STUDENT WHO MET SAGAMIHARA KILLER SEEKS LESSONS FROM MASS STABBING - TOKYO JAPAN

STUDENT WHO MET SAGAMIHARA KILLER SEEKS LESSONS FROM MASS STABBING - TOKYO JAPAN

@Jr_Paku Midin Channel

TOKYO

Kazuaki was a second-year junior high school student when he sat across an acrylic partition from Satoshi Uematsu, the man accused of killing 19 people with intellectual disabilities at a care home outside Tokyo.

What struck him was how Uematsu seemed.

Uematsu, a former employee of the Tsukui Yamayuri En facility in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, was small, softly spoken and polite, bowing deeply as he thanked Kazuaki for making the journey to see him at a detention facility in Yokohama.

"I wanted to see for myself what kind of person he was," said Kazuaki, now a 21-year-old university student in Tokyo whose name has been changed for this story.

Over about 18 months, he visited Uematsu four times before a trial that would end with his death sentence.

Ten years after the July 2016 attack, Japan's deadliest mass killing in decades, Kazuaki says he wants people of his generation to think about what happened and why. Uematsu stabbed residents as they slept, killing 19 and injuring 26 others.

Uematsu, now 36, has repeatedly sought a retrial.

Kazuaki first learned of the killings through television news and was particularly disturbed by footage of Uematsu, with dyed-blonde hair, smiling at cameras as he was taken to prosecutors.

"I couldn't understand how someone could commit something like that and still smile," he said.

His curiosity deepened after he came across a magazine article about an editor who had met Uematsu in detention. Surprised that an ordinary member of the public could visit someone at the center of such a major crime, Kazuaki looked up the procedures online and sent Uematsu a letter saying he wanted to know more about the case.

Uematsu replied quickly.

Each visit lasted no more than 30 minutes, and Kazuaki prepared questions in a notebook beforehand.

Uematsu often answered questions about the killings in a flat, almost mechanical way, Kazuaki recalled.

Uematsu told him that people with disabilities who were unable to communicate were a burden on others and unnecessary, and that they should be euthanized with the consent of their families.

Kazuaki found the reasoning absurd and riddled with leaps in logic.

He was also struck by Uematsu's intense concern with his appearance.

Asked why he had smiled for the cameras as he was being taken to prosecutors, Uematsu said he had just woken up and thought he looked terrible. He had tried to cover his face but laughed when he saw the mass of cameras pointed at him.

Uematsu also told Kazuaki he had undergone cosmetic surgery on his eyes and nose because, as he put it, "If I looked ugly when I was arrested, no one would take what I said seriously."

He said he had dyed his hair blonde after being inspired by U.S. President Donald Trump and spoke proudly of building up his body through training.

"He was good at drawing, but he would say, 'For someone as ugly as me, this is the only thing I have going for me,'" Kazuaki said.

"When I told him I didn't think he was ugly, he leaned forward with his hands on the desk and insisted that I was wrong."

Kazuaki came away with the impression that Uematsu had low self-esteem and placed excessive value on appearance and ability.

During their meetings, Uematsu also told him: "I thought that even someone like me could help society if I acted on what I believed was right. There are plenty of people online who agree with my ideas."

He added: "If I had talent and had been given a chance to succeed, I wouldn't have committed the crime."

Kazuaki believes Uematsu's sense of inferiority and desire for recognition may have helped push him in a destructive direction.

At their final meeting, about a month before his trial began, Uematsu expressed what Kazuaki saw as his first sign of doubt, saying: "Maybe what I did wasn't right."

But at his trial, he continued to voice discriminatory views about people with disabilities.

Since high school, Kazuaki has visited Tsukui Yamayuri En each year on the anniversary of the attack to lay flowers. Those visits have also brought him into contact with people with disabilities and those who support them.

As memories of the killings fade, he worries that the broader questions raised by the case are being forgotten too.

"There are many issues in society that can't simply be reduced to whether one side is good or bad," he said, pointing to discrimination against minorities, including foreign nationals and sexual minorities, particularly online.

Kazuaki still keeps the notebook in which he carefully recorded Uematsu's words and behavior.

"Even if they never kill anyone, another Uematsu could be anywhere," he said.

Around the same period, Takashi Sasaki, an assistant to the president of Tokyo University of Social Welfare and the father of a son with a developmental disability, also corresponded with and visited Uematsu.

Sasaki said Uematsu once replied, when asked directly why he had carried out the attack, that "I wanted attention."

