DEATH TOLL FROM M7.1 KUMAMOTO EARTHQUAKE TOPS 30, SERVICES STILL DISTRUPTED - KUMAMOTO JAPAN

DEATH TOLL FROM M7.1 KUMAMOTO EARTHQUAKE TOPS 30, SERVICES STILL DISTRUPTED - KUMAMOTO JAPAN

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KUMAMOTO, Japan

The death toll from a magnitude 7.1 earthquake that jolted the southwestern Japanese prefecture of Kumamoto exceeded 30 on Thursday, as thousands of evacuees endured disruptions to essential services in sweltering summer heat while rescue workers raced against time as the critical 72-hour window since the disaster neared its end.

The tally includes eight people at a Nippon Paper Industries Co. plant in Yatsushiro that was severely damaged by Tuesday's quake and seven workers at an Aeon shopping mall in Kashima, where an explosion occurred after the quake. The prefectural government put the total death toll from the quake at 34.

Police, firefighters and Self-Defense Forces personnel combed through debris for signs of life as the 72-hour rescue window expires Friday afternoon.

Excluding the deaths at the Nippon Paper plant and Aeon shopping mall, the prefectural government said 10 people were confirmed dead, and nine other deaths may be linked to the quake, which registered the maximum 7 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale in parts of Kumamoto.

Vietnam News Agency has reported that one Vietnamese trainee died after being crushed by a crane at a factory in Kosa.

More than 9,000 people stayed in shelters in Kumamoto, which was ravaged by similarly powerful earthquakes in 2016, as thousands of households remained without electricity and water.

People gathered around water trucks to receive water while others formed long lines to fill their cars at gas stations.

A woman in her 70s from Uki, one of the hardest-hit areas, is staying at an evacuation shelter but spends the night in her car with her pet dog.

She lined up for two and a half hours Thursday morning at a gas station to fill up her car in preparation for an extended evacuation. "I am tired, and my dog is getting weak because of the heat. I wonder when this will be over," she said.

High temperatures are forecast in quake-hit areas, raising concerns about heat-related illnesses, especially in places without adequate air conditioning, as evacuation fatigue continues to mount.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who has vowed to ensure the timely delivery of supplies to those affected, could visit Kumamoto as early as Monday, government sources said.

There has been a discrepancy in casualty figures released by the central government and Kumamoto, as the central government relies on data from the police and fire departments, while the prefecture compiles figures reported by municipalities, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said at a press conference in Tokyo.

At the Hikawa municipal office, Masako Uraguchi, a 77-year-old from neighboring Yatsushiro, queued to receive water from an SDF water truck. Each person was allowed up to 5 liters.

"It's so inconvenient because we can't flush the toilet. We cannot survive without water in the heat," she said.

As of 2 p.m. Thursday, about 80,000 households in the prefecture were without running water, according to the local government.

About 14,000 households in the prefecture were without electricity as of Thursday evening, according to Kyushu Electric Power Transmission and Distribution Co. The company aims to restore power by Friday evening.

The disaster also disrupted business activity in Kyushu, one of Japan's four main islands.

Toyota Motor Kyushu Inc. will suspend operations at three plants through Friday, while Mitsubishi Motors Corp. has decided to halt production of some vehicles at its plant in Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture, from Thursday night after the earthquake disrupted its supply chain.

The quake has also hit local chipmakers, as production at a plant operated by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world's leading chipmaker, has yet to return to normal.

The company said it still needs more time to adjust its equipment.

JR Kyushu said services on sections of the Kyushu Shinkansen Line between Fukuoka and Kagoshima prefectures were suspended.

When an earthquake measuring 7 on the seismic scale strikes, people cannot remain standing or move without crawling and may be thrown through the air, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

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JAPANESE SOLDIER WHO LOST LEG IN UKRAINE WAR VOWS TO RETURN TO FRONT LINE - LVIV, UKRAINE

JAPANESE SOLDIER WHO LOST LEG IN UKRAINE WAR VOWS TO RETURN TO FRONT LINE - LVIV, UKRAINE 

@Jr_Paku Midin Channel

LVIV, Ukraine

A Japanese volunteer soldier who lost his left leg fighting Russian forces in Ukraine says foreign recruits were often sent into dangerous combat with little information, yet after four years on the front lines he still intends to return to the battlefield once his treatment is complete.

