2025-02-20 23:43:00
Due to the forest fire that has been continuing in Ofunato City, Iwate Prefecture since the 19th, the city issued an evacuation order to 157 people in 62 households in the city on the night of the 20th, as there was a risk that the fire would spread to nearby homes.
2025-02-20 22:56:00
Due to the forest fire that has been continuing in Ofunato City, Iwate Prefecture since the 19th, the city issued an evacuation order to 157 people in 62 households in the city on the night of the 20th, as there was a risk that the fire would spread to nearby homes.
2025-02-20 22:20:00
An earthquake occurred at around 10:13 pm on the 20th. There is no need to worry about a tsunami caused by this earthquake. The epicenter was in eastern Yamanashi Prefecture, Fuji Five Lakes, and the depth of the epicenter was estimated to be 20 km, with a magnitude of 4.6 on the Richter scale. The seismic intensity in each city and town is as follows: ▼Seismic intensity 3: Odawara City, Kanagawa Prefecture; Atsugi City, Kanagawa Prefecture; Matsuda Town, Kanagawa Prefecture; Yamakita Town, Kanagawa Prefecture; Fujiyoshida City, Yamanashi Prefecture; Tsuru City, Yamanashi Prefecture; Otsuki City, Yamanashi Prefecture; Uenohara City, Yamanashi Prefecture; Doshi Village, Yamanashi Prefecture; Nishikatsura Town, Yamanashi Prefecture; Oshino Village, Yamanashi Prefecture; Yamanakako Village, Yamanashi Prefecture; Fujikawaguchiko Town, Yamanashi Prefecture; Fujinomiya City, Shizuoka Prefecture; and Oyama Town, Shizuoka Prefecture.
2025-02-20 22:15:00
Due to the forest fire that has been continuing in Ofunato City, Iwate Prefecture since the 19th, the city issued an evacuation order to 157 people in 62 households in the city on the night of the 20th, as there was a risk that the fire would spread to nearby homes.
2025-02-20 21:18:00
A three-way conference was held at the court on the 20th ahead of the first hearing in a retrial (retrial attempt) for a 59-year-old man serving time in prison for murder in the case of the murder of a junior high school girl in Fukui City 39 years ago, with the outcome expected to be around July of this year.
2025-02-20 20:15:00
In a retrial to determine whether a 38-year-old former high school teacher accused of murdering a female partner in Obihiro, Hokkaido, three years ago could be charged with murder, the Kushiro District Court ruled that the man was guilty of murder and sentenced him to 12 years in prison.
2025-02-20 20:12:00
In response to the large-scale road collapse in Yashio City, Saitama Prefecture, Prime Minister Ishiba has instructed relevant cabinet ministers to introduce digital technologies, such as the use of satellites and drones to detect water and sewer leaks, nationwide within around three years.
2025-02-20 19:55:00
After crossing into Myanmar, the four were detained by Thai authorities and sent back to Japan, and one of them, a suspect in his 30s, was arrested by the Ibaraki Prefectural Police on the 20th, according to an interview with an investigator. An arrest warrant had been issued for him on suspicion of cocaine use, and the police plan to question him about his involvement in a special fraud scheme in Myanmar. They are also expected to question the other three.
2025-02-20 19:44:00
Prime Minister Ishiba met with the families of victims abducted by North Korea and stated that he had received President Trump's full support for resolving the issue at the recent Japan-U.S. summit meeting. He then emphasized his determination to explore all possibilities and make every effort to bring all victims home.
2025-02-20 19:41:00
Police have arrested the vice-chairman of the Asahi City Council and four other directors of an agricultural corporation for allegedly illegally employing six Thai men and women whose residency permits had expired and having them work in rice farming and other agricultural tasks in fields in Asahi and Sosa cities, Chiba Prefecture.
2025-02-20 19:35:00
In light of Nakai Masahiro's trouble with the woman, TV Tokyo has conducted an investigation into employees to see if there had been any inappropriate behavior within the company, among people involved in programming, or among business partners, and has revealed that no problems have been reported so far.
2025-02-20 19:20:00
On the 20th, two prefectural assembly members from the Japan Restoration Party resigned from their positions as members of the 100-Article Committee, which was investigating documents of unknown authenticity that were posted on social media during the Hyogo Prefectural Gubernatorial election, as well as audio recordings of closed-door meetings of the 100-Article Committee investigating the governor's whistleblower documents, to political group leader Takashi Tachibana.
