News On Japan

Decontaminated soil from nuclear accident tested for use in agriculture

TOKYO - In the third year of an initiative to use "decontaminated soil" from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident for agriculture, experts have conducted an on-site inspection in an effort to determine whether agriculture can be resumed in this region in the future.

In the Nagadoro district of Iitate Village, Fukushima Prefecture, "decontaminated soil" is being used experimentally for agriculture.

This initiative, now in its third year, has expanded in scale, including the establishment of approximately 3,000 square meters of paddy fields.

Experts also visited Okuma Town, where they observed an attempt to reuse "decontaminated soil" as a base for roads.

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Typhoon No. 27 (Choi-wan) is expected to rapidly intensify into a very strong storm as it moves north toward the Ogasawara Islands, bringing prolonged strong winds, heavy rain and waves exceeding six meters from October 5 to October 6, according to the latest forecast issued at 9 p.m. on October 2.

Nearly one year after the Osaka-Kansai Expo closed, the former exhibition grounds were opened to the media on October 2, revealing that around 90% of the pavilions and other facilities have been demolished, while the Forest of Tranquility remains a peaceful green space at the center of the site.

Time magazine has named Shoko Kawata, the 36-year-old mayor of Yawata in Kyoto Prefecture, among its 100 most influential emerging figures worldwide, recognizing her decision to become Japan's first sitting mayor to take maternity leave and highlighting a political career that has taken her from municipal administration to national politics and the leadership of a city of nearly 70,000 people.

Hokkaido's highest peak, Mount Asahidake in the Daisetsuzan mountain range, recorded its first snow cover of the season on October 2, with the area around the Asahidake Ropeway's Sugatami Station, at an elevation of approximately 1,600 meters, blanketed in snow.

Tokyo authorities carried out the capital's first emergency shooting of a captured bear in Hachioji after an adult Asiatic black bear was found caught in a trap near a residential area about 8 kilometers from Takao Station.

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Miresso, a Japanese startup backed by trading house Mitsui & Co., has announced the start of construction of a facility to produce beryllium, a rare metal essential for nuclear fusion power generation, with plans to manufacture 100 tons annually, equivalent to about one-third of current global production.

A woman in her 50s with severe heart failure underwent what was described as the world's first surgery using commercially available iPS cell-derived heart muscle sheets at an Osaka hospital on September 29, marking the first practical use of the regenerative treatment.

Japan's wild population of Oriental storks has exceeded 700 birds following decades of conservation efforts, with successful breeding across the country putting the population on track to surpass 1,000 within two years.

A rare pod of around 50 dolphins was spotted swimming through the Seto Inland Sea off Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, with dozens of dorsal fins repeatedly breaking the surface as the animals moved together.

Tesla unveiled its Cybercab in Japan for the first time on September 11, showcasing an AI-powered autonomous taxi designed without a steering wheel or pedals.

Large volumes of floodwater poured into the Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel in Kasukabe, Saitama Prefecture, following heavy rain on September 7, prompting the massive underground flood-control facility known as the "Underground Temple" to go into operation.

Fluorescent lamps that have illuminated Japanese homes and workplaces for decades are approaching the end of production, with Panasonic preparing to wind down a business it has operated since 1951 while experts warn that incorrectly replacing some fixtures with LEDs could create a fire risk.

Osaka-based spray nozzle maker IKEUCHI is expanding applications for its proprietary "Dry Fog," an ultra-fine mist that can cool, humidify and create visual effects without leaving surfaces wet, with the technology now being used in factories, livestock farming, crop cultivation and tourist attractions in Japan and overseas.