Sasaki also believes a desire for recognition and a deep sense of isolation played an important role in Uematsu's thinking, although Uematsu himself repeatedly expressed eugenic and discriminatory ideas about people with disabilities.

"What stayed with me most was his profound loneliness," Sasaki said.

He recalled Uematsu saying that when he worked at Tsukui Yamayuri En, no one thanked him even when he helped residents.

Sasaki said the case left him asking what society could do to prevent resentment and isolation from turning into violence against vulnerable people.

Kazuaki, too, hopes the case will continue to prompt reflection among younger generations.

"I want people of my generation to take an interest in this too," he said.

>>>MORE ARTICLE JUST CLICK AND READ<<<

https://www.jacknjillscute.com/2024/11/1st-shipment-of-this-years-beaujolais.html

https://www.jacknjillscute.com/2025/02/governor-tokyo-wants-to-start-study.html

https://www.jacknjillscute.com/2024/11/mulls-mandatory-anti-harassment-steps.html

https://www.jacknjillscute.com/2024/12/hand-built-fantasy-tower-brings-value.html

@Jr_Paku Midin Channel

5 MALAYSIAN NATIONALS ARRESTED FOR ALLEDGED SMUGGLING OF COCAINE HIDDEN IN SHOES - TOKYO JAPAN

5 MALAYSIAN NATIONALS ARRESTED FOR ALLEDGED SMUGGLING OF COCAINE HIDDEN IN SHOES - TOKYO JAPAN

@Jr_Paku Midin Channel

TOKYO

The Metropolitan Police Department’s Drug and Firearm Control Division and Haneda Customs have arrested five Malaysian nationals — three men and two women aged 19 to 26 — on suspicion of violating the Narcotics Control Law.

According to police, the five are accused of attempting to smuggle approximately 5 kilograms of cocaine (with a street value of roughly 120 million yen) in to Japan at Haneda airport on Oct 9, TV Asahi reported. They were arrested on Saturday.

Customs officers discovered cocaine beneath the insoles of the shoes worn by two of the suspects when they arrived at Haneda Airport from Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Upon questioning the two — who claimed they were visiting for sightseeing with friends — officers inspected the shoes of the other three suspects who were still in the arrival terminal and similarly discovered cocaine.

Each shoe contained 500 grams of cocaine, police said.

Police said one woman has denied the allegations, while the other four have admitted to them.

Police said one of the men told them he was recruited via social media by an acquaintance of a friend for a job involving "transporting illegal drugs overseas.”

>>>MORE ARTICLE JUST CLICK AND READ<<<

https://www.jacknjillscute.com/2024/04/3-people-whose-deaths-linked-to-dietary.html

https://www.jacknjillscute.com/2026/08/how-did-malaysia-airlines-pilots-drug.html

https://www.jacknjillscute.com/2024/07/tohoku-university-to-become-first-to.html

https://www.jacknjillscute.com/2024/05/delinquent-youth-who-made-extraordinary.html

@Jr_Paku Midin Channel

JAPAN INTRODUCE 4 - STAGE FLOOD - RISK SYSTEM FOR UNDERPASSES - TOKYO JAPAN

JAPAN INTRODUCE 4 - STAGE FLOOD - RISK SYSTEM FOR UNDERPASSES - TOKYO JAPAN

@Jr_Paku Midin Channel

TOKYO

Japan's transport ministry on Tuesday released a new policy categorizing the country's underpasses into four stages according to flood risk to help prevent accidents, following a series of fatalities linked to heavy rain.

Local road authorities will classify individual underpasses into four stages based on factors such as topography and past flooding, with stage 1 representing the highest risk.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has compiled measures for each stage, with the highest-risk underpasses to be equipped with crossing gates that can remotely or automatically close the road when flooding is detected.

A red warning lamp would be installed at every underpass, regardless of its designated stage.

The ministry will provide subsidies to municipalities and other road authorities to implement such measures following deaths involving vehicles trapped in flooded underpasses during heavy rain in Chiba Prefecture in August and a fatal underpass accident in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, in September.

Of Japan's roughly 3,840 underpasses, about 3,700 are managed by municipalities.

The new policy calls for multiple preventive measures, including restricting vehicle access and maintaining drainage systems.

"We will notify all road authorities nationwide and promptly implement effective measures," transport minister Tatsunori Ibayashi told a press conference. "Budget requests will be fully supported based on project progress."