Speaking at a rehabilitation facility in Ukraine's western Lviv region in May, he said he was sent on dangerous missions without being properly briefed. "Foreigners were simply used to fill gaps on the front lines."

Leaning on crutches, the former member of Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force is missing his left leg below the knee after being struck by shrapnel from a mortar shell on the eastern front. He also suffered severe injuries to his right arm and back.

"I've lost a lot of strength after spending so long in hospital," he said with a wry smile.

Many of the comrades he served alongside have been killed, but he says he has no intention of leaving Ukraine before what he calls its "victory."

After Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy established a foreign legion and appealed to military veterans around the world to join the country's defense.

According to the Ukrainian government, more than 20,000 people from around 50 countries expressed interest in volunteering.

The Japanese volunteer said he had long been driven by military training.

"People might think I'm a bit crazy, but preparing for future wars was what I lived for."

Unable to accept Russia's invasion, he first applied through the Ukrainian Embassy in Japan. Although he initially abandoned the idea after the Japanese government advised against travel, he could not bring himself to give it up.

In March 2022, he traveled to the Ukrainian Embassy in Poland before crossing into Ukraine with five other volunteers, including Americans and French nationals.

After two weeks of basic training, he joined the foreign legion and was deployed to Ukraine's eastern Kharkiv region, where fierce fighting was underway. His monthly salary was 140,000 hryvnia, about 500,000 yen ($3,000).

The hastily assembled unit included foreign nationals of Ukrainian origin as well as volunteers seeking the kind of excitement they could not find in everyday life.

Foreign volunteers were rarely given detailed operational plans by Ukraine's regular military, leaving them to face Russian forces while constantly worrying about hidden landmines.

"At the end of the day, we were still outsiders," he said.

He recalls cluster munitions exploding overhead and diving beneath an armored vehicle moments before shrapnel struck. Fragments pierced the eyes of a fellow soldier beside him.

Serving as a sniper on the front line, he later learned through intercepted radio communications that he had killed two Russian soldiers.

"I didn't feel any stress," he said. "It was just a job."

The deaths of fellow volunteers affected him differently.

A Japanese volunteer with whom he had become close was killed by a head injury in Ukraine's eastern Luhansk region. When he arrived, the body had already been covered with a cloth concealing the wounds.

He coped by listening to music.

As the war of attrition dragged on, many foreign volunteers, worn down by the relentless fighting, gradually left Ukraine.

Since 2025, he has served as the leader of a regular drone unit. Although recovering from his injuries, he says his commitment has not changed.

"The front lines are mentally exhausting," he said. "But life in Japan feels too ordinary now."

Once his treatment is complete, he plans to return to his unit.

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JAPAN'S CROWN PRINCE, PRINCESS TO VISIT PARAGUAY IN AUGUST 2026 - TOKYO JAPAN

JAPAN'S CROWN PRINCE, PRINCESS TO VISIT PARAGUAY IN AUGUST 2026 - TOKYO JAPAN

@Jr_Paku Midin Channel

TOKYO

Japan's Crown Prince Fumihito and Crown Princess Kiko will make an official visit to Paraguay in August to mark the 90th anniversary of Japanese immigration to the South American country, the Japanese government said Tuesday.

The goodwill visit from Aug. 18 to 26 comes in response to an invitation from the Paraguayan government. According to the Imperial Household Agency, the couple will travel via the United States to Paraguay on a government plane from Tokyo's Haneda airport.

The prince, the younger brother of Emperor Naruhito, and his wife will pay a courtesy call to Paraguayan President Santiago Pena on Aug. 20 in the capital Asuncion, with the prince to deliver remarks at the 90th anniversary ceremony the following day.

The couple is also scheduled to visit La Colmena, where Japanese immigrants established their first settlements, and Iguazu, to interact with members of the Japanese community. They will leave Paraguay on Aug. 24 and arrive back in Japan on Aug. 26.

Crown Prince Fumihito previously visited Paraguay in 2006 to mark the 70th anniversary of Japanese immigration to the country.

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CENTRAL JAPAN CITIES HIT 40 C, OFFICIALLY MARKING FIRST "KOKUSHOBI" - TOKYO JAPAN

CENTRAL JAPAN CITIES HIT 40 C, OFFICIALLY MARKING FIRST "KOKUSHOBI" - TOKYO JAPAN 

@Jr_Paku Midin Channel

TOKYO

Three cities in central Japan on Tuesday reached 40 C, officially marking the country's first "kokushobi," or "cruelly hot day," since the weather agency introduced the term earlier this year to warn the public of extreme heat.

