Society

Japan Olympic team member Mao Ichiyama wins Sapporo half marathon

May 06 (Japan Times) - Mao Ichiyama won the women’s section of the Sapporo Challenge Half Marathon with a personal-best time on Wednesday, beating out fellow Japan Olympic team members Honami Maeda and Ayuko Suzuki.

A test event for this summer’s Tokyo Games, the race took place in cool and windy conditions on a shortened version of the Olympic course. Organizers scaled down the event due to the coronavirus pandemic, asking people not to spectate from the roadside and canceling a 10-kilometer race open to the public.

Ichiyama said she had been determined to get results and her win in 1 hour, 8 minutes and 28 seconds came as a relief.

Olympic team substitute Mizuki Matsuda finished 4 seconds later, followed by Suzuki. Maeda came in fifth.

Hillary Kipkoech of Kenya won the men’s portion in 1 hour, 46 seconds, while Japan Olympic team member Yuma Hattori, who said his priority was scouting the course rather than winning, finished 24th in 1 hour, 2 minutes, 59 seconds.

Imperial Family Pays Tribute to War Victims

The Emperor, Empress, and their daughter Princess Aiko visited the Tokyo Metropolitan Memorial Hall in Sumida Ward on Thursday afternoon, marking their first visit to the site as Japan observes the 80th year since the end of World War II. They were greeted upon arrival by Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike and other officials.

First Snow Caps Mount Fuji, 15 Days Earlier Than Last Year

The Kofu Local Meteorological Observatory announced on October 23rd that the season’s first snow had been observed on Mount Fuji, which stands 3,776 meters tall. Around 6 a.m., an official visually confirmed that snow had clearly accumulated near the summit.

Tokyo’s Aging Expressway Reborn After Major Overhaul

After nearly a decade of construction, the newly rebuilt Haneda Line of the Metropolitan Expressway, one of Tokyo’s key arteries linking the city center with Haneda Airport, has been unveiled to the media ahead of its official switch to a new road on October 29th.

New Cabinet Takes On 'Takaichi Color'

The newly launched Takaichi Cabinet moved into full operation on October 22nd, with early personnel decisions revealing a clear conservative tone. Satsuki Katayama was appointed as finance minister and Kimi Onoda as minister in charge of foreign resident policy, underscoring what observers are calling the emergence of a distinct “Takaichi color.”

Hokkaido Launches Mass Culling After Bird Flu Detected

Authorities in Shiraoi, Hokkaido, have begun culling approximately 460,000 laying hens after a poultry farm in the region’s Iburi area confirmed infections of highly pathogenic avian influenza, marking the first confirmed outbreak of the season in Japan.

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