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A man falls while throwing a snowball at the 35th Koide International Snowball Fight in Uonuma
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Frosty face-off: Over 120 teams throw down in epic Japanese snowball tournament

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More than 120 teams battled it out in a snowball fight tournament in a mountainous Japanese city last Sunday, in what the local weather bureau called the coldest air this winter to sweep the country's northern snow belt. The 35th annual Koide International Snowball Fight in Uonuma in Niigata Prefecture… Read

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Apple harvest threatened after heavy snow blankets Aomori

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Record snowfall in January has severely damaged apple orchards in the northeastern Japan prefecture of Aomori, the country's largest apple-producing region, with authorities fearing losses could exceed 10 billion yen. Among many areas that saw above-average snowfall in January, the city of Hirosaki reported a record 126-centimeter accumulation, according to… Read

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Woman diagnosed with stage-4 cancer at 26 sends hopeful message

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Miyabi Kuroiwa, from Nagoya, was 26 when she was diagnosed with stage-4 breast cancer. In October 2022, she was taking a bath when she noticed a lump in her left breast. After a doctor's exam revealed her spreading cancer, Miyabi sat stunned while her grandmother, who had accompanied her to… Read

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Japan to showcase MSDF frigate in Australia as it bids for contract

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The Maritime Self-Defense Force will dispatch a cutting-edge warship to Australia later this month, Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said Wednesday, after Japan was shortlisted to build Canberra's new fleet of general-purpose frigates. Tokyo apparently hopes to showcase the MSDF Mogami-class frigate's strengths as it proposed to build vessels based on… Read

National

The squad saving deer from tourist trash in Nara

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As peckish deer chase delighted tourists in Japan's temple-dotted Nara Park, a quiet but dedicated team of litter-pickers patrols the stone paths, collecting plastic waste that threatens the animals' health. The ancient city of Nara is a major draw for the country's record influx of visitors -- but like in… Read

National

Missing truck cabin located in sewer pipe near Saitama sinkhole

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The missing cabin of a truck swallowed by a huge sinkhole that emerged at an intersection in Yashio, Saitama Prefecture, was located in a sewer pipe nearby, local officials said Tuesday. A search of the sewer pipe near the site using a drone found the truck cabin about 30 meters… Read

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Japan top destination for Chinese during Lunar New Year holidays

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Japan was the top cross-border destination for Chinese tourists during the eight-day Lunar New Year holiday through Feb. 4, with reservations doubling from the previous year, according to data from Chinese online travel company Trip.com Group Ltd. Industry observers say the yen's decline against major currencies and improved Sino-Japanese relations… Read

National

'Birupaku' turns vacant spaces into unique lodgings in central Japan

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An initiative known as Birupaku is transforming vacant commercial spaces into guest accommodations in the central Japan city of Shizuoka, offering visitors an alternative to conventional lodgings and helping revitalize the local economy. "Birupaku," a term combining the Japanese words "building" and "accommodation," refers to guest lodgings created within existing… Read

National

Emergency dispatches by Tokyo Fire Department in 2024 exceeded 930,000

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The number of emergency dispatches by the Tokyo Fire Department last year exceeded 930,000, setting a new record for the third consecutive year. According to the Tokyo Fire Department, the number of emergency dispatches in 2024 was 935,162, exceeding the 918,311 in 2023, TV Asahi reported. The population of Tokyo… Read

National

Japan's workplace Valentine chocolate-giving tradition waning

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Only 12.5 percent of people in Japan plan to give chocolates to colleagues for Valentine's Day, as the culture of obligatory gift-giving wanes due to the prevalence of working from home, a recent survey found. The figure is the lowest it has ever been, according to a study by Nippon… Read

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