>>>MORE ARTICLE JUST CLICK AND READ<<<

https://www.jacknjillscute.com/2025/06/58-year-old-man-arrested-for-fatally.html

https://www.jacknjillscute.com/2025/06/fully-funded-higher-education-soon-for.html

https://www.jacknjillscute.com/2025/06/japanese-couple-fights-burglars-with.html

https://www.jacknjillscute.com/2025/06/expect-rice-prices-598-to-fall-with.html

@Jr_Paku Midin Channel

TOKYO GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCES REMOVAL OF ALL PUBLIC PHONES FROM CITY'S TOEI SUBWAY STATIONS - TOKYO JAPAN

TOKYO GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCES REMOVAL OF ALL PUBLIC PHONES FROM CITY'S TOEI SUBWAY STATIONS - TOKYO JAPAN

@Jr_Paku Midin Channel

TOKYO

Generally speaking, when the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation has an announcement to make, it has something to do with trains, buses, or some other form of public transit. One of the organization’s latest statements, though, is about phones. Specifically, it’s about public phones inside subway stations, and how they’re going to be disappearing.

Tokyo is actually big enough that it has two different subway networks. The bureau’s announcement affects the government-managed Toei Subway system, which consists of the Asakusa, Mita, Oedo and Shinjuku Lines, and the timetable is for none of their stations to have payphone by November of 2028 at the latest.

This isn’t a change that’s being initiated by the Tokyo government, however. Instead, it’s telecommunications operator NTT East that’s saying it wants to remove all of its phones from Toei Subway stations, and the bureau is simply passing on the company’s decision to the general public.

There’s a strong argument to be made that, in this day and age, public phones rarely serve any significant purpose. It’s not unusual for even junior high school kids to have their own smartphones, so pretty much anyone who’s going to be out and about in the city already has a way to make telephone calls, in addition to using messaging and voice chat apps for necessary communication with family, friends, classmates, or colleagues.

However, pay phones also have a role as disaster-relief infrastructure. Not only can they be used to contact medical and fire services, public phone networks can also be used, for free, in the case of events such as earthquakes and tsunami to make calls and contact voice message services. They provide a critical lifeline for people in disaster-stricken areas whose phones may have been lost or damaged, or who may not have access to a power supply or charging equipment after their phone’s battery runs out.

Because of that, under Japan’s Telecommunications Business Act, licensed payphone providers are required to maintain a certain concentration in areas in which they operate. Specifically, at least one public phone must be installed and in working order for every 500 square meters in urban communities, or one phone for every square kilometer in other areas. These phone, classified as Type-1 Public Phones, should be placed either on public roads or in facilities facing public roads that the general public can access 24 hours a day.

Public phones inside rail stations, however, are not classified as Type-1 Public Phones, most likely because the stations close for several hours at night. Because of that, station phones fall into the category of Type-2 Public Phones, which can be installed or removed at NTT East’s discretion, without any need to obtain permission from the Tokyo government. As such, this appears to be a pure business decision, with NTT East no longer feeling that its in-station phones justify the cost of maintaining them compared to the undoubtedly reduced revenue they bring in.

The phones’ removal is likely to occur gradually over the next two years, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation says that each station will announce its removal date at least two weeks ahead of time. The bureau also recommends that those in need of a payphone utilize the search function on NTT East’s website here, though that, of course, isn’t going to be much help to anyone without a smartphone or other connectable communications device already on them.

>>>MORE ARTICLE JUST CLICK AND READ<<<

https://www.jacknjillscute.com/2025/12/foreign-population-in-10-prefectures.html

https://www.jacknjillscute.com/2025/12/worst-ever-been-to-shot-put-athlete.html

https://www.jacknjillscute.com/2025/12/japan-launches-nationwide-probe-after.html

https://www.jacknjillscute.com/2025/12/craft-gin-distillery-hopes-to-help.html

@Jr_Paku Midin Channel

READY, SET, SNOOZE: SLEEP - DEPRIVED JAPANESE COMPETE FOR BEST - RESTED : TOKYO JAPAN

READY, SET, SNOOZE: SLEEP -  DEPRIVED JAPANESE COMPETE FOR BEST - RESTED : TOKYO JAPAN 

@Jr_Paku Midin Channel

TOKYO

In diligent, exhausted Japan, self-described elite "competitive sleepers" vied to lie down, relax and nap the fastest and deepest in a contest organized by a mattress company.

