News On Japan

Japan aims to triple 5G population coverage in 2 years

Mar 30 (NHK) - The Japanese government is aiming to triple the availability of high-speed 5G wireless services over the next two years. The plan is to cover 95 percent of the population by March 2024.

Mobile carriers have prioritized expanding their networks in urban areas since the launch of 5G in 2020.

But only 30 percent of the population has access to the new technology.

The communications ministry consulted telecom firms and has set a goal of achieving 95 percent coverage by the end of fiscal 2023. It wants to get to 97 percent by fiscal 2025, and 99 percent by fiscal 2030.

News On Japan
POPULAR NEWS

The Japan Mobility Show opened on October 29th, marking the start of Japan’s premier automotive exhibition, where foreign manufacturers are stepping up their entry into the country’s growing electric vehicle (EV) market.

Prime Minister Takaiichi’s first face-to-face meeting with U.S. President Trump drew high praise from officials at the Prime Minister’s Office, who described the atmosphere as friendly and open. According to government sources, the two leaders addressed each other by their first names, “Sanae” and “Donald,” a gesture that one senior official called “120 points,” underscoring the success of the meeting.

An elderly woman was found dead in a roadside ditch in Akita City on October 27th, with police investigating the possibility that she was attacked by a bear. A local resident discovered the woman lying face down in a drainage channel around 11 a.m. and called emergency services.

The Nikkei Stock Average closed at 50,512 yen on October 27th, surpassing the 50,000 mark for the first time in history and setting a new all-time high. The benchmark index rose 1,212 yen from the previous trading day, driven by strong gains across sectors.

McDonald's Japan announced it will phase out the use of paper straws and introduce new lids that allow customers to drink directly from the cup without a straw starting on November 19th.

MEDIA CHANNELS
         

MORE Society NEWS

Police reported a string of traffic accidents on October 30th, including a multi-car collision in Tokyo’s Ota Ward that injured six people—among them a two-year-old girl and a four-year-old boy—and a separate incident in Gunma Prefecture where a car crashed into a dealership.

Emperor Naruhito met with former U.S. President Donald Trump for the first time in six years at the Imperial Palace on October 27th. The two exchanged greetings in English, with the Emperor saying, "I’m pleased to see you again," as he welcomed Trump to the Imperial residence around 6:30 p.m.

A 43-year-old former employee of Tsuda University has been re-arrested by Tokyo Metropolitan Police on suspicion of vandalism for spraying his bodily fluid on female students’ clothing on campus.

A 38-year-old man was arrested near the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo’s Minato Ward on October 24th after attacking a riot police officer with a knife, injuring the officer’s right leg.

A group in Sapporo achieved a Guinness World Record on October 25th for creating the world’s largest sentence made entirely from plastic bottle caps. The artwork, composed of around 80,000 caps, was officially recognized under the category “Largest Sentence Made from Bottle Caps.”

A Tokyo District Court has ruled that addressing a colleague using the 'chan' suffix constitutes sexual harassment, ordering a male employee to pay 220,000 yen in damages.

A 47-year-old man accused of possessing cannabis in Nagoya has been acquitted after the Nagoya High Court ruled that the procedures used to seize the evidence were illegal. The decision, handed down on October 9th, became final after prosecutors decided not to appeal.

A 38-year-old man was killed on October 24th in the village of Higashinaruse, Akita Prefecture, after attempting to rescue a couple in their seventies who were being attacked by a bear.