Japanese convenience stores are testing out robots to stock store shelves in hopes of combating the country’s labor shortage and allowing human workers to socially distance during a pandemic. FamilyMart, Japan’s second largest convenience store chain, has partnered with robotics company Telexistence on an android stock boy named Model-T, after Henry Ford’s famous car. Rather … Read more
Japanese actress Sei Ashina is found dead in her Tokyo apartment at age 36 Ashina’s death by suicide was confirmed by her management company and the Tokyo police The actress was best known for playing one of the lead roles in the 2007 historical drama Silk, an international co-production directed by François Girard No motive … Read more
Japanese giant SoftBank set to offload ARM for $40bn in deal that could threaten British jobs By Jamie Nimmo For The Mail On Sunday Published: 10:25 BST, 13 September 2020 | Updated: 10:26 BST, 13 September 2020 Britain’s biggest technology company is poised to be sold to a US rival in a highly controversial $40billion … Read more
Dead dolphins wash up on coast of Mauritius after Japanese ship spilled thousands of gallons of oil when it ran aground At least 14 dolphins have washed up on the coast of Mauritius after an oil spill Japanese bulk carrier MV Wakashio ran aground on a coral reef on July 25 Environmental group Greenpeace has … Read more
One for the road: Japanese drinkers take to sleeping in the street after heavy booze sessions – prompting police to call for an end to the craze Practice of rojo-ne – literally sleeping in the street – happens often in Okinawa Island’s warm climate and strong local drink have been blamed for the crisis More … Read more
A Japanese bulk carrier that ran aground on a reef in Mauritius last month threatening a marine ecological disaster around the Indian Ocean island has broken apart, authorities have confirmed. Aerial images taken of the Japanese cargo ship taken on Sunday show how the boat has completely broken into two parts. The MV Wakashio ran aground … Read more
CULTURE THE WISDOM OF TEA by Noriko Morishita (Allen & Unwin £12.99, 224 pp) You may think you’re particular about how you make your tea — warm the pot? Milk in first? Teabag in a mug? Whatever your brew, it’s nothing to the Japanese tea ceremony. As this delightfully quirky little book, which is part … Read more
Pictures have emerged of a freshly-caught whale being skinned, gutted and chopped up in Japan, a year after the country resumed whaling. Fishermen killed the 34ft long Baird’s Beaked Whale earlier today in Wada Port, Chiba, and later winched it into a slaughterhouse where its meat was prepared for sale to shops and restaurants. Whaling … Read more
There are an estimated 170 million pieces of so-called ‘space junk’ – left behind after missions that can be as big as spent rocket stages or as small as paint flakes – in orbit alongside some US$700 billion (£555bn) of space infrastructure. But only 22,000 are tracked, and with the fragments able to travel at … Read more
Japanese sushi chain YO! changes famous conveyor belt as it adapts to post-Covid safety needs Currently, dishes are sent out on a loop for customers to choose from But soon dishes will be dispatched on the belt once orders have been placed The new format has been tested at Yo!’s Guildford restaurant By Harriet Dennys … Read more