Society

JR Central aims to clean bullet trains faster than 7 minutes between arrival and departures

Jun 06 (Japan Today) - In a move to better compete with a rival train operator's famous "seven-minute miracle" for cleaning a bullet train between its arrival and departure, Central Japan Railway Co will shave off two minutes from its own shinkansen cleaning work, beginning next spring.

JR Central plans to complete cleaning of its 16-car Nozomi bullet trains at Tokyo Station in around 10 minutes. That is still longer than East Japan Railway Co's seven minutes.

According to officials at the Nagoya-based train operator, 52 cleaning staff belonging to a subsidiary, Shinkansen Maintenance Tokai Co, take care of the 16-car trains, tidying their seats, mopping the floor and cleaning the toilets after passengers get off and before the next passengers get on.

As the shinkansen time schedules are tightly managed, cleaning work must be efficient and fast. A video entitled "7-Minute Miracle," showing the work of the cleaning crew for JR East's bullet trains, has gone viral around the world with some six million views, and the lightning-fast cleanup has attracted global media attention.

Do Bears Prefer Acorns or Berries?

Bear sightings across Japan have already climbed to nearly twice the level recorded during the same period last year, prompting entry bans in mountain areas behind Kyoto’s Ninna-ji Temple and the cancellation of hiking events in Kansai, while new research suggests that the key to reducing encounters may lie in understanding what bears eat in each region.

Copper Thieves Target Japanese Shrines

Copper roofing panels were stolen from several shrines in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, including a city-designated cultural property, in the latest case amid a nationwide surge in copper thefts targeting shrines and temples across Japan, where soaring metal prices have fueled crimes that leave historic religious buildings damaged, exposed to the elements, and facing repair costs of millions of yen.

1200-Year-Old Temple on Miyajima Reduced to Ashes

Flames broke out on the morning of May 20th on Miyajima Island in Hiroshima Prefecture, home to one of Japan's World Heritage sites, destroying Reikado Hall near the summit of Mount Misen.

From Bento Boxes to Garbage Bags, Rising Costs Hitting Daily Life Across Japan

Uncertainty surrounding the situation in the Middle East is beginning to affect daily life in Japan, as concerns over crude oil supplies spread to restaurants, cleaning services and even household garbage disposal systems across the Kansai region.

Tochigi Robbery-Murder Suspect’s Wife Posted Dance Videos on Social Media

A 25-year-old woman arrested as a suspected ringleader in a robbery-murder case in Tochigi Prefecture once posted cheerful dance videos on social media and was remembered by those who knew her as an energetic and outgoing young woman.

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