Tag: Japan News

Man says monkey threw his cat into pond before attacking him in Yamaguchi

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close up photo of a monkey

After several months of bears dominating reports of startling wildlife encounters in Japan, it seems as though the nation’s monkeys have decided to take that notoriety as a challenge. We’ve recently been talking about the dreaded Troop T1, a group of monkeys that’s been running amuck in the town of Yugawara in Kanagawa Prefecture, where they recently surrounded and attacked a man who was out for a morning stroll on the city streets. Now comes an incident on the opposite side of the country, in Yamaguchi Prefecture, where a monkey not only attacked a man, but also reportedly decided to maybe drown a cat.

The man in question is a 49-year-old resident of the town of Shunan. He isn’t necessarily a pet owner, but he says there’s a stray cat that’s made its home in his garden, which has a pond. While the man was at home on Tuesday, at around 3:40 in the afternoon, he heard the sound of a loud splash coming from the pond, which he says was caused when a monkey came into the garden and threw the cat into the water. While the man was rescuing the cat, the monkey, an adult roughly 50 centimeters in height, scampered up onto his roof and stared down menacingly at him. It then jumped back down to ground level, and when he turned away from it, leapt onto his back and clawed at him, leaving long scratches on his skin through the thick work clothes he was wearing. The monkey then ran off, and the cat seems to have survived the encounter without suffering any severe injuries. The Tokuyama neighborhood of Shunan, where the man lives, isn’t a major urban area, but it’s far from undeveloped countryside, and his home borders a fairly sizable road.

This isn’t the only startling monkey incident the town has had recently, either. On September 8, in a separate part of Shunan, a monkey grabbed and tore the clothing of a local woman. Police have been stepping up patrols in the area and calling on residents to be cautious. Experts warn that should anyone run into a wild monkey, they should avoid provoking the animal, and also avoid making eye contact (as monkeys can perceive that as threatening behavior) while calmly leaving the area.

Source: Man says monkey threw his cat into pond before attacking him in Yamaguchi – Japan Today

For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”
Romans 1:17

Hunted for Following Jesus

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U.S. women arrested for allegedly smuggling $1 million worth of drugs to Japan, one claims she was motivated by free trip

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Police officers investigate a taped-off building beside a patrol car in rainy neon-lit Tokyo

Tokyo police arrested two American women for allegedly smuggling $1 million worth of cannabis into the country, with one suspect claiming she was motivated by a free trip to Japan, an official and media reports said Friday. The pair, both 25, arrived at Tokyo’s Haneda airport from New York last Saturday with two suitcases in which “cannabis-like dried plants were secretly stored,” a police spokesman told AFP. Nippon TV aired images of the drug seizure, showing more than a dozen packages containing the alleged cannabis.

Japan has some of the world’s strictest drug laws and smuggling or possession of illegal narcotics can result in a lengthy jail term. The dried cannabis weighed around 30 kilograms (66 pounds) and is valued at about 150 million yen ($970,000), media reported. One of the women told police she took the job for the money and because, “I was attracted by the fact I could go to Japan for free,” Nippon TV reported. The other suspect denies the allegation, telling police she “didn’t know that cannabis was inside” the suitcase, the Tokyo Shimbun reported, citing unnamed police sources.

The women “conspired with someone else whose name is unknown,” the police spokesman told AFP. They claimed they received instructions from a man they met on social media but never met in person, according to local media. The pair were arrested “on suspicion of violating the drugs and psychotropics control law, or, smuggling to gain profit,” the spokesman said. They also breached two other unnamed laws, he added. Smuggling cannabis for the purpose of making profit carries up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to 3 million yen ($19,500).

Last December, prominent American playwright Jeremy O. Harris was arrested in Japan on suspicion of smuggling the psychedelic drug ecstasy. He was released three weeks later.

Source: U.S. women arrested for allegedly smuggling $1 million worth of drugs to Japan, one claims she was motivated by free trip – CBS News

Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
1 John 3:21-22

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3 lions die at Tokyo zoo from suspected heatstroke as Japan bakes in “cruelly hot” summer

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Three lions at a Tokyo zoo have died from suspected heatstroke and others are under treatment, a spokeswoman said on Tuesday, with the big cats struggling with high humidity. Japan sweltered through its hottest summer on record last year and parts of the country have hit 40 degrees Celsius in recent weeks, qualifying for the new designation “cruelly hot day,” with thousands of people hospitalized. Ten of the 16 lions in Tama Zoological Park have suffered symptoms such as “loss of appetite and decreased activity” since mid-July, and three lionesses died, the zoo said in a statement.

One 3-year-old female named Mugi died on Tuesday. Three days later, an 11-year-old female named Ichigo died and on Sunday, a 15-year-old female named Luena died. The Tama Zoological Park said the lion enclosure, where visitors can normally be driven around in zebra-pattern “safari” buses, was closed to the public until further notice. “According to our veterinarian, the cause of the deaths is suspected to be heatstroke” because dehydration and multiple organ failure were observed, a spokeswoman told AFP. “Even though lions are thought to be resistant to heat, zookeepers have been strengthening countermeasures to cope with Japan’s summer heat in recent years. Heat here comes with high humidity; that is different from heat with dry air in Africa,” she said.

The spokeswoman said the heat “arrived suddenly” this summer after the rainy season ended in late July. The zoo said it used water sprays and industrial fans, and delivered intravenous fluids and medication to the affected lions. “We are strengthening measures against the heat (further), sprinkling water, improving ventilation and installing spot air conditioners,” she said. Several lions are still being treated, she added. “Born, lived, and died in confinement” Animal rights group PETA said the lions “were born, lived, and died in confinement, deprived of everything that makes life worth living for a wild animal.” “Zoos are not rescues or sanctuaries; they exist to display animals for profit, not to put animals’ needs first,” PETA said in a statement. Park Close to 18,600 people were taken to hospitals for heatstroke between July 20 and 26, with 45 of them pronounced dead on arrival, according to the fire and disaster management agency. A  woman in her 70s died of suspected heatstroke as she sheltered in her car, officials said Monday, public broadcaster NHK reported, and the temperature in Kumamoto City hit a record 40.3 degrees Celsius.