The Tokyo competition, dubbed "Matt Race", saw dozens of participants fitted with sleep tracking devices sprawl on comfy mattresses to slumber for up to 90 minutes Monday, competing for the top prize of over two million yen.

"Japan is often described as a country suffering from sleep deprivation, and people here are very diligent," Riichiro Nakama, creative director at organizer Koala Sleep Japan, the mattress company.

Inside a dimly lit room, participants slept with monitors attached to their heads, some cradling stuffed toys in their beds.

"By turning it into an event like this, I think we can get people to sleep together, raise interest in sleep," Nakama said.

OECD data showed in 2021 that Japanese people slept an average seven hours 24 minutes a day -- the least of all OECD nations within the group -- with experts citing long working and commuting hours and a busy nightlife economy as among contributing factors.

"It was over in an instant. I almost wish I could have slept a little longer," participant Chisato Honda, 32, told AFP. "It was a happy competition," he added.

The winner was chosen based on how quickly and soundly they slept.

"I want to live on my own, so I think I'll use the money for the moving costs," said Suimii, the contest winner who only gave her nickname. "I also want a bed like a princess's, so I think I'll buy that bed."

>>>MORE ARTICLE JUST CLICK AND READ<<<

https://www.jacknjillscute.com/2025/07/19-year-old-man-arrested-for-assaulting.html

https://www.jacknjillscute.com/2025/12/japan-to-start-rs-virus-vaccination-for.html

https://www.jacknjillscute.com/2025/12/japans-eel-delicacy-faces-global.html

https://www.jacknjillscute.com/2025/12/man-dies-after-getting-into-difficulty.html

@Jr_Paku Midin Channel

JAPAN BOOK WHOLESALER ADMITS SELLING BOOKS TO ANTRHOPIC: INDUSTRY SOURCE - TOKYO JAPAN

JAPAN BOOK WHOLESALER ADMITS SELLING BOOKS TO ANTRHOPIC: INDUSTRY SOURCE - TOKYO JAPAN 

@Jr_Paku Midin Channel

TOKYO

A major Japanese book wholesaler has admitted selling a large number of books to U.S. artificial intelligence company Anthropic, according to a publishing industry source.

Nippan Group Holdings Inc, the parent company of Nippon Shuppan Hanbai Inc, recently confirmed the transactions in its response to a letter from the Japan Book Publishers Association.

Concerns are growing within the Japanese publishing industry that the books may have been destroyed after having their spines cut to enable scanning for digital data to train AI.

The association sought clarification after court filings in a U.S. copyright lawsuit revealed Anthropic had held talks with "Nippan Japan" to purchase books in bulk.

In the letter dated Sept 17, the association asked Nippan Group Holdings whether books sold to Anthropic included titles published by the association's member companies, the source said.

The association also asked how the wholesaler views selling large quantities of books to overseas customers without obtaining permission from their publishers.

"It would be regrettable if the company had sold books knowing they would be used to train AI," the source said, stressing that permission from authors and publishers must be obtained before supplying books for such purposes.

The source said the group admitted to the association that one of its companies had sold books to Anthropic for roughly a year from December 2024 but added it had not done so with the knowledge that the transactions were intended to train AI.

>>>MORE ARTICLE JUST CLICK AND READ<<<

https://www.jacknjillscute.com/2025/12/ef-english-proficiency-index-rank-drops.html

https://www.jacknjillscute.com/2026/03/japan-struggles-to-curb-foreigner.html

https://www.jacknjillscute.com/2025/12/1st-bus-japan-service-with-lie-flat.html

https://www.jacknjillscute.com/2025/12/chinese-jets-directed-fire-control.html

@Jr_Paku Midin Channel

TOKYO'S RECORD RAINFALL STREAK ENDS AFTER 37 DAYS - TOKYO JAPAN

TOKYO'S RECORD RAINFALL STREAK ENDS AFTER 37 DAYS - TOKYO JAPAN 

@Jr_Paku Midin Channel

TOKYO

Central Tokyo's record-breaking streak of rainy days ended Saturday after 37 days of showers, according to the weather agency.

It did not rain in the capital on Saturday after the influence of typhoons and a prolonged autumn rain front caused the record steak of wet days, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

The previous record was 33 consecutive days of rain from late June in 2019.

The agency has said eastern Japan registered its highest amount of rainfall and least sunlight in September since records began in 1946.