2025-02-20 19:13:00
Police have arrested the vice-chairman of the Asahi City Council and four other directors of an agricultural corporation for allegedly illegally employing six Thai men and women whose residency permits had expired and having them work in rice farming and other agricultural tasks in fields in Asahi and Sosa cities, Chiba Prefecture.
2025-02-20 19:09:00
On the 19th, a forest fire broke out in Ofunato City, Iwate Prefecture, and the fire has not been contained even after more than a day since it started. The city has set up voluntary evacuation shelters for people who feel unsafe staying at home at night. Firefighters and other personnel are planning to resume firefighting efforts on the morning of the 21st.
2025-02-20 19:07:00
Amid rising rice prices, 150 kilograms of Koshihikari brown rice, worth about 50,000 yen, that was stored in a farm shed in Tainai City, Niigata Prefecture, has gone missing, and police are investigating the case as a theft.
2025-02-20 18:52:00
A three-way conference was held at the court on the 20th ahead of the first hearing in a retrial (retrial attempt) for a 59-year-old man serving time in prison for murder in the case of the murder of a junior high school girl in Fukui City 39 years ago, with the outcome expected to be around July of this year.
2025-02-20 18:48:00
In a case where the former director of a hospital in Hachinohe City, Aomori Prefecture, and others were arrested for attempting to cover up a murder case within the hospital, it was revealed through interviews with the police that more than 200 medical certificates were found under the same name as the doctor who issued the false death certificate stating that the cause of death of the victim was "pneumonia," and that in more than 70% of the cases, the cause of death was pneumonia. The doctor was hospitalized with suspected dementia at the time of the murder, and the police are investigating in detail.
2025-02-20 18:26:00
In response to criticism that the documentary film directed by Shiori Ito, which is nominated for an Academy Award this year, contains multiple pieces of footage that have not been approved for use, Ito has apologized and stated her intention to take measures such as replacing the footage so that individuals cannot be identified.
2025-02-20 18:24:00
Due to the influence of winter atmospheric pressure patterns, snowfall has intensified locally in Tohoku and Hokuriku, and on the afternoon of the 20th, snow accumulation exceeded 5 meters in Sukayu, Hakkoda Mountains, Aomori Prefecture, the second highest on record. Heavy snow is likely to continue over the three-day weekend, so please be aware of the impact on traffic, avalanches, falling snow, snow accumulation, and power outages and fallen trees.
2025-02-20 18:01:00
A Cabinet Office panel of experts, which has been discussing safety measures for the development of nuclear fusion reactors, has approved a basic policy that states that the Nuclear Reactor Regulation Act, which regulates nuclear power plants, will not apply, and that for the time being safety will be ensured by a separate law that regulates devices that emit radiation.
2025-02-20 17:58:00
The Japan Fair Trade Commission has issued a recommendation to a major manufacturer of pumps used in water supply and sewage systems, demanding payment of expenses, etc., for violating the Subcontracting Act by having over 170 subcontractors store wooden molds and other items used in manufacturing free of charge without paying their storage costs.
2025-02-20 17:56:00
Due to the fire that broke out along the JR Tokaido Line, services were suspended on both the inbound and outbound lines of the JR Yokosuka Line between Kurihama Station and Tokyo Station, and on the JR Shonan-Shinjuku Line in the section south of Shinjuku Station. However, services resumed just after 5:30 pm.
2025-02-20 17:31:00
As rice prices continue to rise and the trend towards using imported rice grows, it has been found that the amount of rice imported by private companies in the past month has sharply increased, exceeding the entire amount of last year.
2025-02-20 17:23:00
Police have arrested the vice-chairman of the Asahi City Council and four other directors of an agricultural corporation for allegedly illegally employing six Thai men and women whose residency permits had expired and having them work in rice farming and other agricultural tasks in fields in Asahi and Sosa cities, Chiba Prefecture.
2025-02-20 17:22:00
While two Japanese high school students who were thought to have been forced to take part in a special fraud scheme at a base in Myanmar were taken into custody one after another, the National Police Agency revealed that in the past four months, there have been 10 cases in which police have taken into custody of people who were lured to "profitable jobs overseas" and traveled abroad. They are strongly warning people that if they respond to such solicitations, they will be imprisoned and unable to escape, and that it is not surprising that they will be killed.
