Nipponica

The app, named Bears, allows users to report bear sightings by accessing the city’s official LINE account, which is linked to the app, then tapping “Bear Information” followed by “I saw a bear! (Report).” Users then input their name, their phone number, the date, the time, the number of bears sighted (selecting adult or cub), and the location (searchable on a map) to submit the report. The process takes about one to two minutes to complete.

Serious commentary: This is actually a good idea to build upon LINE, something that basically everyone already uses to disseminate information like this. Should also be simple to spread this to other municipalities that are having the same problems.

Unserious commentary: This is a shameful example of LGBT discrimination in Japan. Leave bears alone!

Mt. Shinmoedake, located on the border between Miyazaki and Kagoshima prefectures in the Kirishima Mountains range, erupted at 5:23 a.m. on Sunday, sending an ash plume over 3,000 meters high from the crater.

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, ashfall is expected to the northeast, and there is a risk of small volcanic rocks being carried by the wind and falling within a range of approximately 14 kilometers.

Eyes to the sky. Stay safe out there.

Oshiro, 84, who survived the atomic bombing of Nagasaki and now resides in Urasoe, Okinawa Prefecture, has lived in Okinawa since the year after World War II ended. Under U.S. rule until 1972, Okinawa lagged behind the Japanese mainland in providing support for hibakusha, or atomic bomb survivors. For many years, Oshiro did not speak about her experiences. What changed that was her connection with other hibakusha on the island.

Everyone should read the whole article to not only understand the life of an atomic bombing survivor but also the discrimination they faced in the decades after the war.

Twin cathedral bells rang in unison in Nagasaki for the first time in 80 years on Saturday, commemorating the moment the city was destroyed by an American atomic bomb.

The two bells rang out at Immaculate Conception cathedral, also called the Urakami cathedral, at 11.02am, the moment the bomb was dropped on 9 August 1945, three days after a nuclear attack on Hiroshima.

The imposing redbrick building, with its twin bell towers atop a hill, was rebuilt in 1959 after it was almost completely destroyed in the monstrous explosion just a few hundred metres away. Only one of its two bells was recovered from the rubble, leaving the northern tower silent. With funds from US churchgoers, a new bell was constructed and restored to the tower.

When talking about the atomic bombings of Japan, we often relegate Nagasaki to an afterthought following Hiroshima. But they both need to remembered as equally dark days for humanity. Never may we drop to this low again as a species.

The shape of the popular Japanese chocolate snack "Pocky" has been registered as a three-dimensional trademark by the Japan Patent Office, snack giant Ezaki Glico Co. announced Aug. 4.

A 3D trademark is a system that allows 3D shapes with a certain degree of uniqueness to be protected as trademarks. According to Ezaki Glico, this is one of the few cases where the product can be identified solely by the shape of the item inside the packaging, even without text or logos.

No idea '3D trademarking' was a thing. But they have a point. Pocky is Pocky and will always be Pocky.

The lawsuit filed Thursday is one of a slew by media companies worldwide against AI firms using their material and is the first by a major Japanese news organization, Yomiuri said.

The lawsuit filed in Tokyo seeks damages of ¥2.2 billion ($14.7 million), equivalent to 120,000 Yomuiri articles used "without permission" between February and June.

Tech firms think they have to break the law to 'innovate' and that they are justified to do so. Let's teach them otherwise.

The exterior of Shuri-jo Castle's main hall stands reborn once more with reconstruction complete and reporters visiting the historic space here on Aug. 6.

The castle is in the process of being rebuilt after being destroyed in a 2019 fire. The Seiden main hall's roof lined with red tiles unique to Okinawa Prefecture, vermilion pillars and vibrant ornamentations have all been restored.

It feels so good to see Shuri-Jo back again. I first visited it in 2016 during my first trip to Okinawa and was devastated to see it destroyed in 2019. When I lived and worked in Okinawa over the past few years, it was slowly being rebuilt. Ready to book a return trip to Ryukyu to see it in its full glory again.

Japan's weather agency issued a special heavy rain warning for Kirishima, Kagoshima Prefecture, on Friday morning, as rain battered the southwestern island of Kyushu.

Stay safe out there.

Japan has, by some measures, the highest inheritance tax rate in the world. It's so high, and the related laws and rules so unforgiving and complicated, that a smart move to the country can years later suddenly look like an expensive mistake.

Yes, this is a very dry article but it is a good overview of the rules you have to follow when an inheritance event happens. On a related now, tax law makes me break out in hives.

J-RISE is a major pillar of the government’s broader University for International Research Excellence initiative, which supports top Japanese universities through the national ¥10 trillion University Fund. The fund, managed by the Japan Science and Technology Agency, aims to elevate the global standing of Japanese institutions by supporting world-class research environments.

This level of investment signals a clear policy shift: Japan wants to become a global scientific hub. Sadly, this important strategic pivot is taking place against a backdrop of rising nationalist sentiment and economic frustration, neither of which bode well for attracting world-class researchers.

You want scientists to come to the country but you slash the money in to train them in PhD programs while starting a generic fund to push SCIENCE. Sounds like a typical day in Nagata-cho.