SoraNews24 —Japan News—
Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
Featured
- Weird
- Studio Ghibli
- Jobs
crime (Page 61)
Coral in Japan’s Ogasawara Islands being threatened by Chinese poaching ships
- Casey Baseel
Nov 10, 2014 - Tweet
While the vast majority of Japan’s population is crammed onto its four largest islands, Honshu, Kyushu, Shikoku, and Hokkaido, the country’s territories extend much farther out to sea. For example, if you head about 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) south of downtown Tokyo, you’ll come to the Ogasawara Islands, one of Japan’s most remote settlements.
We’ve talked about the Ogasawaras before, and how their beautiful ocean scenery has been helping to attract tourists (and perhaps even a new chef), to the archipelago. Recently, though, the islands have been seeing an increasing number of extremely unwelcome visitors, in the form of ships coming from China to poach coral.
Peeping Tom landlord busted for spying on female tenants in China using “magic mirror”
- Evie Nyan
Nov 6, 2014
A man was arrested in Beijing last week on charges of voyeurism and taking illicit images of several women. The man, a landlord of an all-female residence, went to extreme measures to spy on his victims in their rooms, including installing hidden cameras and, unbelievably, a 2 metre tall one-way mirror of the type used during police interrogations. Which, ironically is what he had to face up to, once he was busted by one of the tenants who happened to spot snaps of her roommate on his phone.
- China
- (crime • landlord • magic mirror • voyeurism)
Japanese university lecturer arrested for assualting…an ambulance
- Preston Phro
Nov 4, 2014
The sound of an ambulance siren could never be considered something pleasant, but it’s not really something the average person hates. It’s annoying, but then again it’s meant to be annoying–and it’s usually part of rescuing someone in need. We may not like it, but we certainly do appreciate it.
So, while most people may cringe and cover their ears when an ambulance goes screeching by, we doubt anyone would actually get mad and try to assault one!
Unless you happen to be this university lecturer…
Akita judge rules man’s drunk driving somewhat justifiable, gives him his job back
- Master Blaster
Nov 2, 2014
Some people see things in black and white while others tend to judge each incident as a unique situation with its own parameters of right and wrong.
Take drunk driving for example. There are many who would say that under any circumstance getting behind the wheel of an automobile with significant levels of alcohol in the system deserves punishment. And then there are some that say there may be exceptions to the rule.
Luckily for some government workers who got picked up by police for drunk driving, more than a few district court judges appear to belong to the latter camp.
- Japan
- (Akita • crime • drunk driving • government)
In Luffy we trust – Man arrested for selling dollar bills with unlicensed One Piece stickers
- Casey Baseel
Oct 30, 2014
Every couple of months, a situation will crop up where the legal rights holder to an anime comes in and quashes some sort of unauthorized derivative work. Fans don’t always let the letter of the law stand in the way of how they express their passion for their favorite shows, though, and defenders often assert that no harm is actually being done, so long as the rights holder wasn’t already producing the same product. There’s no need to shut down an unlicensed T-shirt operation, the argument goes, if the company isn’t actively producing shirts itself.
Maybe that was going through the head of one Nagoya resident when he noticed a glaring oversight in the marketing machine behind hit anime One Piece, and decided to start selling one-dollar bills with copied stickers of the series’ band of pirates.
When a goddess speaks, you listen…unless she’s telling you to kill someone
- KK Miller
Oct 25, 2014
Criminals have to come up with some pretty extravagant excuses for why they commit crimes. Sometimes, their reasons are really out there. Take the Oscar Pistorius case, for example. He acknowledges that he fired the shots that killed his girlfriend, but claims that he thought he was protecting her from a possible intruder. It’s then up to the courts to determine whether or not the defense’s theory holds any water. But what do you do when the working theory is, “Amaterasu, the sun goddess, told me to kill my mother.”
U.K. man sentenced for prohibited images of ‘manga’ children
- Anime News Network
Oct 23, 2014
The Teesside Crown Court of Middlesbrough, England convicted 39-year-old Robul Hoque of 10 counts of possessing prohibited images of children. However, the children depicted in the images were all drawings. Hoque is believed to be the first man in the country brought to court solely over manga and anime images. The court sentenced him to nine months in prison, but the sentence will be suspended if Hoque maintains good behavior and follows the court’s requirements for two years.
