News On Japan

Typhoon affecting Izu Islands, Kanto region

Oct 02, 2021 (NHK) - Typhoon Mindulle is bringing violent winds and heavy rain to Tokyo's Izu Islands, as well as to the Kanto region as it passes nearby.

The Japan Meteorological Agency says that, as of 6 p.m. on Friday, the large typhoon was located over waters 260 kilometers east-southeast of Choshi City in Chiba Prefecture. It was moving northeast at 35 kilometers per hour.

Mindulle had a central atmospheric pressure of 950 hectopascals and was packing winds of up to 144 kilometers per hour near its center, with gusts reaching up to 216 kilometers per hour.

The wind speed was 90 kilometers per hour or more in areas within 330 kilometers north of the center and in areas within 280 kilometers south of the center.

The typhoon is expected to maintain its strength while moving northeast.

The agency says the typhoon will continue to affect the Izu Islands and the sea off the Kanto region, including the capital Tokyo, even as it moves away. Winds of up to 108 kilometers per hour, with gusts of up to 162 kilometers per hour, are expected for the rest of Friday.

The sea is expected to be very rough. Waves could reach 9 meters high around the Izu Islands and off the Kanto region.

Weather officials are also warning of torrential rain, flooding and landslides.

News On Japan
POPULAR NEWS

Toyota Motor will begin operating fully autonomous taxis in 2027 through a partnership with U.S. self-driving technology company Waymo, marking a major step in the Japanese automaker's efforts to expand driverless transportation services.

Mount Fuji has received its first snowcap of the season, the Japan Meteorological Agency announced on October 30, after temperatures at the summit plunged to minus 9.4 degrees Celsius, marking the arrival of winter conditions on Japan's highest mountain.

U.S. intelligence agencies suspect that a Chinese female intelligence operative developed a close relationship with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang in an attempt to obtain confidential corporate and U.S. government information, according to a report published by The New York Times on October 29th.

The Japanese government has asked major telecommunications operators to forcibly block access to websites believed to contain personal information stolen in a cyberattack on GMO, it emerged on October 29th, as authorities moved to prevent further exposure of sensitive data online.

Typhoon No. 31 was located near Minamitorishima Island in the Pacific Ocean, as of 3 a.m. on October 30, and was expected to approach the Ogasawara Islands south of Tokyo over the October 31-November 1 weekend while maintaining very strong intensity, bringing a growing risk of dangerously high waves, powerful swells and extremely rough seas.

MEDIA CHANNELS
         

MORE Society NEWS

Traditional Japanese crafts are finding an unexpected source of skilled workers in prisons across the country, where inmates are learning painstaking production techniques that build patience and concentration while helping preserve industries struggling with a shortage of craftspeople.

A Japanese woman in her 20s was found dead at an apartment complex in Cheonan, central South Korea, on October 29th, prompting police to detain a South Korean man in his 30s on suspicion of murder after he allegedly confessed to killing her because he had decided to commit suicide following stock market losses but could not bring himself to die alone.

Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako hosted the annual autumn garden party at the Akasaka Imperial Gardens in Tokyo on October 29, welcoming approximately 1,400 guests, including actor Kotaro Yoshida and novelist Miyuki Miyabe, while female members of the Imperial Family attended in traditional Japanese attire.

A 59-year-old water sports rental shop owner in Omachi, Nagano Prefecture, has received a letter of appreciation from police after rescuing a paraglider who plunged into a lake on September 21, pulling the unconscious man from the water and performing CPR after discovering he was no longer breathing.

A married couple in Aira, Kagoshima Prefecture, have been arrested after police discovered cannabis plants growing in pots on the terrace of their home during a search connected to a separate investigation, authorities said on October 28th.

A woman in her 80s was killed after her car entered railway tracks on the Odakyu Enoshima Line in Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, shortly before 10:30 p.m. on October 27, with security camera footage showing the vehicle traveling along the tracks, passing an oncoming train and stopping with its hazard lights flashing before being struck from behind by another train.

A teenage male was rushed to a hospital after suffering an electric shock while putting away a motorized basketball hoop at a gymnasium in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture, in an accident believed to have been caused by an incompatible extension cord, according to a report on October 27th.

A Halloween pumpkin displayed at a nursery school in Esashi, Hokkaido, was found smashed and partially eaten on October 25, in what police believe was a bear attack, with similar damage reported at a nearby home.