Hiroshima Marks 80 Years since Atomic Bomb Dropped on City | BBC News

Aug 6, 2025 | A silent prayer was held in Japan on Wednesday morning as it marked 80 years since the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima.

Japanese prime minister Shigeru Ishiba attended the ceremony on Wednesday, along with officials from around the world and the city's mayor Kazumi Matsui.

World War Two ended with Japan's surrender after the dropping of the bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The bombs killed more than 200,000 people - some from the immediate blast and others from radiation sickness and burns.

Japan und die "Ära des erleuchteten Friedens" | Doku HD Reupload | ARTE

Jul 30, 2025 | TW: Dieses Programm enthält Inhalte, die für Kinder, Jugendliche und empfindsame Zuschauer verstörend wirken können.

Für Japan beginnen die 1920er Jahre mit einer neuen Herausforderung: die Rivalität zu den Westmächten. Das industrielle Wachstum des Landes zieht Tausende Menschen aus aller Welt an. Unter ihnen ist eine französische Familie: Emmy und Jean Millot bleiben über 20 Jahre in Japan. Sie erleben die Militarisierung des Landes, die Eroberungen in Asien und die Niederlage 1945 ...

Im Jahr 1925 kommt der junge französische Ingenieur Jean Millot nach Yokohama, um von dort aus die Telefonverbindung zwischen Japan und Frankreich aufzubauen. Ab 1927 erlebt er eine neue Zeit des japanischen Kaiserreichs: Showa, die "Ära des erleuchteten Friedens". Japan wird zu einer Demokratie mit freier Presse und einer lebendigen sozialen Bewegung. Doch ab 1929 ist die Demokratie in Gefahr.

Die Wirtschaftskrise sowie antikommunistische und militaristische Kräfte destabilisieren das Land. Zu dieser Zeit kommen Jean und die in Tokio lebende Emmy zusammen. Sie gründen eine Familie und erleben ein immer aggressiver werdendes Regime sowie einen Krieg, der 15 Jahre dauern wird.

Japans Expansionsdrang erstreckt sich über ganz Südostasien bis nach Indochina. 1940 tritt Japan als Verbündeter von Nazideutschland und dem faschistischen Italien in den Krieg ein. Im Namen des Kaisers sollen sich Millionen Soldaten für den Sieg der Nation opfern. Die Familie aus dem Westen, die in Japan eine neue Heimat gefunden hat, erlebt Kriege und Niederlagen. In Archivaufnahmen erzählt diese Dokumentation von einer zerstörerischen Zeit, in der sich Japan in eine Kriegsnation verwandelte.

Dokumentation von Kenichi Watanabe (F 2023, 55 Min)
Video verfügbar bis zum 11/12/2025

Tsunami Waves Build in California as Threat Downgraded in Hawaii and Japan | BBC News

Jul 30, 2025 | Waves of over 1m have been recorded near the California-Oregon border, according to the National Tsunami Warning Center.

And French Polynesian authorities have increased the maximum wave height prediction for the island of Nuku Hiva from 2.2m to 4m.

The waves were triggered by a massive 8.8 earthquake which hit near Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula at about 11:25am local time (00:25am BST) on Wednesday.

Meanwhile Japan has downgraded the tsunami threat level in some areas after earlier telling 1.9 million people to evacuate.

The tsunami warning covering Hawaii has also been downgraded to an advisory level.

Evacuation orders are still in force in countries as far apart as Colombia and New Zealand.

Widespread Tsunami Warnings after Magnitude 8.8 Quake Off Russia's East Coast | BBC News

Jul 30, 2025 | Japan and the US have issued tsunami warnings after a powerful magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck Russia on Wednesday.

Official evacuation orders have been issued to people on the Pacific coast of Japan and in Hawaii.

The first tsunami waves, at 30cm high, arrived at the northern coast of Japan's Hokkaido prefecture before 10.40 local time (02.40 BST), Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported. Waves at 40cm high have been observed in Tokachi, in Hokkaido.

US authorities have issued tsunami warnings for Hawaii and Alaska. Hawaii warns it could face "destructive" 3-meter high waves.