- Europe
- (Anime News Network • child • crime • manga)
Three Chinese men arrested in Japan for buying too many diapers
- Master Blaster
Oct 22, 2014
In recent years a scourge has gripped Japan, and it is people buying too many disposable diapers at once – the Merries brand in particular. For this heinous behavior, three Chinese men were arrested by the Hyogo Prefectural Police on 15 October and are expected to be deported back to their country.
Biker assaulted by iron bar-wielding Nara innkeeper, not the other way around
- Master Blaster
Oct 13, 2014
The are many pleasant sights and sounds to be found around Japan. One of the most famous is the exaggerated revving of groups of motorbike engines at all hours of the day and night. They’re often referred to as bosozoku which although often translated as “biker gangs” can be misleading as that would imply the use of at least somewhat cool bikes. Bosozoku kids, contrastingly, often ride scooters customized for peak annoyance of all those around, and some of them don’t actually ride their bikes at all.
Despite efforts by law enforcement, this trend continues all over Japan. So it comes as no surprise when people take the law into their own hands. In the case of one Nara resident, “the law” came in the form of an iron bar which he used to break the knee of an allegedly noisy biker.
Police officer arrested for assaulting 2 train station attendants in Saitama
- Japan Today
Oct 1, 2014
Saitama prefectural police said Monday that a 54-year-old police officer has been arrested after he assaulted two train station attendants.
Osaka Station showered with photos of a teenage boy, two train otaku questioned by police
- Master Blaster
Sep 24, 2014
On the evening of 19 September, JR Osaka Station became the scene of unseasonable weirdness as dozens of photographs of an unknown teenage boy seen sitting on the train fell from the sky like giant snowflakes of randomness.
Upon investigating the incident, Osaka Prefectural Police found this to have been an act of revenge by what is fast becoming Japan’s most oddball sub-culture: train otaku.
- Japan
- (crime • Osaka • photos • train otaku)
Own a pair of secret camera shoes? The police should be by shortly for a visit
- Master Blaster
Sep 23, 2014
For most of this summer, Kyoto Prefectural Police have been carrying out an aggressive campaign of going to people’s homes and asking them to voluntarily give up their shoes with built-in hidden cameras. These house calls have resulted in hundreds of pairs of these “tosatsu shoes” (voyeur shoes) winding up in police custody.
This plan to deter the use of tosatsu shoes to illegally film in private areas such as up women’s skirts had proved so successful that police in Kyoto are spreading the word to other departments and will continue the same tactics in the future.
- Japan
- (crime • Kyoto • tosatsu shoes)
iPhone 6 launch keeps Chinese customs officials busy as they seize hundreds of smuggled units
- Casey Baseel
Sep 22, 2014
The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus went on sale last Friday, and we were pretty psyched. In fact, our very own Mr. Sato was so excited about the launch that he was, once again, first in line to get his hands on the latest version of Apple’s smartphone, and we’re sure others in the U.S. and Hong Kong felt just as happy with their new purchases.
Not everyone in the world got to be in on the fun, though. Apple is staggering the launch of the iPhone 6, and while Japan was lucky enough to be in the first batch of territories where it has become available, mainland China wasn’t. This has led to some extra cash for iPhone resellers, as well as customs officials who spent the weekend steadily confiscating smuggled iPhones.
19-year-old youth stabs parents; mother dies
- Japan Today
Sep 18, 2014
Police in Kumagaya, Saitama Prefecture, on Tuesday arrested a 19-year-old youth after he stabbed his parents at their home. The suspect’s mother later died of her wounds.
- Japan
- (crime • Japan Today • murder • news)
Japanese high schooler fails driver’s license test 20 times, tries to hire someone else to take it for him
- KK Miller
Sep 17, 2014
How far would you go to pass a test? At all points in our life, tests determine whether we succeed or fail with little remorse for how much grueling effort actually went into studying for it. One test in Japan is extremely taxing and foreigners and Japanese alike shudder at even the thought of taking it. We are talking about the Japanese driver’s license test and one first year high school student from Fukuoka who had failed the written portion 20 times, finally resorted to cheating in order to try and pass it.