As a high-pressure system covered much of the Japanese archipelago, Tajimi and Gujo in Gifu Prefecture recorded temperatures of 40.3 C and 40.0 C, respectively, while the mercury in Toyoda in Aichi Prefecture climbed to 40.1 C, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

Coined in April, the term "kokushobi" refers to days when temperatures reach 40 C and is intended to more effectively alert the public to dangerous heat.

The agency said it expects temperatures to remain high in many parts of the country from Wednesday onward and urged the public to take precautions against heat-related illness.

The persistent heat has apparently already claimed lives, with two men -- one in his 70s in Odawara, Kanagawa Prefecture, and another in his 40s in Sanjo, Niigata Prefecture -- found collapsed on the street Monday and later confirmed dead at hospital.

On Tuesday, a woman in her 80s died from heatstroke in Mitsuke, Niigata Prefecture, according to local officials. The woman was found collapsed in her home when a staff member from a regional elder care center visited her.

Of the country's 914 observation points, 731 had recorded maximum temperatures of 30 C or higher as of 3 p.m., with 272 qualifying as "moshobi," which literally translates as "extremely hot day," excluding those separately classified as "kokushobi."

According to the agency, the high-pressure system began covering much of the country around Sunday, warming the air at both the surface and in the upper atmosphere and causing temperatures to rise.

Other areas that recorded temperatures close to 40 C included Nagoya, which reached 39.7 C, and Kumagaya in Saitama Prefecture, which recorded 38.6 C, it said.

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MAN FALLS FROM APARTMENT BUILDING, HITTING AND KILLING FEMALE PEDESTRIAN IN NAGOYA - NAGOYA JAPAN

MAN FALLS FROM APARTMENT BUILDING, HITTING AND KILLING FEMALE PEDESTRIAN IN NAGOYA - NAGOYA JAPAN

@Jr_Paku Midin Channel

NAGOYA

A man fell or jumped from an apartment building in Nagoya on Sunday morning, hitting a woman who was walking on the sidewalk below. The woman died and the man is in a serious condition, police said.

According to police and fire department officials, a call came into 119 at around 1 a.m. from a woman who said that someone had fallen from a building and hit a pedestrian in Naka Ward, TBS reported.

Police said the man fell or jumped from a 12-story apartment building and hit the woman who was in her 20s. She was taken to hospital where she died at around 5:30 a.m. due to hemorrhagic shock.

Police said the man remains unconscious. It is not yet known from which floor of the building he fell.

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JAPAN NOTIFIES LOCAL GOVERNMENTS THEY MAY BAN PRIVATE LODGINGS - TOKYO JAPAN

JAPAN NOTIFIES LOCAL GOVERNMENTS THEY MAY BAN PRIVATE LODGINGS - TOKYO JAPAN 

@Jr_Paku Midin Channel

TOKYO

The Japanese government has notified local governments that they may effectively ban minpaku private lodgings through ordinances to protect residential areas from noise, garbage and other disturbances.

The notice, dated Wednesday, was issued by the Japan Tourism Agency and two other government entities, following a rise in private lodgings that has impacted the living environment of residents.

Under Japanese law, owners can rent out vacant homes or rooms to tourists for up to 180 days per year. But there has been a movement to set the limit on the days to zero with an ordinance, effectively banning the private lodging operation.

The latest notice endorses such a move, stating it is appropriate to prohibit private lodging services or to limit business if the environment of a residential area or educational facility is disrupted.

The move marks a turnaround in the government's stance, as it previously stated that such restrictions were inappropriate in promoting private lodgings.

For existing facilities, the government said that if no other measures can be taken, bans or restrictions on business days may be imposed after a certain grace period.

To ensure that businesses take proactive measures against disturbing behavior, the notice also said local governments could require them to install noise meters and cameras at entrances and exits to collect data, depending on the circumstances.

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CANADIAN TOURIST INJURED IN BEAR ATTACK IN FUKUSHIMA PREFECTURE - FUKUSHIMA PREFECTURE JAPAN

CANADIAN TOURIST INJURED IN BEAR ATTACK IN FUKUSHIMA PREFECTURE - FUKUSHIMA PREFECTURE JAPAN

@Jr_Paku Midin Channel

FUKUSHIMA

A Canadian tourist in her 30s sustained injuries Friday after a bear attacked her in Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan, the latest in a series of such incidents across the country.