Farewell to Pacifism: Japan Is Rearming | DW Documentary

Jan 11, 2025 | In 1945, under US occupation, the Japanese constitution was created. Toshiko Tanaka, then six years old, had survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. She hoped that this "peace constitution” would prevent wars in the future. But now, Japan is arming itself again.

After 1945, Japan was the only country in the world to commit itself to renouncing war in its constitution. But in the face of increasing dangers, the island nation has now announced a rearmament program. By the end of this decade, Japan could become the third strongest military power in the world. The pacifism born of the horrors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki has given way to fear of aggressive neighbors like China, Russia and North Korea.

Under conservative governments and in view of the increasing withdrawal of the once-protective USA, the Japanese armed forces have acquired weapons systems. These include amphibious vehicles, US F-35 fighter jets and two aircraft carriers. There is enough plutonium from civilian use in the country to produce up to a thousand nuclear warheads. Missile systems are also available. Asia is the key to the future. This documentary shows a new side of Japan and provides insight into the military changes that are taking place there - far from the war in Ukraine. Toshiko Tanaka, one of the last hibakusha, as the survivors of the 1945 atomic bombings are called, fears war once more.

Gay Couple Brought to Tears as Japanese Court Rules Marriage Equality Ban Unconstitutional

LGBTQ NATION: One of the same-sex partners uncontrollably cried as the judge read the ruling.

The Fukuoka High Court of Japan has become the third of Japan’s eight high courts to rule that the government’s policy against same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. However, the court upheld a lower court ruling that dismissed three same-sex couples who had sought 1 million yen ($6,540) each for being denied their constitutional rights to gender and legal equality, individual dignity, and the pursuit of happiness. » | Daniel Villarreal | Friday, December 13, 2024

Princess Yuriko, Oldest Member of Japan’s Imperial Family, Dies at 101

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Her death reduces Japan’s rapidly dwindling imperial family to 16 people, and only 4 men, as the country faces questions about the future under a male-only succession law.

Princess Yuriko of Japan, the wife of Emperor Hirohito’s brother and the oldest member of the Japanese imperial family, died on Friday in Tokyo. She was 101.

Her death, in a hospital, was announced by the Imperial Household Agency. The announcement did not cite a cause of death, but the Japanese news media said she died of pneumonia.

Born into an aristocratic family on June 4, 1923, Yuriko was 18 when she married Prince Mikasa, the younger brother of Hirohito and the great-uncle of the current emperor, Naruhito. The wedding took place on Oct. 22, 1941, weeks before Japan bombed Pearl Harbor.

She recounted living in a shelter with her husband and their baby daughter after their home was burned down when the United States firebombed Tokyo in 1945, in the final months of the war. » | The Associated Press | Friday, November 15, 2024

Top Japanese Gymnast Withdraws From Paris 2024 for Smoking and Drinking Alcohol

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Shoko Miyata, the team’s captain, withdrew from the Games after an investigation by the country’s gymnastics board found she had violated its code of conduct.

Japan’s Olympic gymnastics team will head into the Paris Games this week without its captain, Shoko Miyata, after she withdrew from the team following an investigation that found she had violated the squad’s code of conduct by smoking and drinking alcohol.

In a news conference last week, officials with the Japan Gymnastics Association, which conducted the investigation, announced Miyata’s withdrawal from the Olympics, saying that “both parties discussed the matter” and that Miyata had decided not to compete.

The Japan Gymnastics Association’s code of conduct forbids drinking or smoking while in official team programs, regardless of age. The legal age for drinking and smoking in Japan is 20; Miyata is 19. » | Ali Watkins | Tuesday, July 23, 2024

Related article here.

Japanese Gymnast Set to Miss Olympics for Smoking

Shoko Miyata won a first national championship in April | GETTY IMAGES
BBC: Japanese gymnast Shoko Miyata has been sent home and will not compete at the Olympic Games after breaking a team smoking ban.

The 19-year-old left Japan's training camp in Monaco on Thursday as officials investigated the alleged incident.

The teenager - captain of her country's women's artistic gymnastics team - returned to Japan that night after the investigation concluded she had violated the Japan Gymnastics Association's rules.