Video showing convenience store workers being forced to kowtow to thugs leads to one arrest
- Master Blaster
Sep 10, 2014
In Japan, particularly online, you may come across the term DQN (dokyun). It’s a label reserved for those at the lowest order of intelligence and social graces and those who rank in the highest percentile for violence and general douchebag behavior.
Catching one of these creatures in their natural habitat of the streets is a rare but obnoxious treat. That’s why it’s awfully nice of them to record their own anti-social behavior so that we may study their ways in the comfort of our own home, and so the authorities can arrest and prosecute them all the more easily.
Take alleged DQN Tsuyoshi Nakamura for example, who along with some associates stands accused of harassing, threatening, and extorting from the entire staff of a FamilyMart convenience store in Ibaraki, Osaka. Nakamura is also under suspicion of forcing them to get on their knees and bow in apology, with the entire scene being uploaded to YouTube for all to see**.**
- Japan
- (crime • dogeza • Family mart • Osaka)
Kamen Rider stuntman applies skills to thievery
- Anime News Network
Sep 10, 2014
Yasutomo Ihara, a former stuntman known for his participation in the Kamen Rider franchise, has since turned his training to nefarious ends. In a story seemingly grafted from a J-drama, he was arrested on September 8 by Saitama Prefecture’s Criminal Investigations Unit for 43 separate counts of theft. His method involved scaling walls by slipping his fingers into tiny indentations and entering houses through their second-floor windows, earning him the nickname “Spiderman” from the investigators. His targets were in the neighboring Saitama Prefecture cities of Warabi and Toda.
Manga artist and adult filmmaker lists Miyazaki anime among the worst, “most dangerous” out there
- Casey Baseel
Sep 4, 2014
With Japan’s relatively lenient attitudes towards sex and violence in cartoons, you might get the impression that the whole society has come to a consensus that anime artists can draw whatever they like. That’s not always the case, though, and in recent years a string of crimes committed by individuals with an obsessive love for animation and comics has rekindled the debate about how much, if any, legal control should be placed on anime content.
It’s no shock that a former manga artist and adult video director has spoken out in opposition to such regulation. What is surprising, though, is his pick for the creator of the most detrimental anime: Studio Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki.
- Japan
- (anime • crime • Hayao Miyazaki • psychology • Studio Ghibli)
Don’t point that camera at me! Man arrested for taking “normal” picture on train
- KK Miller
Sep 3, 2014
Japanese people love to take pictures. Whenever you see them on vacation, no matter if it’s their first time or their thousandth time, they are always taking them. In fact, Japan was one of the first countries to sell mobile phones equipped with a camera back in 2000. Having a camera on you at all times sure does come in handy, as you’ll always be able to capture that special moment wherever you are.
Unfortunately, sometimes that special moment is a peep-shot or a scandalous photo which is certainly a violation of privacy. Japan has taken a very no-nonsense approach to help stop these highly inappropriate photos, and it comes in the form of the Anti-Nuisance Ordinance. So powerful is this law that the latest person to be arrested has caused a bit of commotion. His crime? Taking a picture of a fully-clothed woman sitting beside him on the train.
30 Okayama schools get postcards threatening to kidnap students
- Japan Today
Sep 2, 2014
Police in Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture, said Saturday that at least 30 elementary schools received postcards this week, in which the sender threatened to kidnap a child.
