Japan Times -- Feb 10
The number of influenza patients per medical institution in Japan in the week through Feb. 3 dropped from the previous week in all of the nation’s 47 prefectures, the health ministry announced.
The average number of flu patients at some 5,000 regularly monitored medical institutions across the country fell to 43.24 from the preceding week’s 57.09, which marked the highest level since the survey started in April 1999, the ministry said Friday.
The total number of flu patients in the country in the week is estimated at some 1,669,000, down by some 557,000 from the previous week.
The decline signals that the peak of the outbreak has passed. But a ministry official said that the patient number is “still high, so attention is needed.”
The average number of patients per institution topped the alarm level of 30 in all 47 prefectures except Gifu, Wakayama and Kumamoto.
News source: Japan Times
Feb 23
Japan on Friday stepped up its claim to a pair of South Korea-controlled islets, amid escalating tensions with its neighbor resulting from disputes over wartime issues. (Japan Times) Feb 23
Japan's Crown Prince Naruhito marks his 59th birthday on Saturday. He will ascend to the throne on May 1st, one day after his father, Emperor Akihito, abdicates.
(NHK) Feb 23
All Nippon Airways said Friday it was forced to delay a domestic flight earlier this week after a co-pilot failed an alcohol breath test despite new rules. (Japan Today) Feb 22
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, says data from the Hayabusa2 space probe shows it had landed on the asteroid Ryugu. The spacecraft's task is to collect rock samples.
(NHK) Feb 22
Authorities in Hokkaido have opened shelters for people left stranded on trains or out in the bitter cold following the strong earthquake on Thursday.
(NHK) Feb 22
Kanagawa Prefectural Police arrested a 56-year-old man after he was found wielding scissors inside a Tokaido Shinkansen train on Wednesday, reports NHK (tokyoreporter.com) Feb 22
Tokyo Metropolitan Police on Thursday arrested two former employees of a hostess club in Edogawa Ward for allegedly dumping the corpse of a man who died after excessive drinking, reports the Sankei Shimbun (tokyoreporter.com) Feb 21
The Tokyo High Court on Wednesday sentenced a man to 12 years in prison for abducting a teenage girl and keeping her in captivity for two years from 2014, annulling the lower court ruling that gave him a nine-year jail term. (Japan Today) Feb 21
A video of a first-year high school student in Niigata Prefecture being attacked by a group of schoolmates was posted online and went viral on social media, school officials said Tuesday. (Japan Times) Feb 20
A Japanese court on Tuesday ordered two former classmates of a junior high school student -- who killed himself in 2011 -- to pay damages totaling about 37.5 million yen, acknowledging that their bullying led to his death. (Japan Today)