News On Japan

At least 4 dead, more than 370 injured in quake

Jun 18, 2018 (NHK) - Monday's major earthquake in western Japan left 4 people dead and more than 370 injured.

The Meteorological Agency is warning it's possible another big earthquake could hit in the coming days.

Agency's official says "Frequent seismic activity is continuing in the northern part of Osaka Prefecture.

Strong tremors could have raised the risk of landslides or building collapse. People in such areas are advised to watch out for further seismic activity and rain."

The earthquake struck before 8 AM in northern Osaka and measured 6.1 in magnitude.

On Japan's seismic intensity scale of zero to seven, it's categorized as a six-minus.

9-year-old Rina Miyake was killed when a wall collapsed while she was on her way to school.

80-year-old Minoru Yasui was also hit by a falling wall in a different area. He was on his way to do volunteer work for a local school.

85-year-old Motochika Goto was killed after a bookshelf fell on him. Many of the injured have been taken to hospital with the biggest number of injuries reported in the prefecture of Osaka.

Authorities are also dealing with damage. Firefighters have put out three house fires in northern Osaka.

Pipes have cracked underneath some roads and ceiling tiles fell in city halls in Osaka, Hyogo and Nara Prefectures as well as at the terminal building of Osaka airport.

Around 1,300 people have fled to evacuation centers set up across Osaka. 100,000 homes are without gas and water outages are being reported in the northern half of Osaka.

Shinkansen bullet train services in the area were suspended for hours for safety checks.

All the service resumed in the afternoon, but there were numerous cancellations and delays.

Local trains have also been affected, stranding thousands of passengers.

Japan's nuclear regulator says no problems have been found with reactors in Fukui Prefecture.

They are located to the north of the quake's epicenter.

News On Japan
POPULAR NEWS

Toyota Motor will begin operating fully autonomous taxis in 2027 through a partnership with U.S. self-driving technology company Waymo, marking a major step in the Japanese automaker's efforts to expand driverless transportation services.

Mount Fuji has received its first snowcap of the season, the Japan Meteorological Agency announced on October 30, after temperatures at the summit plunged to minus 9.4 degrees Celsius, marking the arrival of winter conditions on Japan's highest mountain.

U.S. intelligence agencies suspect that a Chinese female intelligence operative developed a close relationship with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang in an attempt to obtain confidential corporate and U.S. government information, according to a report published by The New York Times on October 29th.

The Japanese government has asked major telecommunications operators to forcibly block access to websites believed to contain personal information stolen in a cyberattack on GMO, it emerged on October 29th, as authorities moved to prevent further exposure of sensitive data online.

Typhoon No. 31 was located near Minamitorishima Island in the Pacific Ocean, as of 3 a.m. on October 30, and was expected to approach the Ogasawara Islands south of Tokyo over the October 31-November 1 weekend while maintaining very strong intensity, bringing a growing risk of dangerously high waves, powerful swells and extremely rough seas.

MEDIA CHANNELS
         

MORE Society NEWS

Traditional Japanese crafts are finding an unexpected source of skilled workers in prisons across the country, where inmates are learning painstaking production techniques that build patience and concentration while helping preserve industries struggling with a shortage of craftspeople.

A Japanese woman in her 20s was found dead at an apartment complex in Cheonan, central South Korea, on October 29th, prompting police to detain a South Korean man in his 30s on suspicion of murder after he allegedly confessed to killing her because he had decided to commit suicide following stock market losses but could not bring himself to die alone.

Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako hosted the annual autumn garden party at the Akasaka Imperial Gardens in Tokyo on October 29, welcoming approximately 1,400 guests, including actor Kotaro Yoshida and novelist Miyuki Miyabe, while female members of the Imperial Family attended in traditional Japanese attire.

A 59-year-old water sports rental shop owner in Omachi, Nagano Prefecture, has received a letter of appreciation from police after rescuing a paraglider who plunged into a lake on September 21, pulling the unconscious man from the water and performing CPR after discovering he was no longer breathing.

A married couple in Aira, Kagoshima Prefecture, have been arrested after police discovered cannabis plants growing in pots on the terrace of their home during a search connected to a separate investigation, authorities said on October 28th.

A woman in her 80s was killed after her car entered railway tracks on the Odakyu Enoshima Line in Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, shortly before 10:30 p.m. on October 27, with security camera footage showing the vehicle traveling along the tracks, passing an oncoming train and stopping with its hazard lights flashing before being struck from behind by another train.

A teenage male was rushed to a hospital after suffering an electric shock while putting away a motorized basketball hoop at a gymnasium in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture, in an accident believed to have been caused by an incompatible extension cord, according to a report on October 27th.

A Halloween pumpkin displayed at a nursery school in Esashi, Hokkaido, was found smashed and partially eaten on October 25, in what police believe was a bear attack, with similar damage reported at a nearby home.