Society

Japan's Hoshide, other astronauts head to space station aboard SpaceX ship

Apr 24 (Kyodo) - Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide and three others lifted off Friday as part of a crew rotation flight on a SpaceX-developed craft to the International Space Station.

The Crew Dragon space capsule was launched on a Falcon 9 rocket at 5:49 a.m. from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the third manned flight of its kind. It was the first time to reuse the capsule and part of the rocket from previous missions.

The spacecraft and rocket developed by U.S. company Space Exploration Technologies Corp. was certified last year by NASA for crew missions to and from the ISS, becoming the first commercial system in history to achieve such a designation.

Ameyoko Restaurants Run by Foreigners, Mainly Chinese

Tokyo's downtown market district, Ameyoko, which attracts hundreds of thousands of shoppers, especially around New Year, is undergoing a major transformation. Traditional fresh fish stores have dwindled, while multinational restaurants have surged. What is happening?

Bear Cull Remains Unresolved as Negotiations Collapse

A dispute over the remuneration for bear hunters has led to a standoff between a town in Hokkaido and its local hunter association. The breakdown in negotiations means that the hunters will no longer respond to bear sightings, leaving the small town of Naie, with a population of about 4,800, in a precarious situation.

Cake Shop Crunch: Rising Costs Force Closures at Record Rate

An increasing number of Western confectionery shops in Japan, particularly cake shops, are going bankrupt. According to research released in June, from January to May, there have been 18 bankruptcies, the highest number since 2010. If this trend continues, it will surpass the record set in 2019.