2025-02-20 16:52:00
Sakie Yokota, the mother of Megumi Yokota, who was abducted by North Korea when she was in the first year of junior high school, attended a rally of supporters held in Tokyo and mentioned the death of Akihiro Arimoto, the father of abduction victim Keiko Arimoto, on February 15, and once again called for the immediate rescue of all victims.
2025-02-20 16:13:00
In February last year, the eldest son, who was 15 years old at the time, was indicted on charges of murder and other crimes for killing his parents, both in their 50s, at their home apartment in Sagamihara City. The Yokohama District Court decided to send the son to the family court, stating that "it is believed that the crime would not have happened if it had not been for the many years of inappropriate parenting by his parents, and it is desirable for him to receive corrective education."
2025-02-20 15:59:00
While two Japanese high school students who were thought to have been forced to take part in a special fraud scheme at a base in Myanmar were taken into custody one after another, the National Police Agency revealed that in the past four months, there have been 10 cases in which police have taken into custody of people who were lured to "profitable jobs overseas" and traveled abroad. They are strongly warning people that if they respond to such solicitations, they will be imprisoned and unable to escape, and that it is not surprising that they will be killed.
2025-02-20 15:41:00
Due to a fire that broke out along the tracks between Totsuka Station and Yokohama Station in Yokohama City, JR Tokaido Line has suspended service on both lines between Tokyo Station and Atami Station. As a result, JR Yokosuka Line has suspended service on both lines between Kurihama Station and Tokyo Station, and JR Shonan-Shinjuku Line has suspended service in the section south of Shinjuku Station.
2025-02-20 15:40:00
Atomic bomb survivors, who will be speaking at the Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons to be held next month, held a press conference and expressed their desire to convey their desire to move discussions forward toward the abolition of nuclear weapons.
2025-02-20 15:25:00
Makoto Masuyama, a member of the Hyogo Prefectural Assembly from the Japan Restoration Party, revealed on an internet program that during last year's Hyogo Prefectural gubernatorial election, he provided audio recordings of the prefectural assembly's Article 100 Committee, which were held behind closed doors, to Takashi Tachibana, the representative of a political group.
2025-02-20 15:15:00
During last year's gubernatorial election, Takashi Tachibana, head of a political group, posted a document on social media claiming that the masterminds behind the plot to force Governor Saito of Hyogo Prefecture out of office were former prefectural assembly members who died in January. Tachibana claimed to have obtained the document from prefectural assembly member Minoru Kishiguchi of the Japan Restoration Party, but Iwatani, secretary-general of the Japan Restoration Party, admitted at a press conference that Kishiguchi had met with Tachibana together with private citizens, and said, "There's no way to refute the claim that I handed it over."
2025-02-20 14:23:00
The president of a Tokyo-based consulting firm that had been contracted to provide financial advisory services to OKWave, the operator of an online Q&A site, was arrested by the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors' Office Special Investigation Unit on suspicion of insider trading for allegedly illegally selling stocks based on undisclosed information he learned through the course of his work.
2025-02-20 13:39:00
Prime Minister Ishiba met with Saitama Governor Ohno and conveyed his intention to support the restoration of the site following the large-scale road collapse in Yashio City, as well as to proceed with consideration of measures to address the deterioration of the entire infrastructure.
2025-02-20 12:53:00
The president of a Tokyo-based consulting firm that had been contracted to provide financial advisory services to OKWave, the operator of an online Q&A site, was arrested by the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors' Office Special Investigation Unit on suspicion of insider trading for allegedly illegally selling stocks based on undisclosed information he learned through the course of his work.
2025-02-20 12:13:00
According to the fire department, at around 11:10 a.m. on the 20th, the fire department received a report that "an explosion had occurred and glass was scattered" near Matsuyama City's Kukodori 1-chome. When the fire department arrived, they found glass scattered around the building, but so far there have been no reports of injuries.
2025-02-20 12:11:00
Following the large-scale road collapse in Yashio City, Saitama Prefecture, Prime Minister Ishiba has instructed Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Nakano to expedite an investigation into the cause and to proceed with consideration of measures to address the deterioration of the entire infrastructure.
2025-02-20 12:10:00
A day has passed since the forest fire that broke out in Ofunato City, Iwate Prefecture on the 19th, but the fire has not been put out, and firefighters and the Self-Defense Forces are continuing their firefighting efforts.
