cyberattacks over the past five years targeting the country’s national security and high technology data to a Chinese hacking group, MirrorFace, detailing their tactics and calling on government agencies and businesses to reinforce preventive measures. The National Police Agency said its analysis on the targets, […]

Read More


Takeaways from the AP’s investigation into Osprey safety issues

After being grounded for months following a crash last November that killed eight service members in Japan, the V-22 Osprey — a complicated aircraft that flies fast like a plane but converts to land like a helicopter — is back in the air. But there are still questions as to whether it should be. Since […]

Read More


The Osprey’s safety issues spiked over five years and caused deaths. Pilots still want to fly it

CANNON AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. (AP) — Over a New Mexico training range named the Hornet, two Osprey aircraft speed 100 feet off the ground, banking hard over valleys and hills as they close in on a dusty landing zone. A flight engineer in the back braces a .50-caliber machine gun over the edge of […]

Read More


Weak spots in metal may have led to fatal Osprey crash off Japan, documents obtained by AP reveal

WASHINGTON (AP) — A gear crack that led to a fatal crash of a V-22 Osprey last year may have been started by weak spots in a metal used to manufacture that part, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press. The November crash killed eight Air Force Special Operations Command service members. It was […]

Read More


A mysterious pile of bones could hold evidence of Japanese war crimes, activists say

TOKYO (AP) — Depending on who you ask, the bones that have been sitting in a Tokyo repository for decades could be either leftovers from early 20th century anatomy classes, or the unburied and unidentified victims of one of the country’s most notorious war crimes. A group of activists, historians and other experts who want […]

Read More


Japan punishes hundreds of defense officials for mishandling classified data and other misconduct

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s defense ministry announced disciplinary action on Friday against more than 200 senior officials and service members over mishandling of classified materials and other misconduct, an embarrassment that could undermine Tokyo’s efforts to work more closely with United States and other partners in the face of China’s growing threat. The Ministry and […]

Read More


Treasury wants to boost foreign investment review powers, as Congress dissects Nippon, TikTok deals

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Treasury wants to enhance the power of a little-known, secretive government committee to review deals made between U.S. firms and foreign investors. This comes as high-profile deals involving foreign investment in the U.S. — like Chinese firm ByteDance’s ownership of popular social media app TikTok and Japanese firm Nippon Steel’s bid […]

Read More


Another executive at Japan’s top oil firm is fired for sexual harassment as #MeToo awareness grows

TOKYO (AP) — The head of a renewable energy subsidiary of Japan’s top oil company, Eneos Holdings, has been fired for sexual harassment, the companies announced Wednesday, as awareness of the #MeToo movement grows in the country. Japan Renewable Energy Corp. said in a statement it dismissed chairperson Shigeru Yasu after an internal investigation confirmed […]

Read More


Another executive with Japan’s top refiner is fired for sexual harassment as #MeToo awareness grows

TOKYO (AP) — The head of a renewable energy subsidiary of Japan’s top refiner, Eneos Holdings, has been fired for sexual harassment, the companies announced Wednesday, as awareness of the #MeToo movement grows in the country. Japan Renewable Energy Corp. said in a statement it dismissed chairperson Shigeru Yasu after an internal investigation confirmed sexual […]

Read More