- Japan
- (crime • Japan Today • kidnapping)
-
Recent Posts
- Starbucks Japan releases now Tokyo Reserve Roastery Christmas drinkware collection [Photos]
- Japanese government announces criteria for creating backup capital of Japan
- This hot spring near Osaka’s Kansai Airport resolves the pick-two-out-of-three bathhouse dilemma
- Starbucks Japan invites us to par-tea with its new Earl Gray Frappuccino [Taste test]
- Tokyo Skytree set to offer breathtaking Diamond Fuji natural phenomenon view this month
-
MOST POPULAR
- Today
- Weekly
- Monthly
- Yearly
Today
Japan ends tax-free shopping system for foreign tourists, new refund request system now in effect
Beautiful Ghibli diorama kits lets you build anime characters’ homes inside yours [Photos]
Japan’s TeamLab digital art group is opening a permanent museum in America
Japanese government announces criteria for creating backup capital of Japan
This hot spring near Osaka’s Kansai Airport resolves the pick-two-out-of-three bathhouse dilemma
Starbucks Japan releases now Tokyo Reserve Roastery Christmas drinkware collection [Photos]
Japan’s mini Shikoku Pilgrimage walking tour left us feeling immensely satisfied
Tokyo Skytree set to offer breathtaking Diamond Fuji natural phenomenon view this month
Starbucks Japan invites us to par-tea with its new Earl Gray Frappuccino [Taste test]
Family Mart releases 47 convenience store socks and stickers, one for every prefecture in Japan
Weekly
Japan’s TeamLab digital art group is opening a permanent museum in America
Japan ends tax-free shopping system for foreign tourists, new refund request system now in effect
Starbucks Japan unveils new Christmas goods for 2026, with exclusive holiday surprises
Beautiful Ghibli diorama kits lets you build anime characters’ homes inside yours [Photos]
Life-size Monster Hunter dragon statues to be built at Japanese shopping mall
Studio Ghibli homeware brand’s faux oil lamp brings light, smiles, and Kiki’s Jiji to your home
Modern exosuits are opening up ancient Japanese castle climbs to everyone
Evangelion announces collaboration with Hard Rock Cafe
Starbucks Japan releases “Let’s Par-TEA!” Frappuccino and drinks for the holiday season
Cold Stone is closing its final branch in all of east Japan, but it’s going down singing
Monthly
Pokémon Company announces first-ever permanent Pokémon store to open outside Asia
Family Mart releases 47 convenience store socks and stickers, one for every prefecture in Japan
What’s it like to stay in a Japanese container hotel?
Japan’s TeamLab digital art group is opening a permanent museum in America
Chainsaw robots helping keep trains running safely in east Japan [Video]
New Studio Ghibli anime gets extended run at the only cinema in Japan where it’s being shown
Tokyo train station will play Godzilla theme song as new departure melody
Osaka’s famous Glico Running Man will be removed and replaced with a new-look sign
Studio Ghibli creates illustrated Kyoto sightseeing map, available at any 7-Eleven Japan store
Japan ends tax-free shopping system for foreign tourists, new refund request system now in effect
Yearly
Japan announces sudden 400-percent increase in visa fees for foreigners entering the country
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo
Studio Ghibli has a new anime out, and there’s only one place in the world where you can see it
Starbucks Japan releases new drinkware and goods for Valentine’s Day
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]
Tokyo subway installing new ticket gates that don’t accept payment through Suica or other IC cards
Japanese ninja certification exam attracts 131 candidates from Japan and abroad
Salomon releases Japan-exclusive Mt. Fuji hiking gear that doubles as an amazing souvenir
Japan reportedly adding Japanese language skill requirement to most common foreigner work visa
-
RECOMMENDED STORIES
Starbucks Japan releases now Tokyo Reserve Roastery Christmas drinkware collection [Photos]
Japan’s mini Shikoku Pilgrimage walking tour left us feeling immensely satisfied
Tokyo Skytree set to offer breathtaking Diamond Fuji natural phenomenon view this month
Starbucks Japan invites us to par-tea with its new Earl Gray Frappuccino [Taste test]
Family Mart releases 47 convenience store socks and stickers, one for every prefecture in Japan
This semi-secret, totally free footbath in downtown Tokyo is completely awesome
Osaka’s famous Glico Running Man will be removed and replaced with a new-look sign
Evangelion announces collaboration with Hard Rock Cafe
Starbucks Japan unveils new Christmas goods for 2026, with exclusive holiday surprises
Pokémon guitars from Fender Japan come with 8-bit sound mode for covering retro game music [Vid]
Studio Ghibli has a new anime out, and there’s only one place in the world where you can see it
Shoplifting prevention guard arrested for shoplifting boot from store he was guarding
Guile cosplay goes with everyone for Halloween at SoraNews24 HQ [Photos]
Can Japan’s Self-Defense Forces legally open fire on a zombie horde?