>>>MORE ARTICLE JUST CLICK AND READ<<<

https://www.jacknjillscute.com/2025/05/3-killed-in-expressway-accidents-caused.html

https://www.jacknjillscute.com/2025/05/bubuk-bountry-brings-income-tradition.html

https://www.jacknjillscute.com/2025/05/court-orders-jetstar-japan-to-pay.html

https://www.jacknjillscute.com/2025/05/park-in-central-japan-recognized-by.html

@Jr_Paku Midin Channel

EMERGENCY REPAIRS COMPLETE AT BREACHED LEVEES IN CHIBA - TOKYO CHIBA JAPAN

EMERGENCY REPAIRS COMPLETE AT BREACHED LEVEES IN CHIBA - TOKYO CHIBA JAPAN 

@Jr_Paku Midin Channel

CHIBA

Emergency repairs to levees around Lake Imbanuma in Chiba Prefecture have been completed after heavy rain caused by a typhoon breached them last month.

The breaches in two sections flooded rice fields and houses, damaging the local farming industry. About 100,000 carp were washed away from a fish farm.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism completed repair work on one of the two breaches, which spanned around 72 meters, by piling up soil and sand and using tarp sheets. New levees will be constructed later.

The restoration work began about a week ago, with up to 500 workers engaged around the clock. The other section had already been repaired by the prefectural government.

Typhoon Dujuan brought intense rain to Chiba, breaching the levees around the lake on Sept. 21, in another blow to the prefecture, which had already been hit by similar downpours in the preceding weeks.

The death toll from the typhoon reached 15 in Chiba and Kanagawa prefectures on Saturday following the discovery of a body at the site of a landslide in Chiba's Nagara, according to the prefectural government and police.

>>>MORE ARTICLE JUST CLICK AND READ<<<

https://www.jacknjillscute.com/2025/12/thailand-sea-games-2025-controversy.html

https://www.jacknjillscute.com/2026/10/gang-of-angry-monkeys-surrounds-and.html

https://www.jacknjillscute.com/2026/10/japan-elderly-population-makes-up.html

https://www.jacknjillscute.com/2026/06/treated-water-release-resumes-at.html

@Jr_Paku Midin Channel

HOKKAIDO RANKED MOST ATTRACTIVE PREFECTURE FOR 18TH STRAIGHT YEAR: BEST ON SURVEY - TOKYO JAPAN

HOKKAIDO RANKED MOST ATTRACTIVE PREFECTURE FOR 18TH STRAIGHT YEAR: BEST ON SURVEY - TOKYO JAPAN 

@Jr_Paku Midin Channel

TOKYO

Hokkaido, Japan's northernmost main island and a popular tourist destination, has again been ranked the country's most attractive prefecture in an annual survey, retaining the top spot for the 18th straight year, a research institute said Saturday.

Hokkaido scored highly in categories such as "desire to visit as a tourist," reflecting its enduring popularity, while Kyoto in western Japan came second and Okinawa in southern Japan third, maintaining their positions from the previous year, according to the Brand Research Institute survey.

The least attractive among the country's 47 prefectures was Saga in southwestern Japan, which ranked 45th last year. The prefecture-based survey began in 2009.

The online survey, conducted between June and July this year, consisted of 91 questions covering areas such as visibility and drew responses from 31,666 men and women in their 20s through 70s.

Among the prefectures that improved their rankings, Nagasaki in southwestern Japan rose three places from the previous year to 8th, partly due to the impact of large-scale events such as music festivals, while Osaka in the west, which hosted the World Exposition in 2025, climbed two places to 6th.

Niigata, on the Sea of Japan coast, climbed six places from last year to 22nd, likely due to increased recognition of a gold and silver mine complex on Sado Island in Japan which was added to UNESCO's World Heritage list in 2024, according to the institute.

Eastern Japan's Saitama, which placed last the previous year, came 44th, while Ibaraki near Tokyo remained in 46th place, the same as last year.

"Prefectures that have attracted increasing enthusiasm from tourists have seen a sharp rise in their rankings," the institute said.

>>>MORE ARTICLE JUST CLICK AND READ<<<

https://www.jacknjillscute.com/2026/03/26th-anniversary-of-fatal-hibiya-line.html

https://www.jacknjillscute.com/2026/04/hay-fever-hits-japans-wild-monkey-parks.html

https://www.jacknjillscute.com/2026/03/united-states-helicopter-lands-at.html

https://www.jacknjillscute.com/2026/04/government-oks-extra-cost-for-drugs.html

@Jr_Paku Midin Channel

'ACT BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE' : TOKYO RESIDENTS FIGHT FOR MORE TREES - TOKYO JAPAN

'ACT BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE' : TOKYO RESIDENTS FIGHT FOR MORE TREES - TOKYO JAPAN 

@Jr_Paku Midin Channel

TOKYO

One sweltering day in Tokyo, Kaoru Morimoto told friends she wasn't sure she could endure another summer in her neighborhood, where tree cover and the crucial shade it provides is dwindling.

