Japan

Floodwaters from the burst Kinugawa River (left) flow into a residential area (right) in Joso, Ibaraki Prefecture, on Thursday. The city is northeast of Tokyo.

World News

Japanese River Levee Fails; Flooding Spurs Evacuation Order For 130,000

11:07am September 10, 2015

by Bill Chappell

Video footage from the town of Joso, northeast of Tokyo, shows helicopters being used to pluck people from balconies and rooftops as muddy water rages beneath them.

Noraha Mayor Yukiei Matsumoto, rear left, plants a tree with children of Naraha residents during an event in Naraha, Fukushima, northern Japan, on Saturday.

Japan Reopens Town Shuttered By Fukushima Nuclear Disaster

9:32am September 05, 2015

by Scott Neuman

The town of Naraha, which had 7,400 residents, was evacuated in the wake of a massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011 that triggered the release of radiation at the power plant.

Dylan Rodenhaber (18) of the Red Land team of Lewisberry, Pa., waits to shake hands with players on Tokyo's Kitasuna team after the Little League World Series Championship game Sunday in South Williamsport, Pa.

Sports

Pennsylvania Falls Short Of Little League World Series Title, But Not To Fans

3:27pm August 31, 2015

by Brakkton Booker

The Red Land Little League team of Lewisberry, Pa., had an eight-run lead but lost to a team from Tokyo, 18-11. The combined 29 runs set a record for a championship game.

Musashi Fuchu Little League baseball players spend eight to 10 hours a day on weekends practicing on this field on the outskirts of Tokyo. This traditional powerhouse team has won the Little League World Series twice before, in 2013 and 2003, but did not

The Secret To Japan's Little League Success: 10-Hour Practices

3:58pm August 28, 2015

by Anthony Kuhn

A Japanese team has again reached the final four of the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa. Its training involves strict discipline, relentless drilling and group responsibility.

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Lt. Col. Kris Roberts served as a facilities maintenance officer at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa, Japan in the 1980s.

U.S. Compensates Marine Exposed To Toxic Chemicals In '80s

7:03pm August 22, 2015

by NPR Staff

Retired Lt. Col. Kris Roberts says decades ago, he was ordered to dig up dozens of unmarked barrels at a base in Japan, and not report that he'd found them. He believes he handled Agent Orange.

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Japan's Emperor Akihito delivers his remarks with Empress Michiko during a memorial service at Nippon Budokan martial arts hall in Tokyo, on Saturday. His expression of

World News

Japan's Emperor Expresses 'Deep Remorse' For War Past

1:27pm August 15, 2015

by Scott Neuman

On the 70th anniversary of Japan's World War II capitulation, Akihito offers an unprecedented apology for the death and destruction caused by Japanese forces.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows after delivering an address marking the 70th anniversary of World War II's end for his country. Abe noted Japan's continued grief over the war, but he also said future generations shouldn't be compelled to apologize

World News

Japan's Abe Notes Regret And Past Apologies In WWII Speech

3:17pm August 14, 2015

by Bill Chappell

Abe stopped short of renewing apologies extended by his predecessors, and he said he doesn't want future generations to be "predestined to apologize" for the war.

Doves fly over the Peace Statue during a memorial ceremony to mark the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki on Sunday.

World News

Remembering The Horror Of Nagasaki 70 Years Later

3:12pm August 10, 2015

by Anthony Kuhn

Today, exactly 70 years after the U.S. dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki, the people of that Japanese city remember the tens of thousands killed and the legacy of their trauma.

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Sumo wrestlers serve up chanko-nabe at Musashigawa Sumo Stable in 2007 in Osaka, Japan.

Sumo Breakfast Of Champions: Bowls And Bowls Of Clay Pot Stew

3:17pm August 07, 2015

by Abbie Fentress Swanson

Many sumo wrestlers adhere to a rigid diet centered around a traditional Japanese dish called chanko-nabe. Champions say they count on the stew's balanced nutrition paired with lots of rice to win.

Visitors look at a miniature map of the Korean Peninsula at the Odusan observatory in Paju, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea, on Friday. North Korea is set to push back its clocks by half an hour to mark the end of Japanese occupation after World War II.

World News

North Korea's Receding Time Zone

10:46am August 07, 2015

by Scott Neuman

The reclusive authoritarian regime has announced that it will turn back its clocks half an hour beginning next week to mark 70 years since liberation from Japan.