News On Japan

Sony opens experimental 'park' in Ginza

Aug 10 (Japan Times) - In what appears to be an unusual mix, tech giant Sony Corp. opened a “park” in the middle of the Tokyo’s ritzy Ginza district on Thursday with four subterranean levels.

Ginza Sony Park was built at the site where the Sony Building, a former landmark, once stood. The ground floor consists of greenery and looks like a standard park, but the four underground floors consist of shops and free space.

Some of the shops sell food and goods, but much of the facility’s 3,807 sq. meters of floor space is designed to let people hang out freely.

For now, a roller skating rink has been set up on the second basement floor that can be used for free until Sept. 24.

The idea of Sony opening a park-themed facility may sound odd, but Nagano said it was an experiment before erecting a new Sony building on the site. Sony plans to run the park until fall 2020, when it will start construction on the new Sony Building with an eye to opening it in 2022.

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Chubu Electric Power has begun dismantling the reactor at Unit 2 of the Hamaoka Nuclear Power Plant in Omaezaki, Shizuoka Prefecture, on Monday. This marks the first time a commercial nuclear reactor is being dismantled in Japan.

The controversy surrounding Prime Minister Ishiba’s 100,000-yen voucher program continued to face scrutiny in the Diet on Monday, with opposition parties intensifying their criticism. Within the ruling party, concerns are mounting that Ishiba may be an electoral liability.

Mount Fuji will officially become a paid climb, as the Shizuoka Prefectural Assembly approved an ordinance on March 17th requiring hikers to pay a 4,000 yen entry fee. Following Yamanashi’s lead, Shizuoka will implement the fee starting in the summer of 2025.

A foreign man was caught trespassing on the Imperial Palace grounds early on March 16th and was arrested on the spot.

A new leisure complex, Gravitate Osaka, opens this week near Aigawa Dam in Ibaraki, Osaka, featuring restaurants, activity areas, and Japan’s longest suspension bridge, stretching 420 meters.

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