Nipponica

The Nikkei stock index closed with its largest single-day point drop in history on Monday, tumbling over 4,400 points and 12 percent, in a global market crash amid a firming yen and escalating fears of a U.S. recession triggered by disappointing economic data.

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei Stock Average on Friday recorded the second-biggest daily drop in its history, as stocks extended losses following a sell-off in New York overnight.

The index plunged to 35,909.70, down 2,216.63 points, or 5.81%, marking its lowest close since Jan. 26.

Wheeee.

Kengo Naganuma, 24, lives just 40 meters away from a platform of JR Hirai Station in Tokyo's Edogawa Ward and is suspected of having targeted people there from his balcony. The police confiscated eight airsoft guns from his home.

"I wanted to shoot people and see their reactions," Naganuma was quoted as telling the police. He also told them he had done it on other occasions.

A simple lesson of cause and effect for our young friend.

The helicopter did not emit fire or smoke, and no injuries had been reported, according to police. Authorities are investigating details of the incident.

Japan should reaffirm its recognition of history in a proposed joint declaration with South Korea next year, outgoing South Korean Ambassador to Japan Yun Duk-min said in a recent interview with Jiji Press.

Yun reiterated hopes that Japanese and South Korean leaders will announce such a declaration in 2025 to mark the 60th anniversary of the normalization of bilateral diplomatic ties.

Japan has always considered its history of Korea, and all the negative aspects of it including comfort women, to be a closed book that should never be invoked. Doubt this will change that policy.

The Osaka Healthcare Pavilion at the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo is getting a lot of criticism over its English name — “Nest for Reborn” — which some native speakers say is grammatically incorrect.

However, many native English speakers have said the name is a little strange. In English, the preposition “for” should be followed by a noun, but “reborn” is an adjective, making it difficult for readers to understand the meaning of the pavilion’s name.

When officials of participating countries met in Nara City in June, “Nest for Reborn” was discussed in private conversations as “confusing English wording.” An official from Europe said the name is grammatically incorrect and not suitable for the event.

Maho Yamamoto, 27, who visited on the final day of the ride, told the Mainichi Shimbun, "Since it (the closure) was announced, I've been counting down to this day. The ride's charm is its ability to simulate space." Her mother, Kumiko, 62, said with a smile, "I'm overwhelmed with emotion. I've been bringing my daughter to Disneyland since she was little, and we used to ride it twice or three times a day. It's a bit sad, but I'm also looking forward to the new Space Mountain."

The curry bread of Japan's 7-Eleven convenience store chain has been certified by Guinness World Records as the most sold freshly made curry bread in volume in 2023, the chain's operator, Seven-Eleven Japan, said Thursday.

The bread, fried in store, logged 76,987,667 pieces sold.

And someone, somewhere today in Ireland is cashing a very big check.

You can pretty much assume what 90% of the first-time visitor's itinerary to Japan is going to be. They are going to spend some days in modern Tokyo, probably take a day trip to the Great Buddha at Kamakura, then take a bullet train to temple-y Kyoto, and if time permits, take a side trip to ancient Nara or take Instagram photos of the Torii in the sea near Hiroshima. You know the picture. All of that is pretty much a given, and the only variety in many trips is likely to be whether there is also an excursion to somewhere like Nikko (home of the Three Wise Monkeys) or Hiroshima (lest we forget) or very occasionally some places further beyond (mountain spa onsen, check), especially if there happens to have been a recent travel feature about it in the New York Times.

Why is it that visitors to Japan have such a concentrated, predictable itinerary when visitors to France are fanning out in every direction from Normandy to the Dordogne or Provence?

As a totally selfish person, I very much welcome the tourists to continue to stay on the Tokyo-Kyoto path and stay away from my part of Japan.

The mayor of Moka, Tochigi Prefecture, announced in a recent regular press conference that city employees spray painted the design on a total of 59 grates at 19 locations, mainly in areas where thefts of the grates have occurred.

In the city, there has been a string of grate thefts: 25 pieces in six cases in fiscal 2022, 40 grates on 25 occasions in fiscal 2023, and 23 in 11 cases as of the end of June this fiscal year. Without covers, vehicles and pedestrians are at risk of falling into the gutters, so measures to prevent theft were urgently needed.

The bus will travel at speeds of up to 12 kph along an 800-meter loop of road at the Haneda Innovation City complex in Ota Ward, Tokyo. For the time being, a staff member will be aboard the bus, which can carry 11 passengers, and may switch to manual operation in some situations. The bus’s operations will be monitored from a base in Ibaraki Prefecture.

Tokyo Disneyland on Wednesday closed its highly popular Space Mountain ride for renovations until 2027, its operator said, after the roller coaster traveled a total of 22.6 million kilometers since its maiden voyage in 1983, equivalent to 29 round trips between the Earth and Moon.

While its general design will not change significantly, new sound and lighting effects promise to dazzle guests even further, said Oriental Land Co., which will invest around 56 billion yen ($372 million) in the makeover.

Pour one out for one of the classics. I do trust that Oriental Land Company will actually improve the ride as their work over the past decade has usually been exceptional compared to the drastic decline of the Disney parks on the other side of the Pacific.