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20 Apr, 2015

600kph world record

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JR Central’s Magnetic levitation train sets world speed record on its test track near Mount Fuji. The seven-car train clocks over 600kph (373mph).  The service is expected to connect Tokyo and the central city of Nagoya in 40 minutes, and by 2045, maglev trains are expected to link Tokyo and Osaka in just one hour and seven minutes, slashing the journey time in half.

603kph! Japan's maglev train sets new world record

22 Jun, 2015

Mourned, elevated as goddess

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Tama is mourned by company officials and fans and elevated into a goddess at her funeral. In a portrait decorating the altar, Tama poses in a stationmaster’s hat and a dark blue cape. Sake, as well as watermelon, apples, cabbage and other fruits and vegetables are presented to the cat. Wakayama Electric Railway President Mitsunobu Kojima thanks the cat for her achievement:

Tama-chan really emerged like a savior, a goddess. It was truly my honor to have been able to work with her.

25 Jul, 2015

China protests Japan visit

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China shows says it is upset about Japan’s decision to host Lee, an opponent of the integration of Taiwan with the mainland. Spokesperson:

We urge the Japanese side to abide by the principles enshrined in the four political documents signed by China and Japan, including the China-Japan Joint Statement, and fulfill its solemn commitments to China. We strongly oppose any country providing a stage for ‘Taiwan independence’ activities and take strong umbrage at Japan allowing Lee to visit. Lee’s contemptible acts have made compatriots from both sides see more clearly the extreme harms ‘Taiwan independence’ forces do to the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations and the integral benefit of the Chinese nation, and will surely be scorned by compatriots from both sides.

26 Jul, 2015

Plane crash kills three

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A small plane crashes in Tokyo. single-engine propeller falls into a row of houses and causes a fire. The pilot, one of the passengers, and one woman from the house die. Resident.

There was kaboom! I ran upstairs, then I saw the house just over there on fire, with a tail of the plane sticking out of it

30 Jul, 2015

New flights to Japan

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Qantas announces two new flights to Japan. Flights will depart from Sydney to Tokyo’s Haneda Airport followed by the departure of a flight from Brisbane to Tokyo’s other airport, Narita, over the weekend.  Launch celebrations will happen over the weekend with Japanese-themed activity throughout the terminal and a water cannon salute to mark the departure of QF61 from Brisbane. Traditional Japanese ceremonies will also take place at both Narita and Haneda Airports.

This significant capacity expansion has been extremely well-received by Qantas customers and especially by corporate travellers heading directly to downtown Tokyo, who can now save up to one-and-a-half hours on their airport commute by flying into or out of Haneda

16 Sep, 2015

Parliamentarians scuffle

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Japan parliament scuffles imageScuffles and arguing breaks out out in parliament, as opposition members of physically try to stop the vote in a legislative committee by jostling around the chairman and trying to snatch his paperwork and microphone. Even though the committee’s vote clears the way for the bill to go to the upper house of parliament for final approval, the opposition says it will continue to try to delay the vote. The bill is not widely supported by the country at large. Thousands of protesters rally outside the parliament as the committee debates the bill.

23 Oct, 2016

Utsunomiya park explosion

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UtsunomiyaAt least one person dies after three explosions in Utsunomiya, north of Tokyo. The explosions also seriously injure two men, and a 14-year-old boy, who suffers minor leg injuries. Police believe the blasts may be linked to an apparent suicide, and have found a suicide note at the scene, and one of the damaged vehicles was owned by a 72-year-old man, believed to be a former member of the Self-Defence Forces. His house in the city of Utsunomiya had been destroyed in a fire shortly before the explosions

18 Aug, 2023

Musk live-streams Grimes ‘Sonicmania’ set in Japan

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Visiting Japan for the first time since 2014, Musk shares a poster of the all-night “Sonicmania” music festival and then live-streams it on his X account. (The poster features his ex-girlfriend, Grimes.) Stars like American DJ and rapper Flying Lotus, UK singer and rappers James Blake, Shygirl and Slowthai, The Stickmen Project, Thundercat, and Zutomayo are expected to perform at Sonicmania.