Showing 1 - 10 of 17
Upstart gangsters shake Japan's yakuza
AFP, Published on 19/12/2025
» TOKYO - When Takanori Kuzuoka began climbing the criminal career ladder, he didn't fancy joining Japan's old-school yakuza, with their tattoos, rigid hierarchy and codes of honour.
Rare woman yakuza on path to redemption in Japan
AFP, Published on 16/10/2025
» GIFU — A missing fingertip offers a clue to Mako Nishimura's criminal past as one of Japan's few women yakuza. But after clawing her way out of the underworld, she now spends her days helping other retired gangsters reintegrate into society.
'Not proud at all': Japan's army struggles to recruit
AFP, Published on 11/10/2023
» TOKYO - A recent open day at a Japanese military base near Tokyo was a fun family outing but, despite the games and snacks, the army recruitment stand was bereft of visitors.
'Era of mass closures': the Japan businesses without successors
AFP, Published on 25/07/2023
» YACHIMATA (JAPAN): Kiyoshi Hashimoto's machinery factory outside Tokyo should be buzzing with industry. Instead, it's so quiet you can hear him practising the recorder.
Six-month suspended sentence for Ghosn aide Kelly in Nissan trial
AFP, Published on 03/03/2022
» TOKYO - Former Nissan executive Greg Kelly was handed a six-month suspended sentence on Thursday by a Tokyo court over allegations he helped disgraced auto tycoon Carlos Ghosn attempt to conceal income.
Seeing squares: Japan's tenji block paving guides visually impaired
AFP, Published on 31/08/2021
» TOKYO: From Tokyo's famous Shibuya crossing to the remotest Okinawan island, Japan's streets have one thing in common: 'tenji blocks,' yellow textured paving squares to aid people with visual impairments.
Tokyo's real life Paw Patrol keeps crime on short leash
AFP, Published on 20/07/2021
» TOKYO: It's a neighbourhood watch with a difference. A clean-nosed crew, sniffing out trouble and keeping the streets safe for school kids: meet the pups of Tokyo's real-life Paw Patrol.
Aussie softballers first team to arrive in Japan for Olympics
AFP, Published on 01/06/2021
» NARITA, Japan: Australia's softball team on Tuesday became the first athletes to land in Japan for the Olympics, in a major milestone for the pandemic-postponed Games, which continue to face controversy.
Japan's children of the tsunami shaped by tragedy
AFP, Published on 04/03/2021
» ISHINOMAKI (JAPAN) - Yuto Naganuma looks silently as the cold sea breeze sweeps over the crumbling walls of the school where his little brother was lost in Japan's devastating 2011 tsunami.
Japan's Hayabusa2 probe makes 'perfect' touchdown on asteroid
AFP, Published on 11/07/2019
» TOKYO - Japan's Hayabusa2 probe made a "perfect" touchdown Thursday on a distant asteroid, collecting samples from beneath the surface in an unprecedented mission that could shed light on the origins of the solar system.