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Jetstar reconnects Australia and Japan after more than two years

Jul 20, 2022 (nationaltribune.com.au) - Jetstar’s flights between Tokyo and Cairns take off today after nearly two and a half years, with the airline preparing to welcome thousands of visitors from Japan into tropical north Queensland each week.

While restrictions remain in place for independent tourists travelling from Australia to Japan, Japanese citizens are now able to travel freely between the two countries, driving strong demand for Jetstar’s relaunch of direct services to Cairns.

The airline will operate five return flights per week between Cairns and Narita (Tokyo), bringing more than 1,600 people into Australia from Japan every week and providing an important boost to local tourism.

The first return flight from Tokyo to Cairns, which is close to sold out, will take off on Thursday night and touch down early Friday morning.

Following today’s launch, Jetstar will resume three weekly services between Cairns and Osaka (Kansai) on 26 July, increasing to four services from September.

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Japan’s World Cup campaign ended in the cruelest possible fashion on June 29, as Gabriel Martinelli scored in the fifth minute of stoppage time to give Brazil a 2-1 victory over the Samurai Blue in their knockout match in Houston. Japan had led in the first half and were still level at 1-1 in the final moments, but Martinelli’s late strike sent Brazil into the Round of 16 and eliminated Japan from the tournament.

Strong earthquakes have continued to shake parts of Japan in recent weeks, with 11 temblors measuring lower 5 or above on the Japanese seismic intensity scale recorded across the country since April 2026.

A Kintetsu Railway train derailed inside Kyoto Station on the morning of June 29, forcing partial suspensions on the Kintetsu Kyoto Line for the rest of the day and causing long delays that hit commuters, students and tourists.

A section of stone wall at Hikone Castle, one of Japan’s few surviving original Edo-period castles and a National Treasure whose main keep remains intact more than 400 years after its construction, collapsed after heavy rain caused by Typhoons No. 7 and No. 8, Hikone city officials said.

Japan advanced to the knockout stage of the World Cup after a 1-1 draw with Sweden on June 25, finishing second in Group F and setting up a Round of 32 clash with Brazil in Houston.

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A section of stone wall at Hikone Castle, one of Japan’s few surviving original Edo-period castles and a National Treasure whose main keep remains intact more than 400 years after its construction, collapsed after heavy rain caused by Typhoons No. 7 and No. 8, Hikone city officials said.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said at around 2 p.m. on June 29 that the rainy season appeared to have ended in Okinawa, marking a later-than-usual start to summer after an especially wet period.

Japan’s weather agency carried out field inspections in Yamanashi Prefecture on June 28 after a powerful earthquake struck the Fuji Five Lakes area late on June 26, registering a lower 6 on Japan’s seismic intensity scale in Fujikawaguchiko and injuring six people.

According to updates on June 28, the double-typhoon system that brought record rain, flooding, landslides and fallen trees to parts of Japan has moved away, but Kanto remains under cloudy rainy-season skies, with intermittent rain still possible and saturated ground keeping the risk of landslides high in areas hit by heavy rain.

The Kanto region is experiencing an unusual June, with three typhoons approaching the area during the month and rainfall totals already reaching record levels in some locations.

Damage was reported across the Kansai region after a stationary seasonal rain front and an approaching typhoon brought torrential rain on June 26, triggering landslides in Seika, Kyoto Prefecture, flooding homes in Nara, and disrupting roads and railway services in Osaka and surrounding areas.

A powerful earthquake with a maximum seismic intensity of upper 6 struck off Iwate Prefecture at around 7:30 a.m. on June 25, shaking parts of Aomori Prefecture and leaving Hachinohe, which was hit by a similarly strong quake last December, facing fresh damage.

Rice field art depicting Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani and his dog Decoy is nearing its best viewing period in Oshu, Iwate Prefecture, Ohtani’s hometown.