Nipponica

As Wednesday marks the 80th anniversary of the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima, streetcars exposed to the attack continue to provide transportation and opportunities for peace education in the city.

The affected streetcars have become a symbol of the city's reconstruction, as they resumed operations soon after the blast.

A key transport link in the city and a treasure. The city and the Hiroshima Electric Railway should be celebrated for keeping this link to the past operating throughout and past the darkest days of humanity.

"Despite the current turmoil at the nation-state level, we, the people, must never give up," Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui said in the Peace Declaration read during the annual memorial ceremony, which took place after Japan's leading group of atomic bomb survivors was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year.

"Our youth, the leaders of future generations, must recognize that misguided policies regarding military spending, national security, and nuclear weapons could bring utterly inhumane consequences," he said. "We urge them to step forward with this understanding and lead civil society toward consensus."

We can only hope that we collectively learn from the past.

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.

The British company Skytrax recently announced the winners of its 2025 World Airline Awards. Regarded as the top prizes in the aviation industry, the awards began in 1999. All Nippon Airways was fifth and Japan Airlines ninth in the World’s Best Airlines category.

Much love for my two home airlines, but the most interesting part of this article is the chart of historical places in this survey. ANA has always been consistent, but JAL was in the 20s and 30s a decade ago. An amazing turnaround for the flag carrier.

Crowds cheer as ornate 5-meter-tall floats parade through the streets of Aomori City on Saturday, when the five-day Nebuta Festival kicks off to color the summer of the Tohoku region. Dancers chanted to the sounds of fifes and drums, and 16 nebuta floats, depicting samurai and other figures, were seen on the first day. All 23 large floats will appear in the procession on Tuesday and Wednesday. “I’m so impressed with the skill of the nebuta artists who created such beautiful floats,” said a company employee from Tokyo who visited the city on a trip.

Such beautiful floats, especially seen in person. I was in Aomori recently and visited the museum where they are stored throughout the rest of the year. Such beautiful craftsmanship.

"This is the first historically confirmed eruption of Krasheninnikov Volcano in 600 years," RIA cited Olga Girina, head of the Kamchatka Volcanic Eruption Response Team, as saying.

She added that the eruption may be connected to the earthquake on Wednesday that triggered tsunami warnings as far away as French Polynesia and Chile, and was followed by an eruption of Klyuchevskoy, the most active volcano on the Kamchatka Peninsula.

And some news to our north that may portent to future events back home.

The “Joint Sea-2025” exercises kicked off in waters near the Russian port of Vladivostok and would last for three days, China’s defence ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

The two sides will hold “submarine rescue, joint anti-submarine, air defence and anti-missile operations, and maritime combat”.

Just noting what the neighbors are doing in our shared pool to the west.

Japan will seek to establish international rules for the removal of human-made objects in space that could pose collision risks to satellites and the International Space Station if left in orbit, according to officials.

By the end of March, the Cabinet Office, in cooperation with experts, aims to identify legal and procedural issues involved in clearing space debris, such as fragments of rockets and satellites.

The government aims to use input from an expert panel to lead global discussions on rules for disposing of space debris, timed to coincide with a 2026 meeting of the U.N. Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, the officials said.

All power to them but if we can't agree on cleaning up the debris and pollution on the Earth's surface then there is no chance to reach some kind of consensus for the junk flying above our heads, out of sight.

The Kyoto Prefecture city of Kyotango on July 31 called for confirmation of the facts surrounding a joint Japan-U.S. military exercise that went ahead at a U.S. base in the city without prior notification to local officials.

One resident near the communications site expressed their concerns, stating, "The most serious issue is that the joint Japan-U.S. exercise was conducted on the front lines without (Japanese) defense authorities being informed. This is a grave situation. Conducting drills without defense authorities' knowledge is unacceptable under civilian control. I want the facts to be thoroughly investigated and publicly released."

While the local civilian government should have definitely been notified about such an exercise, I can't help but smile at the mainland Japanese getting a taste of what Okinawa has had to endure for almost a century of de jure and de facto US rule.

Over 70 percent of foreigners visiting the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum feel that the 1945 U.S. atomic bombings of the western Japan city and Nagasaki cannot be justified, a recent Kyodo News survey showed.

Of the 74.6 percent who said the bombings were unjustified, 6.2 percent said they had changed their view after seeing the exhibits, according to the survey of around 1,000 foreign visitors conducted this summer. Meanwhile, 7.2 percent said the bombings were justified, and 12.8 percent were unsure.

A very stat-heavy article, but I am still amazed that someone could come out of the Peace Museum in Hiroshima and still support what happened there in 1945.

Fujitsu aims to develop a superconducting quantum computer on a par with the world's most powerful machines by fiscal 2030 using advanced cooling methods, as the country looks to catch up with the U.S. and China.

