A Japanese octogenarian was swindled out of about ¥1 million after falling in love online with a self-described astronaut who sought her help to avert a spaceship crisis. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/09/03/japan/crime-legal/fake-astronaut-scam-japan-elderly/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #crimelegal #fraud #socialmedia #elderly #japanesepolice #hokkaido

The Soviet Union sinking of three Japanese ships near Hokkaido a week after World War II ended was a brutal final act made all the more significant because of one of history's greatest "what if" questions surrounding it. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/09/01/japan/hokkaido-invasion-soviet/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #hokkaido #sovietunion #wwii#rumoi #us

Can baseball revitalize rural Japan? Five new recruits from the U.S., France and Australia are drumming up excitement and bringing fresh energy to the dairy town of Betsukai, Hokkaido. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2025/09/01/issues/hokkaido-betsukai-pilot-spirits-baseball/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #community #issues #baseball #hokkaido #betsukai #hokkaidofrontierleague #betsukaipilotspirits #mitsuruhonma

The transport ministry will investigate what it describes as a 'serious incident' after a passenger plane operated by Japan's All Nippon Airways landed on a runway in Hokkaido where a work vehicle was operating. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/22/japan/ana-serious-incident/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #mlit #hokkaido #ana #airlines

Firefly Aerospace is exploring an option to launch its Alpha rocket from Japan as the U.S. rocket maker expands its satellite launch services globally. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/08/18/companies/firefly-aerospace-japan-rocket-launch/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #companies #fireflyaerospace #rockets #space #hokkaido

There was a time when the notion of a Japanese player making it to the NHL was absurd enough that it became the butt of a legendary hockey joke. Jordan Spence may be changing that view. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2025/08/03/more-sports/jordan-spence-hockey-hokkaido/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #moresports #jordanspence #hokkaido #ottawasenators #osaka

The Nuclear Regulation Authority approved a safety screening report that the No. 3 reactor at the Tomari nuclear power plant in Hokkaido meets Japan's safety standards. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/07/30/japan/hokkaido-nuclear-reactor-passes-safety-screening/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #hokkaido #tomari #nuclearenergy #earthquakes #tsunami

Japan saw 10,804 heatstroke sufferers taken to hospital by ambulance in the week through Sunday, a new weekly record this year, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/07/30/japan/society/record-heatstroke-sufferers-japan/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #society #heatstroke #heatwaves #tokyo #saitama #hokkaido

Former residents of islands off the coast of Hokkaido, driven off by a Soviet invasion at the end of World War II, want the government to convince Russia to allow them to visit their ancestral grave sites on the islands. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/07/22/japan/northern-territories-grave/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #hokkaido #russia #russiajapanrelations #sovietunion #wwii #kunashiri #etorofu #shikotan #habomai #northernterritories

Former residents of Russian-held islands claimed by Japan have held a memorial service at sea for their ancestors for the fourth straight year because they remain unable to land on the northwestern Pacific islands. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/07/21/japan/northern-territories-ex-residents-memorial/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #northernterritories #disputedislands #russiajapanrelations #russia #hokkaido

While many candidates in Sunday's Upper House election are heading to major cities for speeches and turning to social media, one candidate from Hokkaido is giving politics one last go-through a grassroots campaign. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/07/16/japan/politics/muneo-suzuki-election-hokkaido/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #muneosuzuki #hokkaido #ldp #nipponishinnokai #2025upperhouseelection #okinawa #russia

Relatives of passengers who died or went missing when a tour boat sank off the Shiretoko Peninsula in Hokkaido in April 2022 paid tribute to their loved ones at sea on Sunday. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/07/13/japan/shiretoko-tour-boat-sinking-victims-remembered/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #hokkaido #shiretokopeninsula #kazui #marineaccidents

Matt Noyes
Matt Noyes boosted

In Hokkaido, Indigenous land rights have added another layer to the division of opinions in Suttsu and Kamoenai over whether to host a permanent underground repository for Japan’s nuclear waste. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/environment/2025/07/06/energy/hokkaido-ainu-nuclear-waste-storage/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #environment #energy #nuclearenergy #energy #renewables #hokkaido #nuclearwaste #ainu #indigenouspeople