Heavy snow fell on mountainous areas in Japan on Friday night. Snowfall also continued mostly along the Japan Sea coast from northern to western Japan. (NHK)
Having disregarded a state instruction to kill cattle left behind in areas near the crisis-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, some local farmers have been struggling to keep about 430 cows within a 20-kilometers radius of the complex exposed to radiation. (Japan Today)
Five-year prison terms were sought Wednesday for three former executives of Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. for their alleged failure to prevent the Fukushima nuclear disaster triggered by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami. (Japan Times)
Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a 27-year-old man after he was found with the corpse of his girlfriend inside a vehicle in Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture, reports the Yomiuri Shimbun (Dec. 10). (tokyoreporter.com)
Six people were found dead early Thursday after a fire at a wooden house in Japan's northeastern prefecture of Fukushima, local police said. (Japan Today)
Time seemed to have stopped inside the main control room for the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant's crippled Nos. 3 and 4 reactors -- that is how Kyodo News reporters felt when they recently became the first journalists to enter the facility since the 2011 nuclear meltdowns there.
(Japan Today)
Japan Post Co. on Wednesday began transporting documents by drone in Fukushima Prefecture, the first operation of its kind in Japan, following easing of regulations to cope with labor shortages in the transport industry. (Japan Times)
Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. has launched an English-language online virtual tour of the interior of the crippled Fukushima No. 1 power plant, allowing website visitors to check the progress of decommissioning work following the 2011 meltdowns --- one of the world's worst nuclear crises. (Japan Times)
The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station has deleted a hashtag it used for Instagram that means to enjoy views of the plant. (NHK)
Fukushima Prefectural Police have arrested four men in connection with a dismembered corpse found in the town of Aizumisato earlier this year, reports Kyodo News. (tokyoreporter.com)
A Tokyo court has begun questioning 3 former executives of Tokyo Electric Power Company about their involvement in the 2011 nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant. (NHK)
Taiwan will hold a referendum during local elections next month on whether to maintain a ban on food products from five Japanese prefectures imposed in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, the Central Election Commission said Tuesday. (Japan Times)
An executive of Fukushima Television Broadcasting Co. has been accused of paying a teenage girl for sex earlier this year, reports Nikkan Sports. (tokyoreporter.com)
More than seven years have passed since the tragic Tohoku earthquake and tsunami struck Japan, and in that time life has returned to normal for much of the country. (soranews24.com)
Fukushima Mayor Hiroshi Kohata announced a decision on Tuesday to remove a controversial statue of a child in a radiation protection suit that has drawn waves of criticism since it was unveiled early this month. (Japan Times)
A group of researchers conducted a test to develop technology for a space elevator that would link the Earth and outer space using cables. (NHK)
The operator of Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear reactors said Thursday it had stopped selling a souvenir at the plant after facing a storm of online criticism saying it was inconsiderate. (Japan Today)
Japan has decided to reduce its plutonium stockpile, in line with its principle of possessing only the amount necessary for peaceful use, the country’s nuclear panel said Tuesday, while failing to give a numerical target. (Japan Times)
Several beaches ravaged by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan have been reopened for bathing for the first time in 8 years. (NHK)
The schedule for the Tokyo Olympics has been broadly determined. Starting times of the marathon and other races along roads were moved forward in view of the hot summer weather. (NHK)
Japan on Tuesday approved an energy plan that sets ambitious targets for nuclear energy use and sustains a struggling program for spent-fuel recycling despite setbacks after the 2011 Fukushima disaster. (Japan Today)
A nuclear reactor at a trouble-hit complex in southwestern Japan restarted operations Saturday for the first time in more than six and a half years amid lingering safety concerns. (Japan Today)
Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko attended an annual national tree-planting festival, the last such event for the couple, in the tsunami-hit city of Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture, on Sunday. (Japan Times)
An internal probe by Nissan Motor Co. has discovered misconduct at its plants regarding the employment of foreign trainees, including forcing them to perform jobs not sanctioned under a government program, a company official said Wednesday. (Japan Times)
Corrosion and holes have been found in ventilation ducts at 12 reactors at seven nuclear plants across Japan, the Nuclear Regulation Authority said Wednesday, raising concerns that workers could be exposed to radiation in the event of an accident. (Japan Today)