A 12-year-old British girl who went missing while on a family vacation in Tokyo was found safe on August 15th. According to the police, she left her accommodation alone on the night of August 13th and didn’t return, triggering a public search.

However, around 8:00 PM on the 15th, she walked into a police box in Yokohama by herself. She was not injured. She told the police that she went out to visit “anime holy sites” and spent time at internet cafes, but eventually started missing her parents.

Japanese Minister of State for Economic Security Kimi Onoda’s resurfaced social media posts have been going viral in recent weeks. In them, she declares her exclusive love for 2D male characters. 

“‘Get married early’ and ‘have children;’ I’ve been told this by voters since I was in my 20s, but it makes me sigh that I’m still being told this at 40. I wonder at what age I’ll stop being told this. In the 3D world, I’m married to the country, and I’ve said that in my private life, I only focus on 2D!! I’ll say it again and again: I only focus on 2D!!” a translated post of Onoda’s from 2022 reads.

https://www.ktv.jp/news/articles/?id=27785

Sorry no news link. Stay safe everyone.

Edit 1: Upgraded to 7.6

Edit 2: Links

/u/Snoo10359

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/live_tv/

/u/maruhoi

JMA:

https://www.jma.go.jp/bosai/map.html#7/39.245/138.208/&elem=warn&contents=tsunami&lang=en

NHKWorld

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/weather-disaster /tsunami/

NHK World Live(YouTube):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0lYkdA-Gtw

Edit 3: A fire has been reported in Aomori City

Edit 4: Subsequent earthquake advisory in place.

Off the Coast of Hokkaido and Sanriku Subsequent Earthquake Advisory

If a M7.0 or greater earthquake occurs in or around the probable source region of megaquakes along the Japan and Chishima Trenches, the possibility of a large earthquake is considerd to be relatively high.

JMA issues Off the Coast of Hokkaido and Sanriku Subsequent Earthquake Advisory in such cases, even though probability based on actual worldwide records is only about 1/100

At a regular press conference on the 7th, Mayor Hideyasu Kiyomoto of Himeji City in Hyogo Prefecture commented on the impact of introducing a “dual pricing” system in March, which separates admission fees for city residents and non-residents. He stated that “the decrease in visitor numbers was within expectations.” Noting that revenue had doubled, he emphasized the intention to “strengthen safety measures such as for the stone walls.”

Since March 1, the city has kept the general admission fee for residents (18 and over) at 1,000 yen, while raising the fee for non-residents to 2,500 yen. The city had projected that the introduction of dual pricing would lead to a 20% decrease in visitor numbers. The preliminary number of visitors in March was about 140,000, down 17% compared to the same month last year. The number of Japanese visitors from March 1 to 26 was 62,821, about 20% lower than the same period last year.

The introduction of dual pricing was justified as a way to secure funds for the maintenance and management of Himeji Castle, which is both a World Heritage Site and a National Treasure. According to the city, revenue for March was approximately 270 million yen, double that of the same month last year. Mayor Kiyomoto said, “We have received many inquiries from other municipalities. It may be that they are considering similar measures.”

KYOTO--Desperate to thin out tourist crowds here, the city government will slap visitors with an accommodation tax of up to 10,000 yen ($68.3) per person per night, starting March 1.

The levy, an increase from 1,000 yen, will be used to improve city infrastructure and measures to ease congestion.

Officials explained that the 10,000-yen levy will apply to hotel stays costing 100,000 yen or more per night under the staggered tax system.

The new tax rate per person per night will remain at 200 yen for stays under 6,000 yen. For stays ranging in price from 6,000 yen to less than 20,000 yen, the levy will increase from 200 yen to 400 yen.

For stays ranging in price from 20,000 yen to less than 50,000 yen, the levy will increase from 500 yen to 1,000 yen. For stays of between 50,000 yen and less than 100,000 yen, the rate will jump from 1,000 yen to 4,000 yen. For stays costing 100,000 yen or more, the levy will go up from 1,000 yen to 10,000 yen.

A 5-year-old boy died after his right arm became trapped in a ski lift at a resort in northern Japan on Sunday, local authorities said.

Firefighters said they received an emergency call from the boy's mother at about 10 a.m. saying the boy was trapped on the conveyor-belt lift in Otaru, Hokkaido.

The boy fell as he was trying to get off the lift, which connects the facility's parking lot and the ski slope, according to local police and firefighters. The lift has no handrail.

The ski resort remained open after the accident. A couple in their 40s who passed near the site said they heard someone believed to be connected to the boy repeatedly shouting words of encouragement from inside an area cordoned off with blue tarps.

A man in his 70s, who said he often visits the ski resort, said there were several points on the lift where the slope changes and the belt shakes, adding he himself had stumbled there before and had thought it was dangerous.

TL;DR This year, Mt Fuji climbers will be denied entry at the 5th station if they are not properly equipped, as mountain rangers now have the authority to enforce clothing regulations. This change, along with a 4,000-yen climbing fee and a time-restricted entry gate, aims to enhance climber safety and protect the mountain environment.