Nipponica

The Red Star is set to debut in February 2027 to coincide with the drift ice season along the Sea of Okhotsk. The round-trip service will span two days between JR Sapporo and Abashiri stations.

The Blue Star will be in service from June to September, mainly during the lavender blooming season, between JR Asahikawa and Biei stations, and JR Furano Station.

The more trains the better even if some of them are mini Snowpiercer expresses for the rich. Train travel is already normalized for much of the world, but if we lure some people with big wallets on these experiences then maybe they will fund similar things in the unenlightened world.

The NocoMart store opened on the island of Nokonoshima, which has a circumference of about 12 kilometers and a population of around 600. Residents expressed delight that they can now easily buy food and drinks on the island thanks to the store's opening.

The revolution continues.

In the column in the July 31 issue of "Shukan Shincho," published by Shinchosha, journalist Masayuki Takayama discussed naturalization and attacked author Ushio Fukazawa -- who is of Korean descent -- for speaking out against discriminatory attitudes in Japan.

Shinchosha said in a statement, "We offer our sincerest apologies. We are acutely aware of, and take responsibility for, our shortcomings as a publisher."

They should have obviously never run this racist trash but at least they were called out on it and they pulled it. The article also mentions previous anti-LGBT columns that this magazine ran in the past.