May 26, 2022 (Kyodo) - A pair of premium melons in Japan's northern main island of Hokkaido fetched 3 million yen ($23,550) at the year's first auction on Thursday, exceeding last year's winning bid by 10 percent.
The auction record for a pair of Yubari melons, a signature product of the city of Yubari, was 5 million yen in 2019. The winning bid at the first auction last year was 2.7 million yen. ...continue reading
Source: 北海道ニュースUHB
Large and powerful Typhoon No. 9 (Bavi) has made landfall in central China and is moving northwest, bringing an end to the worst of the rain across Okinawa while leaving dangerous seas and strong winds in its wake. Forecasters are also warning that the system could trigger heavy rain in Hokkaido later this week after transitioning into an extratropical cyclone.
Transport disruption from Typhoon No. 9 (Bavi) continued on July 12, with airlines warning that some flights serving Okinawa’s outlying islands could still face delays, cancellations or conditional operations even after the storm moved away from the prefecture.
JAXA successfully landed a small experimental vehicle for a reusable rocket on July 11, marking a step toward technology that could increase the frequency of space launches while helping reduce costs.
A wave of bear sightings across Japan has forced the cancellation of traditional summer events, while one animal entered a home and came within inches of a sleeping resident's face.
Japan is expected to remain under intense summer heat through next week as the Pacific high-pressure system continues to dominate the country, bringing widespread temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius and increasing the risk of heatstroke.
Small supermarkets offering lower prices than convenience stores and closer access than full-size supermarkets are expanding rapidly across the Tokyo metropolitan area, as retailers race to meet demand from older consumers, single-person households and shoppers under pressure from rising prices.
A welfare facility in Fukuchiyama, Kyoto Prefecture, has begun preparations to sell about 220 giant stag beetles, one of Japan’s largest species, from July 13.
NTT Docomo will begin offering banking services under the new "Docomo Bank" brand in August, with plans to build a network of more than 1,500 locations by fiscal 2030, far exceeding the branch networks of Japan's major banks.
Japanese stocks rose for a second straight session on Friday, July 10, with the Nikkei Stock Average climbing 813.88 points to close at 68,557.73 after strong gains in U.S. technology and semiconductor stocks fueled renewed buying of AI-related shares.
Japan’s domestic Corporate Goods Price Index, which measures prices charged for goods traded between companies, rose 7.1% from a year earlier to 135.4 in June, the Bank of Japan said on July 10.
A credit card payment processor with liabilities of about 125.9 billion yen has become Japan’s largest bankruptcy so far in 2026, disrupting card payments at restaurants and shops across the country and forcing many businesses to accept cash only.
Japan's planned rollout of mobile phone numbers beginning with 060 has been postponed after telecom carriers said they need more time to complete system preparations.
Tokyo stocks fell for a third straight session on July 8 as selling in semiconductor and AI-related shares continued, while rising Japanese government bond yields, Middle East tensions and concern over the Bank of Japan’s policy independence added pressure to the broader market.