The woman was strolling alone at Goshikinuma Ponds, a popular tourist spot in the foothills of Mount Bandai, when the bear scratched her face and right arm at around 3 p.m., police and local firefighters said. The bear then vanished into the woods.

The woman was taken to hospital after the incident, but her injuries are not life-threatening.

On Thursday night, a 73-year-old local woman in Iwate Prefecture, also in northeastern Japan, suffered injuries to her left wrist and right shoulder after being attacked by a bear outside a barn where she had milked some cows.

Earlier that day at the farm, police believe a bear had made off with some animal feed made from corn.

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'HOLDING BACK IS EVIL': GEN-ZERS REVIVE JAPAN'S CORPORATE MACHISMO - TOKYO JAPAN

'HOLDING BACK IS EVIL': GEN-ZERS REVIVE JAPAN'S CORPORATE MACHISMO - TOKYO JAPAN

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TOKYO

Huddled together shoulder-to-shoulder, Gen-Z hires at a Tokyo firm roared "Hell yeah!" to cap their morning rally, displaying the kind of corporate machismo that fuelled Japan's post-war economic miracle.

Once a bastion for "corporate warriors" fiercely devoted to their jobs, Japan has spent the past decades shifting towards a better work-life balance with greater emphasis on mental health.

But a small cohort of Gen-Z workers in the world's fourth-largest economy is seeking to emulate that bygone zeal, disenchanted with "soft" modern workplace culture they see as hindering growth.

At Global Partners, a business support and development firm, workers form a circle every morning, sway rhythmically and rapid-fire mantras like "build up sales!" in throat-shredding screams, with someone randomly chosen to pep-talk the crowd in a test of mettle.

The company has become an internet sensation and draws young hires longing to be toughened up, including 26-year-old employee Kotaro Kawabata.

"Here, it's like 'boom' right off the bat. Everyone is like 'Alright, let's all get to work!' -- I absolutely love it," he told AFP.

One of a dozen motivational Post-it notes adorning his computer reads, "Kotaro, you're the number one salesman."

"I can really grow here. They're strict with me and they even get mad at me for the sake of my development," Kawabata said.

Asuka Obri Okabe, too, welcomed wholehearted scoldings, which she treated "as a form of love", the 28-year-old told AFP. "What's truly scary is an environment where I'm never corrected, and left to move forward in the wrong direction."

A 2023 survey by research firm Recruit Works Institute showed that 64 percent of middle managers in Japan scold their subordinates no more than "a few times" a year.

Gone are the days when tough love and the "homogeneity of male full-timers" steered corporate Japan, Shoto Furuya, the institute's chief researcher, told AFP.

A rapidly greying population has left the country reliant on wide-ranging talent, including those who "don't see work as the main focus of their lives," he said.

The 2015 suicide of an exhausted 24-year-old employee at advertising giant Dentsu also forced Japan's corporate world to reckon with karoshi -- death from overwork.

"But the laid-back, low-pressure environment wasn't the right answer for everyone," with some young go-getters now quitting in frustration and desiring a return to "that 'gung-ho' sports-team atmosphere," Furuya said.

GP's high-energy culture "is a reminder of what Japan lost" and "how its post-war companies used to function as extremely tight-knit communities," he said.

Quiet quitters

At GP, workers unite over zoss -- a radical, masculine abbreviation of otsukaresama-desu (Thank you for your work) -- that they incessantly exclaim as their go-to greeting.

The firm uploads videos of its high-octane pep rallies and workers being reprimanded to promote zoss culture, prompting social media users to label it "cult-like" and "sadistic".

GP founder and CEO Koji Yamamoto, 54, bemoaned what he described as Japan's embrace of Western woke values that he believes began around 2000.

Political correctness and cancel culture, he said, "eviscerated the mental grit" behind Japan's postwar economic success.

Workers today are left "too afraid to even say 'do your best' to (each other) or to shake hands" for fear of being accused of harassment, Yamamoto said.

Hence GP's internal motto: "Holding back is evil."

"If you don't say anything because you don't want to rock the boat, you end up 'quietly quitting,'" he told AFP.

A recent survey by job-matching service Mynavi showed that half of Japanese workers in their 20s and 30s say they have mentally disengaged from their jobs.

GP employee Yuna Nagano, 19, agreed that workers in her generation "tend to lack enthusiasm, doing only what they are told to do".