-
-
Categories
Categories Select Category Africa (33) Anime & Manga (193) Art (64) Australia (42) C America (9) C Asia (17) Canada (59) Cats (72) China (847) Culture (180) Cute (187) Entertainment (248) Europe (345) FN24 (1) Food & Drink (314) Games & Tech (167) Global (1,073) India (11) Internet (2,198) Italy (13) Japan (34,543) Korea (375) Lifestyle (76) Mexico (6) Music (12) N Asia (4) New Zealand (11) News (61) North Korea (72) Oceania (10) Russia (56) S America (33) S Asia (66) SE Asia (378) Space (2) Taiwan (203) UK (18) Uncategorized (19) USA (978) W Asia (25)
-
Archives
Archives Select Month November 2026 (12) October 2026 (144) September 2026 (156) August 2026 (174) July 2026 (197) June 2026 (174) May 2026 (138) April 2026 (142) March 2026 (150) February 2026 (124) January 2026 (138) December 2025 (136) November 2025 (136) October 2025 (151) September 2025 (154) August 2025 (143) July 2025 (158) June 2025 (165) May 2025 (162) April 2025 (181) March 2025 (157) February 2025 (127) January 2025 (139) December 2024 (148) November 2024 (149) October 2024 (153) September 2024 (154) August 2024 (158) July 2024 (156) June 2024 (150) May 2024 (166) April 2024 (150) March 2024 (157) February 2024 (169) January 2024 (159) December 2023 (165) November 2023 (166) October 2023 (166) September 2023 (173) August 2023 (183) July 2023 (171) June 2023 (180) May 2023 (158) April 2023 (152) March 2023 (167) February 2023 (160) January 2023 (171) December 2022 (175) November 2022 (176) October 2022 (179) September 2022 (191) August 2022 (202) July 2022 (193) June 2022 (178) May 2022 (178) April 2022 (181) March 2022 (212) February 2022 (199) January 2022 (224) December 2021 (230) November 2021 (214) October 2021 (215) September 2021 (238) August 2021 (225) July 2021 (207) June 2021 (218) May 2021 (209) April 2021 (206) March 2021 (225) February 2021 (209) January 2021 (224) December 2020 (225) November 2020 (224) October 2020 (231) September 2020 (238) August 2020 (227) July 2020 (220) June 2020 (209) May 2020 (215) April 2020 (238) March 2020 (235) February 2020 (222) January 2020 (233) December 2019 (187) November 2019 (214) October 2019 (237) September 2019 (195) August 2019 (205) July 2019 (183) June 2019 (201) May 2019 (231) April 2019 (192) March 2019 (242) February 2019 (211) January 2019 (238) December 2018 (212) November 2018 (217) October 2018 (214) September 2018 (203) August 2018 (217) July 2018 (218) June 2018 (208) May 2018 (204) April 2018 (193) March 2018 (216) February 2018 (192) January 2018 (223) December 2017 (204) November 2017 (209) October 2017 (218) September 2017 (209) August 2017 (228) July 2017 (222) June 2017 (245) May 2017 (229) April 2017 (197) March 2017 (165) February 2017 (151) January 2017 (180) December 2016 (260) November 2016 (267) October 2016 (302) September 2016 (387) August 2016 (351) July 2016 (379) June 2016 (379) May 2016 (312) April 2016 (347) March 2016 (414) February 2016 (379) January 2016 (359) December 2015 (359) November 2015 (378) October 2015 (435) September 2015 (419) August 2015 (152) July 2015 (218) June 2015 (179) May 2015 (237) April 2015 (223) March 2015 (119) February 2015 (121) January 2015 (394) December 2014 (376) November 2014 (376) October 2014 (414) September 2014 (349) August 2014 (379) July 2014 (316) June 2014 (375) May 2014 (384) April 2014 (354) March 2014 (318) February 2014 (284) January 2014 (270) December 2013 (224) November 2013 (242) October 2013 (244) September 2013 (226) August 2013 (241) July 2013 (214) June 2013 (222) May 2013 (191) April 2013 (173) March 2013 (149) February 2013 (85) January 2013 (106) December 2012 (111) November 2012 (149) October 2012 (151) September 2012 (118) August 2012 (99) July 2012 (56) June 2012 (57) May 2012 (54) April 2012 (62) March 2012 (40) February 2012 (27) January 2012 (24) December 2011 (18) November 2011 (12) October 2011 (1) September 2011 (9) August 2011 (11) March 2011 (1)
-
- About Us | Jobs | Contact | Contribution | Partner with Us
© SoraNews24 —Japan News— / SOCIO CORPORATION
- Advertise |
- About Us |
- Work with us |
- Contact |
- Contribution |