Smoking is in violation of the association's code of conduct.

"With her confirmation and after discussions on all sides, it has been decided that she will withdraw from the Olympics," Japan Gymnastics Association secretary general Kenji Nishimura told reporters in Tokyo. » | BBC | Thursday, July 18, 2024

Heartfelt Goodbye from Emperor and Empress of Japan 🇯🇵 ❤️

HM King Charles III and Queen Camilla say goodbye to the Emperor and Empress of Japan.

King Hosts Japanese Royals at Glittering State Banquet

Jun 25, 2024 | King Charles and Queen Camilla hosted Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako at a lavish State Banquet at Buckingham Palace, marking the start of their three-day UK visit.

The royals donned their finest attire, with Queen Camilla in a Fiona Clare dress and Burmese ruby tiara. King Charles and Naruhito wore formal suits, while Masako looked elegant in cream with the Chrysanthemum tiara.

Report by Matthew Covell.

King and Queen Host State Visit for Emperor and Empress of Japan at Buckingham Palace

Jun 25, 2024 | The Queen has worn the new Royal Family Order of King Charles III to the state banquet, the first time it has been seen in public for the new reign.

The Royal Family Order, which is awarded to female members of the family and worn on formal occasions, contains a miniature picture of the monarch, surrounded by diamonds suspended on a silk bow.

The King’s Charles’ Family Order was created in 2024 by portrait miniaturist Elizabeth Meek, and based on a photograph by Hugo Burnand. The King wears his uniform of Admiral of the Fleet, the sash of the Royal Victorian Order, the Garter Star and Thistle Star, and the Garter Collar and Neck Orders of the Order of the Bath and the Royal Victorian Order.


King makes rare public reference to George, Charlotte and Louis in State Banquet speech »

A Puffer’s Paradise: Smoke-friendly Japan

May 31, 2023 | Japan is known for its healthy diet and impressive life expectancy. But it is also a smoker’s paradise. Although the number of smokers has dropped by a third over the last 20 years, more than 17 million Japanese smoke regularly. They are easy to spot in Tokyo’s bars. …


Their relaxed attitude to enjoying a pull is probably conducive to their longevity. Plus, Japan appears not to have been invaded by the Puritans. Not yet, anyway; and hopefully, never.

It is interesting to note that according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), lung cancer develops in around 10 to 20 per cent of all smokers. (MedicineNet) Listening to the health fanatics, however, one would be forgiven for concluding that a much higher percentage of smokers die from lung cancer. But happily, this is not the case.

We are living in dreadful times. People are not supposed to enjoy themselves anymore. These days, it seems that all pleasures are considered to be either unhealthy, sinful or forbidden by religion.

All we hear about is advice on how to stay healthy. Yet, ironically, populations of most countries have never been as unhealthy as they are today. So many people will die young, having led miserable lives either because of poverty or because of depriving themselves a few pleasures in life, in the vain hope that deprivation of these pleasures is conducive to living a longer life. And where and when their lives have been prolonged by just a few years, they can look forward to being shunted off to an old people’s home by their uncaring families, in order to stare at the ceiling and wait for their visa to the ‘Land of Milk and Honey’! I fear that they are in for a big disappointment!

Meantime, the insouciant Japanese cock a snook at the advice of so-called health specialists and continue to smoke as if there was no tomorrow. – © Mark Alexander

Neues Gesetz soll „Verständnis“ für sexuelle Minderheiten stärken

LGBTQ IN JAPAN
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: Als letzte große Industrienation verabschiedet Japan ein Gesetz, dass die Rechte sexueller Minderheiten stärken soll. Ein Satz darin sorgt jedoch für Kritik.

In der Innenstadt von Tokio ist das nichts Besonderes: Der Barista im Hipster-Café trägt Pferdeschwanz und diverse Ohrringe. Vor dem Café laufen zwei Männer Hand in Hand, offensichtlich Touristen, was hier, in der Nähe des Tokyo Towers, niemanden weiter interessiert.

