The Yomiuri Giants posted an article on their website yesterday saying that a ceremony was held at Tokyo Dome last night to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the introduction of baseball to Japan by the United States. The article noted that a congratulatory video message from Ambassador Emanuel was shown on the jumbotron, after which “The Star-Spangled Banner” was sung….Read more

NHK reported that according to WHO data, Japan logged about 1.37 million new coronavirus cases in the week ending on July 31, up 42% from a week ago, to mark the largest number of cases in the world for the second consecutive week. The figure accounted for some 20% of the cases reported worldwide.

Daily counts of fresh COVID-19 cases across Japan continue to cause alarm. The number of serious and fatal cases is also on the rise, and experts are warning that deaths from the latest, seventh wave of the pandemic could surpass the record high registered in the sixth wave.   The latest surge is taking a heavy toll on a broad….Read more

All national dailies reported on a news conference held by a group of Japanese health experts on Tuesday in which they urged the government to speed up its review of measures against COVID-19, including changing the procedure for collecting case numbers and allowing general medical institutions to treat coronavirus patients. Japan’s top coronavirus adviser Omi Shigeru, who heads the government panel on….Read more

NHK reported that a secretary to Prime Minister Kishida who accompanied him on his trip to New York has tested positive for the coronavirus and was unable to return to Japan as scheduled. Since the aide practiced proper infection prevention protocols, the premier was reportedly not designated a close contact. The staff member, who is self-isolating in New York for….Read more

Nagasaki, Aug. 1 (Jiji Press)–Nagasaki Mayor Tomihisa Taue said Monday that he will press for the abolition of nuclear weapons at an annual memorial ceremony on Aug. 9 for victims of the U.S. atomic bombing of the Japanese city in 1945.     Taue plans to say nuclear abolition is the only way to avoid the risk of nuclear weapons being used….Read more

NAGOYA — The family of a Sri Lankan woman who died in detention at a central Japan immigration facility will file next week a complaint with a judicial panel seeking a review of the case after prosecutors dropped charges against immigration officials, their lawyers said Monday.   Ratnayake Liyanage Wishma Sandamali’s family will on Aug. 8 make the submission requesting the Committee….Read more

Solar activity can have a negative impact on telecommunication devices such as mobile phones and Global Positioning System. Measures are needed to minimize disruption to an increasingly digitized society.   When large explosions called solar flares occur around sunspots on the surface of the sun, high-temperature gases containing electrically charged particles, strong X-rays and other matter are released.   This….Read more

Chugoku Shimbun   Forty years have passed since the town of Kaminoseki in Yamaguchi Prefecture announced its bid to host a nuclear power plant. However, Chugoku Electric Power’s plan to build the Kaminoseki Nuclear Power Station has been stalled ever since preparation work was halted in the immediate aftermath of the March 2011 Fukushima No. 1 meltdown.   Coupled with….Read more