News On Japan

'Blood Moon' Turns Night Sky Red

TOKYO - A total lunar eclipse was observed across Japan early Monday morning, marking the first such event in about three years. The moon began to darken at around 1:30 a.m., glowing a distinctive copper-red as it entered the Earth’s shadow.

A lunar eclipse occurs when the sun, Earth, and moon align in a straight line during a full moon, with the Earth blocking sunlight from directly reaching the lunar surface. The phenomenon can be seen clearly with the naked eye, and the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan confirmed that this eclipse began in the southwestern sky at 1:30 a.m., reaching totality at about 2:30 a.m.

In Hokkaido’s Tokachi Plain and other regions, the eclipse created a striking sight as the full moon turned a glowing reddish hue in the night sky.

The last total lunar eclipse visible in Japan was in November 2022, making this the first such celestial event in nearly three years. According to astronomers, the next opportunity to observe a total lunar eclipse in Japan will come on March 3rd of next year.

Source: YOMIURI

News On Japan
POPULAR NEWS

Successive linear rainbands formed across five prefectures in Kyushu through the morning of July 2, bringing disaster-level rain that caused river flooding, landslides and inundated roads, while Typhoon No. 9 formed over waters far southeast of Japan.

Former Nissan Motor Chairman Carlos Ghosn said the automaker is in a "state of emergency" and signaled he would be willing to return as chief executive officer, arguing that only a true decision-maker in the CEO role could rescue the company.

The entire Negishi Housing Area in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, has been returned to Japan for the first time in 79 years, ending its use as a residential district for U.S. military personnel and their families.

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.

MEDIA CHANNELS
         

MORE Sci-Tech NEWS

Researchers around the world are turning their attention to mitochondria, the energy-producing structures inside cells, as new discoveries suggest they may hold important clues to slowing aging, preventing disease and extending healthy life.

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.

Japan is set to begin its first clinical trial of xenotransplantation involving the transplant of pig kidneys into human patients, in a step that could open a new option for people with kidney failure.

A new treatment that uses healthy tissue from the heart removed from a transplant patient and transplants it into another patient has been approved in Japan for the first time, with the National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center preparing to carry out the procedure.

For those involved in medical research and biostatistics, understanding the intricacies of recovery processes is crucial.

The KAGRA gravitational-wave research facility in Kamioka, Hida, Gifu Prefecture, was opened to the public on June 20 for the first special viewing in nine years, giving 200 visitors a rare chance to tour the underground observatory with Nobel laureate Takaaki Kajita.

Mosquitoes are appearing earlier than usual this year, raising fears of a major summer outbreak as experts warn that warm May weather and repeated light rain have created ideal breeding conditions across residential areas.

New cases of hand, foot and mouth disease in Fukuoka Prefecture remained at alert level for the third consecutive week, prompting the prefectural government to urge residents to take preventive measures against the infection, which spreads through droplets and physical contact.