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, 34 locations nationwide have hit temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius or higher this summer, the Asahi Shimbun reported, breaking the record set last year. Average temperatures in western Japan during mid-to-late July were also the highest since recordkeeping began in 1946, the newspaper reported. Japan experiences about 1,300 heat-related deaths annually and is aiming to halve that number by 2030.

Source: 3 lions die at Tokyo zoo from suspected heatstroke as Japan bakes in “cruelly hot” summer – CBS News

Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.
Romans 12:16

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Tsunami watch triggered after 7.8 magnitude earthquake shakes southern Philippines

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giant sea waves

A magnitude 7.8 earthquake shook part of the southern Philippines early Monday, causing damage in a key coastal city, knocking down power and sparking a tsunami warning on some regional coasts. People were urged to go to higher ground. There were no immediate reports of casualties, and it was not clear if people were trapped or injured in the collapse of a small building in General Santos city. The coastal city of more than 700,000 people is a commercial hub on the island of Mindanao known for its tuna processing industry. The epicenter was 8 miles southwest of General Santos and had a depth of 6.2 miles, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.

It struck at 7:37 a.m. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said tsunami waves up to 10 feet were possible on some coasts of the Philippines. Waves up to 3 feet were possible on some coasts of Indonesia and Malaysia. “We advise people to evacuate to higher grounds or go further inland,” Teresito Bacolcol, the head of the Philippine institute, warned people living in coastal areas. Smaller sea changes were possible in Taiwan, Japan, Guam, Papua New Guinea and several island nations and territories in the western Pacific. There was no threat to Hawaii, the PTWC said. DZRH radio station in Manila reported that the small commercial building where its provincial branch was located partly collapsed and staffers dashed to the ground floor without injuries. It wasn’t clear if other people were trapped in the rubble of the four-story office building due to the quake, which struck before office hours.

Residents also felt the earthquake tremors in north-central Indonesia, and tsunami waves up to 7 inches were recorded on some coasts of North Sulawesi and North Maluku provinces. Aftershocks up to 6.5 magnitude followed, the U.S. Geological Survey said. It measured the original quake at 34 miles deep. Variations in measurements by different agencies are common in the immediate aftermath of an earthquake. The Philippines, one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries, is often hit by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions due to its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of seismic faults around the ocean.

Source: Tsunami watch triggered after 7.8 magnitude earthquake shakes southern Philippines – CBS News

And said to them, “Whoever receives this little child in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me. For he who is least among you all will be great.”
Luke 9:48

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Bear rampages through 2 factories and a residential area in Japan, injuring 4 people

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majestic brown bear in autumn forest

A bear attack left four people injured in two factories and a residential area in northern Japan’s Fukushima on Tuesday, police and media reports said. A record 13 people were killed by bears in Japan last year, and there has been a jump in sightings as the animals emerge hungry from hibernation. “A bear-related human injury incident… occurred in Fukushima City, injuring four people,” the prefectural police said in a statement. The bear was first spotted in a car parts factory, prompting an emergency call explaining that “employees had been bitten,” the Yomiuri Shimbun daily reported, citing police and fire department officials. The outlet reported the bear still had not been located.

As the bear continued its rampage, two other people were injured, one in a residential area and the other on the premises of an electronic equipment manufacturer nearby, the Yomiuri said, adding that the animal was thought to have remained inside the factory. The report said one of those attacked was heavily injured, while the rest suffered only mild injuries. In the last fiscal year to March, bear sightings nationwide topped 50,000, more than double the previous record set two years earlier, according to official data. The animals have been seen on airport runways, walking on golf courses, roaming near schools and causing panic in supermarkets and hot spring resorts almost on a daily basis. A bear that rampaged through a supermarket for two days was lured out with food coated in honey, and police said the animal was trapped and later killed.

The problem was so bad that last year the U.S. State Department warned Americans in Japan to be alert for bears.  Record sightings have been reported again this year as the bears emerge from their winter slumber, according to local media. In April, bear attacks killed one person and injured five others, according to the environment ministry. There have also been more than a dozen bear sightings reported on the outskirts of Tokyo this year, with a Russian man in his 30s reportedly mauled as he hiked in the city last month. A Japanese company making ferocious-looking robot wolves is being swamped by orders after record numbers of fatal bear attacks on humans last year.

“Monster Wolf” is an animatronic scarecrow with flashing red eyes that howls and growls menacingly to scare away wild animals.  Scientists say the surge in attacks has been driven by fast-growing numbers of bears, combined with a falling human population, especially in rural areas.

Source: Bear rampages through 2 factories and a residential area in Japan, injuring 4 people – CBS News

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
James 1:17

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Major earthquake off Japan’s north coast prompts tsunami alert

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japanese flags on urban street scene

Tokyo — A powerful earthquake struck off the northern Japanese coast Monday, prompting the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) to issue a tsunami alert in the region. The quake registering a preliminary magnitude of 7.5 occurred off the coast of Sanriku in northern Japan at around 4:53 p.m. (2:53 a.m. Eastern on Sunday), at a depth of about 6 miles below the sea surface, the agency said. The JMA reported the first tsunami waves, about three feet high, hitting a port in Kuji, in the northern Iwate Prefecture. 

Source: Major earthquake off Japan’s north coast prompts tsunami alert – CBS News

For it is written: “As I live, says the LORD, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God.”
Romans 14:11