Society

4 die in fire suppression system accident in Tokyo parking garage

Apr 16 (Kyodo) - Four building maintenance workers were killed Thursday in a basement parking garage in Tokyo as a fire suppression system was unintentionally activated, trapping them in an enclosed space with high levels of carbon dioxide, police and firefighters said.

A total of six men were replacing ceiling linings in the parking garage of a condominium building in Shinjuku Ward when the fire suppression system caused shutters to close and began discharging CO2 as a fire extinguishing agent, the police said.

The four men ranged in age from their 30s to their 50s, the authorities said, adding that one worker in his 20s is in critical condition and receiving treatment at a hospital.

Rescue workers measured the CO2 density in the parking garage as about 20 percent, several hundred times higher than the normal level, the Tokyo Fire Department said.

Source: ANNnewsCH

Student's Homemade Bomb Sparks School Lockdown in Sapporo

A suspicious object feared to be explosive was discovered at a high school in Sapporo on the afternoon of November 22nd, causing temporary chaos. The object was found to have been brought to the school by one of its students.

China to resume visa-exemptions for short-term Japanese travelers

China says it will resume allowing visa-free visits by Japanese nationals on short-term trips from the end of this month. (NHK)

Japan Grapples with Poverty and Rising 'Invisible Homeless'

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Ueno Toshogu Shrine Shines in Gold with Special Lighting

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World's First Fiber Made From Bagworm Silk Revolutionizes Industry

A Japanese pharmaceutical company has announced the successful commercialization of fiber made from silk produced by bagworms.

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