In weiten Teilen der japanischen Gesellschaft sieht das aber noch anders aus – was sich an den jahrelangen Diskussionen um ein Gesetz für mehr Toleranz gegenüber sexuellen Minderheiten (LGBTQ) zeigt. Am Freitag hat es Ministerpräsident Fumio Kishida mit seiner Regierungskoalition nun verabschiedet. » | Von Tim Kanning, Tokio | Freitag, 16. Juni 2023

Marriage Equality in Japan

You can support gay marriage in Japan by signing this petition.

Japan PM Evacuated after Apparent Smoke Bomb Blast during Speech – BBC News

Apr 15, 2023 | Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has been evacuated unharmed from a public event after what appeared to be a smoke bomb was thrown at him. A man was detained at the scene in Wakayama, where Mr Kishida had been due to give a speech, local media reported. He was arrested on suspicion of obstruction of business and later identified by the authorities as 24-year-old Ryuji Kimura. His motivation is still unclear. A witness said they saw a person throwing something, followed by smoke, while another said they heard a big bang. No injuries were reported.

Extreme Winter Snowstorm in the US Leaves Buildings Covered in Icicles

Dec 26, 2022 | A deadly blizzard has paralysed Buffalo, New York, trapping motorists in their cars, knocking out electricity to thousands of homes and raising the death toll from a severe winter storm system that has frozen much of the US for days. Buildings around the edges of Lake Eerie have been left looking like ice castles after days of heavy snow and high winds created conditions that local officials said were probably the most severe since 1977. The New York governor, Kathy Hochul, said a deadly blizzard pummelling Buffalo over the holiday would go down in history as one of the worst. 'We are in a war, this is a war with mother nature,' Hochul said US storm: dozens of lives lost as Arctic freeze takes hold ‘Life-threatening hazard’: 28 dead in Arctic storm battering US

Read the article here.

AND IN JAPAN:

Heavy snow in Japan kills at least 17: Many deaths caused by people falling from roofs or being buried underneath thick piles of snow sliding off rooftops »

Japan's Teachers Vulnerable to Overwork Deaths | DW News

Dec 20, 2022 | The Japanese word karoshi means "death from overwork." Too much work kills Japan's overstretched workers with heart attacks, strokes from mental stress, malnourishment. Teachers seem to be particularly vulnerable to karoshi.

Tokyo Same-sex Marriage Ruling ‘a Step Forward’, Say Campaigners

THE GUARDIAN: Court rules same-sex marriage ban is constitutional but says lack of legal protection is human rights violation

Marriage equality campaigners outside the Tokyo district court on Wednesday. Photograph: Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP/Getty Images
A court in has ruled that Japan’s ban on same-sex marriage is constitutional, but said the lack of legal protection for same-sex couples violated their human rights, a step welcomed by equality campaigners.

Japan is the only G7 nation that does not allow same-sex marriage and its constitution defines marriage as based on “the mutual consent of both sexes”. The conservative ruling party of the prime minister, Fumio Kishida, has shown no interest in legalising gay marriage, although polls show a majority of voters support it.

The ruling on Wednesday by the Tokyo district court said that while the ban was constitutional, the absence of a legal system granting same-sex couples recognition as families was an infringement of their human rights. » | Justin McCurry in Tokyo and agencies | Wednesday, November 30, 2022

North Korea Fires Missile Over Japan in Major Escalation

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The missile flew about 2,800 miles, the longest distance ever traveled by a North Korean missile, officials in Tokyo and Seoul said.


North Korea fired a medium-range missile over Japan for the first time in five years. It landed in the Pacific Ocean 22 minutes after the launch. | Jeon Heon-Kyun/EPA, via Shutterstock
SEOUL — North Korea on Tuesday fired an intermediate-range ballistic missile over Japan for the first time in five years, prompting a rare warning by the Japanese government for residents in two northern prefectures to seek shelter.

The launch represented a major escalation by North Korea, which has conducted a flurry of missile tests in recent days as the United States held military drills in the region with South Korea and Japan. By launching a missile over Japan and toward the Pacific, North Korea heightened regional concerns over its growing nuclear capabilities, and raised the stakes in stalled diplomatic talks with Washington. » | Choe Sang-Hun and Motoko Rich | Monday, October 3, 2022