Fujitsu is partnering with the government-backed Riken research institute and the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology to develop a new model with around 250 logical quantum bits, or qubits -- a measure of a quantum computer's capabilities.

This would exceed the world's current most powerful planned quantum computer, under development by IBM with completion scheduled for 2029, by 25%.

[insert reference about running Doom on it here]

Ito Mayor Maki Takubo has reversed her decision to resign amid allegations she falsified her academic credentials, and will instead remain in office, she announced at a July 31 press conference here.

The 55-year-old Takubo, who had previously indicated she would step down in July and seek re-election, said she would instead focus on fulfilling her campaign pledges, including canceling a planned library construction project and scrapping a large-scale solar power initiative. "I will devote my full energy to delivering on my promises," she stated.

She clearly doesn't value education in her own life so why not extent that to her community as well.

The aid program, known as the "SPRING" (Support for Pioneering Research Initiated by the Next Generation) initiative, was launched in academic 2021 by the ministry's Japan Science and Technology Agency. It pays doctoral candidates up to 2.9 million yen (about $19,200) annually for living and research expenses. In the 2024 academic year, of the total 10,564 recipients, about 40%, or 4,125 individuals, were international students, with Chinese nationals making up the largest number -- 3,151. This led to criticism from ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers and others in the Diet.

Another blow to foreign residents. Some might slam this subsidy as wasteful spending but how else do you entice students to come to Japan when there are better and more lucrative options elsewhere. 2.9 million isn't much but it is enough to live a simple life as a student. I would think that this long term investment in education would pay off but perhaps the short term political gain was too shiny to pass up.

“I am the last one left,” Mr. Kiyozumi said in his home, showing fading photographs of the sub and himself as a young sailor.

As the 80th anniversary of the war’s end approaches, the number of veterans still alive is rapidly dwindling. There were only 792 Japanese war veterans still collecting government pensions as of March, half the number of a year earlier.

Now in their upper 90s and 100s, they will take with them the last living memories of horrors and ordeals, but also of bravery and sacrifice — powerful accounts that hold extra meaning now, as Japan builds up its military after decades of pacifism. Here are some of their stories.

A somber article well worth a read. The last Japanese soldiers from the Second World War speak about their experiences and the inhuman brutality of the war.

The number of foreign passengers using Narita Airport, near Tokyo, rose 1% in June from a year earlier to 1,849,269, a record high for the month, the airport's operator said Thursday.

The increase was led by flights to and from China, Narita Airport said.

The total number of international passengers, including Japanese, at the airport in Chiba Prefecture, was up 2% in June, at 2,670,104.

For awhile after Haneda evolved into the primary Tokyo international airport, the future of Narita seemed dark. But it has evolved into a hub again for long haul and low cost flights, catering to its own niche markets and not in competition with its cousin across the bay.

As regular transportation to the island had been cut off due to the quake, collapsed buildings and debris remain almost untouched, and residents are waiting for full-scale restoration. The about 50 people who sailed there Wednesday included evacuated residents and local government officials. After they arrived at the island, the residents began the hard work of cleaning up their homes.

This quake was so damaging to the region and it is surprising that it is taking so long to recover from it, especially after the massive quake yesterday causing little damage.

The ¥2,000 banknotes never gained popularity, despite the promotional efforts of the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Japan, because most ATMs and vending machines did not issue or accept them. Circulation peaked at around 510 million notes in August 2004, and then declined rapidly thereafter. Since that fiscal year, no new notes have been printed, and the number in circulation has remained just below 100 million, which is only 0.6% of all banknotes in circulation. The notes have become so rare that many people have never encountered one or wonder if they can still be used to make purchases.

However, in Okinawa the situation is quite different. The note has special significance for residents of the prefecture because it features an illustration of the Shureimon gate of Shuri Castle, which is the symbol of Okinawa. ATMs for Okinawa Bank and the Bank of the Ryūkyūs have a “¥2,000 priority button” that allows users to choose to withdraw these notes to use for their daily purchases.

I distinctly remember using an ATM in Okinawa for the first time and the 2000円 notes being spit out. Was my first time seeing them and I briefly thought I was being scammed. They are beautiful banknotes and the only remaining ones with the previous design language since they were not changed with its 1000円, 5000円, and 10000円 comrades.

U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs will create regional trading blocs and realign global supply chains, the CEO of Japanese trading house Marubeni has warned.

"There is a perception that things are getting back to normal" now that some countries have tariff agreements with the U.S., but "the protectionist tendencies will alter the movements of goods and alter supply chains in the mid to long term," Masayuki Omoto, the CEO of one of Japan's five main general trading houses, told Nikkei Asia.

"I believe economies will become more regionally focused -- or bloc-based," he said.

Globalization being buried, one tariff at a time.