TOKYO - Only a few women in Tokyo work as rickshaw runners. But thanks to postings on social media, more and more women are venturing into the traditional male-dominated profession.
Yuka Akimoto is among a handful of female rickshaw pullers plying the streets of Tokyo. Their numbers have been growing, thanks to social media where they have become a hot topic as they seek to break stereotypes in the male-dominated profession.
Typhoon No. 18 brought destructive winds to the Amami region and areas around Okinawa's main island, with a maximum instantaneous wind speed of 54.5 meters per second recorded on Tokunoshima in Kagoshima Prefecture and homes damaged and power outages reported as the storm passed through the region.
A series of mysterious illegal dumping incidents involving about 39 kilograms of sliced bread has been reported around Mount Daisen and other parts of Tottori Prefecture in August, with officials investigating whether the food may have been deliberately placed to attract wild animals.
An 85-year-old couple have donated a combined 400 million yen to Osaka City with a request that the money be used to create a giant Myaku-Myaku statue about 20 meters tall at the former site of the Osaka-Kansai Expo, envisioning a landmark that could become a lasting symbol of the event and of renewed prosperity for Kansai and Japan.
Lawson plans to cut prices on its main line of onigiri rice balls by 10 yen from September 29 as falling rice prices begin to feed through to retail costs.
Police have established a temporary police post in the whaling town of Taiji, Wakayama Prefecture, ahead of the September 1 opening of the annual drive hunt for whales and dolphins.
ANA Holdings' All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines will begin coordinating departure times on the Haneda-Okayama route from October 25, an unusual move by Japan's two largest airline groups as weak business travel, a weaker yen and rising fuel and labor costs put increasing pressure on domestic operations.
Haneda Airport has unveiled a new boarding area at Terminal 1 that will begin operations in September, featuring extensive wood interiors and self-driving transportation within the facility.
A new 220-meter pedestrian suspension bridge has been completed at Biwako Valley in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, offering visitors sweeping views of Lake Biwa from mountains about 1,100 meters above sea level.
Police have established a temporary police post in the whaling town of Taiji, Wakayama Prefecture, ahead of the September 1 opening of the annual drive hunt for whales and dolphins.
Air travel in Okinawa is beginning to be disrupted by the approach of Typhoon No. 18, with All Nippon Airways canceling 119 flights and more than 20,000 passengers expected to be affected.
Kyoto is stepping up efforts to capture Japan's growing nighttime economy, with Toei Kyoto Studio Park extending its hours to 9 p.m., a new theater drawing visitors near Kyoto Station and nighttime tours expanding in Gion as the city seeks to encourage tourists to stay out longer and explore more areas after dark.
The whistle of a steam locomotive still echoes through the mountains of Engaru in northeastern Hokkaido, where the historic Amemiya No. 21 continues to run through a region once sustained by forestry.
A foreign tourist was injured after being attacked by a bear near an observation deck on the shore of Lake Towada in Towada, Aomori Prefecture, on August 22, suffering a bite to his right arm and a bruised right shoulder.