As Japan experiences ever more frequent extreme heat, tree cover that can help lower temperatures is shrinking rather than growing in Tokyo, bucking a trend among many major world capitals.

Morimoto wants that to change. Last year she launched a campaign urging officials to set a canopy cover target, a rare grassroots initiative focused on the issue.

"Everyone says the summer has become more intense," but public awareness about Tokyo's lack of tree cover is low, Morimoto told AFP.

Together with Susumu Nirasawa, a fellow resident in her western Tokyo neighborhood of Nakano, the 66-year-old organizes expert talks, shares temperature data on social media, and attends local council meetings where she petitions officials. Around 30 others in the community have joined the cause.

"We want the ward government to take the issue seriously," Nirasawa, 71, said.

Japan saw its hottest summer on record in 2025, with warmer days on the rise globally due to climate change. This year, the country recorded almost 120 heat-related deaths between May and August, while more than 73,000 people needed emergency care.

Although experts say greater tree cover can help lower air temperatures, a University of Tokyo study in 2024 showed the city lost canopy cover equivalent to three and a half times the size of New York's Central Park in under a decade.

Thermometers and notebook in hand, Morimoto and Nirasawa take their own temperature readings in Nakano, hoping hard data will help unite their neighbors behind the cause.

We "measured the shade under trees with large canopies and under trees that had been more heavily pruned," said Morimoto. "There was about a three‑degree difference."

Extreme weather, narrow streets

In the 2024 study, University of Tokyo researcher and urban forestry expert Kinya Shiraishi found that canopy cover in central Tokyo fell to 7.3 percent in 2022 from 9.2 percent in 2013, a loss of 12 square kilometers.

By comparison, canopy cover in New York stands at around 23 percent, with the city aiming to raise it to 30 percent by 2040. London aims for a 10 percent increase from its current 20 percent by 2050, while Paris also plans to boost coverage from about 18 percent.

"If we want to improve the quality of urban life, canopy cover is one of the key factors," Shiraishi told AFP, adding that trees also lower flooding risks and can help city dwellers feel calmer.

He said the decline was driven largely by the loss of private residential gardens, with aging landowners selling their properties and mature trees often felled as large plots are subdivided to meet housing demand in the capital.

Many roads in Tokyo are also narrow and have little space for greenery, while authorities are wary of trees toppling over in extreme weather.

A Tokyo metropolitan government official told AFP that the city "is currently working to expand tree canopies through careful pruning, focusing on roads where the pavements are wide and the trees can grow".

Without proper management, trees threaten the visibility of traffic lights and are at risk of falling during typhoons, he said, adding that Tokyo uses a benchmark for measuring greenery which includes farmland and grassland found in its outer reaches.

But on a hot, sunny day in the city center, there was little shade along a street home to the finance ministry. One plain tree stood almost bare, its upper branches cut back close to the trunk.

"Unless we promptly make efforts to increase canopy cover and shift our policies, we'll run out of time," said Eijiro Fujii, professor emeritus at Chiba University who specializes in horticulture, glancing at a group of heavily pruned trees in Tokyo's central district of Kasumigaseki.

Fujii blames overpruning, developed to manage trees in limited spaces, as well as the frequent rotation of public officials overseeing street greenery, for the decrease in canopy cover.

In Nakano, Morimoto and Nirasawa say the ward's mayor has recently begun to emphasize the importance of tree shade, but neighborhood officials have so far failed to set a target for canopy cover.

"Deaths from heatstroke are rapidly increasing in Japan," Fujii said. "We need to act before it's too late."

>>>MORE ARTICLE JUST CLICK AND READ<<<

https://www.jacknjillscute.com/2025/02/united-states-finds-live-beetles-hidden.html

https://www.jacknjillscute.com/2026/10/gang-of-angry-monkeys-surrounds-and.html

https://www.jacknjillscute.com/2025/04/asian-markets-plunge-with-japans-nikkei.html

https://www.jacknjillscute.com/2026/09/japan-tripled-departure-tax-to-fund.html

@Jr_Paku Midin Channel