National
John Hofilena on Jun 18 2013
The trial of a man from
Osaka charged with murder of his wife and son started on Tuesday, June 18, where the man entered a “not guilty” plea on the first day of the trial. The accused, 59-year-old Yasutaka Fujimori, is adamant that he did not kill his wife and son in April 2006, but admitted to leaving metal cans at different locations that contained their body parts.
A rise in shoplifting cases in Japan has been found consistent in the past decade. According to the National Police Agency, a total of 135,000 cases nationwide were reported in 2012. Despite police efforts to stop the
crime, stumbling blocks were just as common as the prevalence of shoplifting in the country. Worse, “obstruction of the law” has become a norm in the society.
Cirque du Soleil's critically-acclaimed show
OVO ("egg" in Portugese) will be making several stops in Japan for a national tour in 2014-2015. The big top production will be making its way to Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka and Sendai as they seek to wow Japanese audiences once more with this new production that has already delighted over 2.5 million people in Canada, United States, Mexico and Australia.
National
Faith Aquino on Jun 18 2013
The National Institute of Infectious Diseases reported Tuesday that Rubella in Japan has reached 10,000 cases early this month. As of June 9, there were 10,102 cases in the country, four times higher than last year’s 2,392 cases. The Institute reported last month that
5,000 cases were recorded in the first four months of 2013. That implies that the past two months have easily doubled the number of cases.
A woman who brought a child to a police box in Yodogawa ward in
Osaka on suspicion that she was being abused or neglected by her mother says that the officers who interviewed her unwittingly let the mother hear her contact details. She says that same night, an elementary-aged child went to her house and verbally attacked her, probably because her details were leaked. She is still worried the mother will make some form of retaliation for reporting the alleged abuse.
Prosecutors are adding charges of forcible obstruction of business and supplying a computer virus against 31 year old
Yusuke Katayama, the accused creator of the "iesys.exe" virus. He has also allegedly remotely controlled a 21 year old man's computer, which sent a threatening message to a pop group. This is a result of months of intensive investigation by the police, which even led to several false arrests at first, but the evidence eventually led them to Katayama who will be facing the courts soon.
Even six decades of sister city relationship was not enough to welcome Osaka Mayor
Toru Hashimoto in visiting San Francisco. Osaka City officials revealed on Monday that a letter from a
San Francisco official was sent to keep Hashimoto from visiting the city. Hashimoto was supposed to visit The City by the Bay and The Big Apple this month to meet with US officials.
Officers from the
Osaka Prefectural Police have been accused of falsifying interrogation and investigation reports on the case of a man who allegedly assaulted a senior officer at a police station where he was being held in custody, and perjured during the man’s court hearings, causing the Osaka District Court to delay its ruling on the case. The court would like to take time to reassess all the documents and evidence handed in, as the credibility of the officers are now being called into question.
There are only a couple of Japanese players known in the world of
rugby, but one man can be considered a rugger legend. Yoshihiro Sakata is recognized outside of his homeland, as well as the land of kiwis, where he played for the
New Zealand Barbarians. Exactly a year ago, during half-time of the Japan-Fiji Pacific Nations Cup at the Mizuho Rugby Stadium in Nagoya, the host nation celebrated having the first Japanese inducted into the International Rugby Board Hall of Fame. The flying wing was also recently honoured by the Wales Rugby Union this week.
Osaka Governor
Ichiro Matsui says he is considering allowing the
United States' military’s “Osprey” aircraft training exercises to be held in Yao airport in western Osaka. This is to ease the burden on the citizens of the prefecture caused by the noise and safety issues of the aircraft.
