Kanako Takahara

1 day ago | japantimes.co.jp | Kanako Takahara

A 34-year-old man on death row for killing nine people in Kanagawa Prefecture in 2017 was executed Friday, according to media reports. It was the first time since July 2022 that a death row inmate was executed, and the first under Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s administration. Takahiro Shiraishi was sentenced to death in 2020 by the Tokyo District Court’s Tachikawa branch, which described his acts as a “malicious crime in criminal history” for killing nine people in the space of two months.

2 weeks ago | japantimes.co.jp | Gabriele Ninivaggi |Kanako Takahara

The Democratic Party for the People (DPP) on Wednesday decided not to field former Lower House lawmaker Shiori Yamao in the forthcoming Upper House election, a day after she announced her candidacy. The move came in the wake of backlash aimed at the party for fielding Yamao, who has been mired in a series of scandals, including an extramarital affair.

2 weeks ago | japantimes.co.jp | Kanako Takahara

Former yokozuna Hakuho, who assumed the name Miyagino when he took over the stable of the same name and became a sumo elder, left the Japan Sumo Association Monday, saying later in the day that his distrust for the body led him to quit and start a new international project aimed at amateur sumo wrestlers.

3 weeks ago | japantimes.co.jp | Kanako Takahara |Karin Kaneko

Retired former yokozuna Hakuho, a native of Mongolia who is now known as Miyagino oyakata, or stablemaster, will quit the Japan Sumo Association, the association said Monday. His departure comes more than a year after his stable closed down over a physical abuse incident involving one of its wrestlers. Quitting the JSA means the former yokozuna will no longer be part of the sumo wrestling world as a stablemaster, a role responsible for training and mentoring junior wrestlers.

1 month ago | japantimes.co.jp | Kanako Takahara

The first batch of the government's stockpiled rice sold through no-bid contracts was delivered to buyers Thursday, just three days after the agriculture ministry started accepting purchases from major retailers through the program, with the grain expected to hit shelves as soon as Monday. The rapid shipment is in sharp contrast with previous arrangements using auctions, under which it took months to sell and ship 310,000 metric tons of rice in phases.