Oct 13 (Watercolor by Shibasaki) - Join me as I provide detailed feedback on a beautiful sunset landscape painting by Misaki-san from Kumamoto. She shared how she and her children were captivated by the ever-changing colors of the evening sky, exclaiming "Beautiful! Beautiful!" This heartwarming story inspired today's critique session.
A strong winter-pattern pressure system drove the season’s coldest air across the country on November 18th, making snow and rain more likely along the Japan Sea coast while bringing heavy snow and blizzard conditions to parts of northern Japan, with temperatures falling sharply nationwide and even areas that see sunshine experiencing a biting northerly wind.
The Japanese Embassy in Beijing urged Japanese nationals in China on November 18th to take extra precautions for their personal safety as the Chinese government intensifies its opposition to Prime Minister Takai’s recent comments regarding a potential Taiwan contingency, prompting the embassy to send a warning email later in the evening.
A reporting team found itself face to face with a bear while investigating the sharp rise in bear-related incidents that has left 13 people dead this year.
Sakurajima erupted in the early hours on October (date not provided in source), sending a plume of ash soaring to 4,400 meters above the crater, the first time it has exceeded 4,000 meters since October last year, with volcanic rocks reaching as far as the sixth station on the mountainside as the volcano continued erupting intermittently throughout the morning and caused ash to fall over Kagoshima Airport, where a thin layer accumulated on aircraft.
Japan Airlines (JAL) has introduced a new policy starting November 13th allowing its cabin crew and ground staff who serve customers at airports to wear sneakers during work hours.
Cases of inappropriate childcare are emerging across the country, and a recent incident in Higashi-Osaka has renewed concerns about how young children are being treated in nurseries.
Kyoto Sangyo University has suspended access to its athletics grounds after a report of an animal resembling a bear was made near the facility in Kyoto City.
Tokyo Metropolitan Government issued an influenza epidemic warning on November 13th after the number of reported cases reached the alert threshold, marking the first such announcement in November in 16 years.
A recent survey has revealed that many students who do not attend school and their parents are unaware of Japan’s "online attendance" system, which allows remote learning to count as official attendance.
After a painful divorce that nearly tore his family apart, Kenji Kataoka quit his stable job and began a new life as a sweet potato farmer in Kōka, Shiga Prefecture. The single father has spent the past two years working the fields while caring for his teenage son, Sōshi, who stopped attending school in elementary years. As the family faces its second harvest season, small changes begin to appear in their lives.
Japan’s largest shogi tournament for children in elementary school and younger was held in Osaka on November 9th.
A shortage of domestically produced lacquer, essential for restoring Japan’s cultural properties, has reached a critical point. For centuries, lacquer—or urushi—has been integral to traditional crafts and national treasures, but production has fallen sharply.
A mass food poisoning incident has been confirmed at a high school dormitory in Shiraoi, a town in Hokkaido’s Iburi region, where 63 students suffered symptoms such as diarrhea and stomach pain after eating meals prepared at the facility.