"But here, we don't work just to be compensated for our time, so our productivity is much higher. I think this kind of mindset is conducive to Japan's economy," she told AFP.

Despite being an ardent believer in Japan's 63-year "Showa" era that lasted until 1989, CEO Yamamoto conceded some of its aspects -- including debilitating overwork and disregard for mental health -- should be left behind.

Parts of GP can be surprisingly modern: it has an international, gender-balanced workforce of mostly people in their 20s.

Employees freely sport shorts, sandals and dyed hair, and boast relatively high rates of paid leave usage.

In some respects "our society is far better today", Yamamoto said. "That's why I say we should go back 90 percent to the Showa era, and keep 10 percent as it is now."

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BODY FOUND NEAR HOT SPRING RESORT BELIEVED TO BE 5-YEAR OLD BOY WHO WENT MISSING IN JUNE 2026 - KAGOSHIMA JAPAN

BODY FOUND NEAR HOT SPRING RESORT BELIEVED TO BE 5-YEAR OLD BOY WHO WENT MISSING IN JUNE 2026 - KAGOSHIMA JAPAN

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KAGOSHIMA

Police in Kirishima City, Kagoshima Prefecture, said Friday that a body found in a river is likely that of a 5-year-old boy who went missing while bathing with his family at a hot spring facility in June.

Police said the body was that of a boy approximately 115 centimeters tall and was naked. It was found among driftwood following a drop in the river's water level, about about 700 meters from the Kareigawa no Yu resort, NTV reported. Police said a DNA test will be carried out to determine if the body is that of Reo Tanaka, the missing boy.

Reo and his parents had come to the resort from Yatsushiro City, Kumamoto Prefecture, and he was last seen by his parents in a private family bath at the facility at around 3:30 p.m. on Sunday June 21.

When his parents went from the bath to the changing room, Reo stayed behind. The parents said they heard no sounds and when they looked for their son, he was gone.

The bathroom has a window just above the bathtub, and a river is about 10 meters away. Police said they believe Reo may have climbed out the window and somehow fallen into the river.

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JAPAN BRACES FOR 'SUPER' EI NINO TO HIT FARMING - TOKYO JAPAN

JAPAN BRACES FOR 'SUPER' EI NINO TO HIT FARMING - TOKYO JAPAN   

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TOKYO

El Nino has emerged for the first time in two years and is feared to intensify into a "super El Nino," which would raise the risk of extreme heat in Japan despite the pattern's usual association with cooler summers.

Experts warn such summer heat could deal a blow to Japanese rice quality again this year, as it did during the 2023-2024 El Nino, while farmers are already shifting to heat-tolerant varieties after heat damage in 2023 crop triggered shortages and led to price surges.

El Nino occurs when sea surface temperatures in a monitoring zone off Peru stay at least 0.5 C above a baseline for more than six months.

Weather specialists call it a super El Nino when the increase reaches 2 C or more -- a threshold only five of the 19 El Nino events since 1949 have crossed -- and they say that could happen from this month.

In a typical El Nino, convection near the Philippines weakens and the Pacific high pressure system extends north less strongly, often bringing more clouds around Japan and leading to a cooler summer.

This year, experts expect warm waters near the Philippines to keep convection active and allow the Pacific high to advance north. They also expect the westerlies to shift north, which can leave Japan more easily covered by warm air to the south.

Forecasters expect July-September temperatures to run above average in western and eastern Japan and in Okinawa and Amami islands in the south, with northern Japan near average or higher.

If extreme heat hits, it could harm crop growth and other agricultural output.

Yoshihiro Tachibana, a meteorology professor at Mie University, said the previous El Nino saw monthly average sea surface temperatures rise as much as 2.3 C, and he linked that summer's heat to lower rice quality.

In Matsuyama, rice farmer Koji Nishimoto, 42, switched this year to the heat-tolerant variety "Niji no Kirameki." He said, "I am worried about extreme heat, but there is nothing I can do about it. Farmers around me are switching too."

Ryota Kaji, head of the rice breeding group at the National Agriculture and Food Research Organization, which developed the variety, said, "It is spreading more than expected. That may mean many producers are struggling with extreme heat."

Tachibana also warned of impacts on crops beyond rice and on fisheries, saying, "It is important to become aware of warming triggered by abnormal weather. While keeping lifestyles adapted to heavy rain and extreme heat, we need to change our actions, such as working to cut carbon dioxide."

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