2025-02-20 12:09:00
On the morning of the 20th, a fire broke out at an apartment in Otsu City, and a man in his 70s fell ill and was taken to the hospital. Firefighting efforts are still ongoing.
2025-02-20 12:07:00
In connection with a case in which a scout group is alleged to have received approximately 7 billion yen in compensation by introducing women it recruited through social media to adult entertainment establishments across the country, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department and others have raided a store in Gifu City that had received women from the group.
2025-02-20 11:53:00
In a case where a Tochigi Prefecture purchasing company was arrested for knowingly purchasing copper wire cables brought in by a group of foreign theft criminals, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department and other joint investigation headquarters have arrested the company's 37-year-old Chinese president. The president is said to be denying the charges.
2025-02-20 11:19:00
It was discovered that a police inspector in his 50s from the Takenotsuka Police Station of the Metropolitan Police Department entered an interrogation room while drunk in April last year, yelled at the man being interrogated, and slammed his hand on the table. The Metropolitan Police Department gave the inspector a verbal warning this month.
2025-02-20 10:56:00
On the 20th, a house in Ena City, Gifu Prefecture, was completely burned down, and two bodies were found in the ruins. Police believe that the deceased were an elderly couple who lived in the house, and are investigating the cause of the fire.
2025-02-20 10:26:00
In 2023, a high-speed boat carrying 52 passengers and crew took on water off the coast of Nagasaki Prefecture and was temporarily unable to navigate under its own power. The National Transport Safety Board compiled a report stating that when the bow of the boat plunged into a wave trough, the inspection hatch cover came off, allowing a large amount of seawater to flow in and cause flooding.
2025-02-20 10:20:00
In a 2023 accident at Oita Airport where a small training aircraft made a belly landing, the National Transport Safety Board compiled a report stating that the trainee, who was nervous during skills confirmation training, was responding to instructions from the air traffic controller and forgot to extend the landing gear.
2025-02-20 07:46:00
To mark the 80th anniversary of the Great Tokyo Air Raid on March 10th, a special exhibition is being held in Sumida Ward, Tokyo, featuring never-before-seen photographs that record the situation immediately after the air raids.
2025-02-20 06:37:00
Due to the influence of strong cold air above and winter pressure patterns, snow is falling mainly on the Sea of Japan side, and the snowfall is increasing, and it is also bitterly cold over a wide area on the 20th. The snow will continue to fall with varying intensity mainly on the Sea of Japan side of Hokkaido and Honshu through next week, so please be careful of the impact on traffic and avalanches, as well as accidents during snow removal work.
2025-02-20 06:29:00
A 90-year-old woman from Shizuoka City who was friends with Hakamada Iwao, who was found not guilty in a retrial, had photos of Hakamada that she had pasted in an album taken by police officers who visited her home immediately after the incident 59 years ago, and they have still not been returned to her. When the woman asked for the photos to be returned, the police responded on the 19th, saying, "We searched all possible places where the photos might be kept, but we didn't find them." The woman said, "I want the prosecutors and police to take appropriate action, such as an apology."
2025-02-20 06:19:00
According to JR East, the Tohoku Shinkansen was expecting delays to some trains departing from Nasu-Shiobara Station in Tochigi Prefecture due to inspection work carried out overnight, but announced that the work had progressed smoothly and that trains would run as normal from the first train of the day.
2025-02-20 04:10:00
As gold prices remained high, the amount of smuggled gold bars seized by customs across the country last year was four times higher than the previous year.
2025-02-20 03:51:00
It has been learned from interviews with people involved that a high school boy who was believed to have been forced to take part in a specialized fraud in Myanmar and was later rescued had asked for help by sending his location to his family via a communications app from the fraud group's base, and that his family had contacted the embassy of neighboring Thailand, which led to his rescue.
2025-02-20 01:12:00
On the 19th, JR East announced that it would carry out inspection work on overhead lines and other equipment at night in the section between Omiya Station in Saitama Prefecture and Nasu-Shiobara Station in Tochigi Prefecture, following the suspension of operations on the Tohoku Shinkansen for approximately three and a half hours due to a malfunction of the equipment.
2025-02-20 00:21:00
On the night of the 19th, a truck broke down near the Yuzawa Interchange in Niigata Prefecture on the Kan-Etsu Expressway and was unable to move, causing about 100 cars to be stuck behind for about two hours. According to East Nippon Expressway Co., Ltd., the situation has now been resolved.
