ELDERLY COUPLE DONATES YEN 400 MILLION TO ERECT MYAKU - MYAKU STATUE IN OSAKA - TOKYO JAPAN

ELDERLY COUPLE DONATES YEN 400 MILLION TO ERECT MYAKU - MYAKU STATUE IN OSAKA - TOKYO JAPAN 

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TOKYO

It’s been nearly a year since the closing of the 2025 World Expo in Osaka, but its official mascot, the gooey humanoid Myaku-Myaku has managed to secure a popularity that has transcended the event it was created to represent. Myaku-Myaku goods are still widely sold, and game centers are still well stocked with crane games offering chances at plush toys and other goods bearing its moist likeness.

It’s a rather surprising turn of events for the mascot after its debut in 2022, which left people unsure of how to feel about its characteristics, both cute, such as its big smile and stubby little legs, and grotesque, such as its head looking like bloody entrails.

But over the years, people by and large seemed to really warm up to Myaku-Myaku.

And now, a surprise donation to the City of Osaka may very well cement the mascot’s legacy for generations to come. Reports have recently come in that business owner Keihachi Fukunishi and his wife Akiyo Fukunishi, both 85, have given 200 million yen each, for a total of 400 million yen to the city.

▼ There were already several statues at the venue, but the materials weren’t intended for permanent use.

The couple’s donation came with a request that a statue of Myaku-Myaku be erected on the site where the expo was held. At a press event where Keihachi and Akiyo received letters of appreciation, the husband told reporters the Myaku-Myaku “is a symbol. Just as the Tower of the Sun defined the Senri Expo Park, Myaku-Myaku defines the Osaka-Kansai Expo.”

He makes an interesting comparison too. The Tower of the Sun was the centerpiece of the 1970 expo, which was also held in Osaka and also wasn’t without controversy when first unveiled. Its creator, Taro Okamoto, created it in almost direct opposition to the post-moon-landing expo’s overarching theme of technological progress by filling his statue with organic and tribalistic imagery.

▼ The Tower of the Sun

However, by the end of that expo, it was widely lauded as a masterpiece and still stands today, designated as a national tangible cultural property. Perhaps Myaku-Myaku’s own shockingly organic appearance and subsequent rise to prominence reminded the Fukunishis of the Tower of the Sun, and they wanted to entrench the mascot’s legacy in the same way.

In response, Osaka Mayor Hideyuki Yokoyama said, “I would like to accelerate deliberation so that Myaku-Myaku can take its place alongside the Grand Ring as a new symbol of this site.”

Another of the expo’s highlights was the massive wooden Grand Ring that encompassed much of the venue and measured about two kilometers in circumference. All but a 200-meter stretch of it has been slated for demolition to make room for Japan’s first integrated resort and casino, which will be built next to a commemorative park that honors the expo.

However, many readers of the news online were irked by Yokoyama’s promise to “accelerate deliberation” (kento wo kasoku), a typical non-committal phrase used by politicians to essentially say, “We’ll think about whether we want to do this or not as soon as we can.” On the other hand, some wonder if building a giant Myaku-Myaku statue might end up costing the people of Osaka in the long run.

“So, will they give the money back if they decide not to do it after their accelerated deliberations?”

 “What is this accelerated deliberation nonsense? Just get it going so it’s built in time for that elderly couple to see it!”

“I hate hearing ‘accelerate deliberation,’ because it means it’ll probably never happen.”

“They’d do a lot more good by donating that money to fix the many deteriorating drainage pumps in the southern part of the city.”

“I wonder if the donors thought about maintenance costs. Seems a bit arrogant to me.”

“If they love Myaku-Myaku so much, why not build the statue in their own home?”

“Asking for a Myaku-Myaku statue just because you donate money gives me the same unsettling vibes as a corporation donating money for certain favors.”

“That’s a wonderful idea. They probably decided to donate the money while they’re still alive rather than just have it taken in inheritance taxes.”

The theory in that last comment seems very plausible. Given the age of the donors, it is entirely possible that they have no one who they need to leave the money to. Even if they do have heirs, a large chunk gets taken out in taxes, so why not pre-empt that along with a request as to how they’d like to see it spent?

They didn’t even say all the money needed to go into the statue, just that they’d like that to be done as a part of the donation. That being said, the idea of a giant Statue-of-Liberty-style Myaku-Myaku in the harbor of Osaka, defining the city’s skyline and welcoming everyone arriving by air and sea, is very appealing to me, and I’m not even that big a fan of the character.

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FIRE ERUPTS DURING DEMOLITION OF QUAKE - DAMAGED CHIMNEY AT PAPER FACTORY IN KUMAMOTO, JAPAN - TOKYO JAPAN

FIRE ERUPTS DURING DEMOLITION OF QUAKE - DAMAGED CHIMNEY AT PAPER FACTORY IN KUMAMOTO, JAPAN - TOKYO JAPAN 

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TOKYO

A fire broke out Thursday during the demolition of an earthquake-damaged chimney at a paper factory in Japan’s southwestern prefecture of Kumamoto.

Footage on NHK national television showed an orange blaze coming from one of the broken chimneys at the factory, with billowing black smoke rising into the sky.

The municipal fire department in Yatsushiro City said it received an emergency call Thursday evening from an employee at the Nippon Paper Industries' factory saying the fire erupted during demolition work.

Three of five chimneys at the factory were severely damaged when the magnitude 7.1 quake struck on July 28, killing 38 people. An 80-meter-high chimney collapsed, killing nine factory employees.

Some 36,000 houses and buildings were destroyed or damaged, and more than 2,000 people are still living in evacuation centers, including school gymnasiums and community centers.

Thursday's fire broke out when workers tried to remove the chimney's broken tip, though nobody was injured, officials said.

The exact cause of the fire was not known, fire officials said.

More than three hours after 14 fire engines were deployed, firefighters were still battling the fire, officials said.

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INDONESIAN TRAINEE DIES AFTER BEING CAUGHT IN MIXER AT HIROSHIMA PLANT - HIROSHIMA JAPAN

INDONESIAN TRAINEE DIES AFTER BEING CAUGHT IN MIXER AT HIROSHIMA PLANT - HIROSHIMA JAPAN 

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HIROSHIMA

An Indonesian technical trainee died after being caught in a mixer while working at a plant in Hiroshima Prefecture on Wednesday night, local authorities said.

An emergency call was made at about 10:20 p.m., reporting that a man was bleeding with his neck caught inside the mixer at materials maker Toda Kogyo Corp's plant in the city of Otake. The man was later identified by local police as 21-year-old Indra Kurniawan.

Kurniawan was working alone on paint production, police said. The mixer was 1.5 meters in both diameter and depth.

Police are investigating the circumstances, including by reviewing surveillance camera footage. There were no witnesses, they said.

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HIKONE CASTLE - JAPAN NOMINATE FOR 2028 WORLD HERITAGE LISTING - TOKYO JAPAN

HIKONE CASTLE - JAPAN NOMINATE FOR 2028 WORLD HERITAGE LISTING - TOKYO JAPAN

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TOKYO

The Japanese council for cultural affairs has selected Hikone Castle, a national treasure, as a candidate for nomination for the 2028 UNESCO World Heritage List.

The government plans to submit to the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization by Feb. 1 next year the nomination dossier for the castle, constructed by the Ii clan in the 17th century near Lake Biwa in modern-day Shiga Prefecture, western Japan.

"(The castle) is tangible evidence of a daimyo governance system unparalleled overseas, and it has been well conserved through protective measures," the council said.

The castle is one of the best-preserved in Japan, including its defensive sections and the lord's residential area, and represents the political system of the Edo Period (1603-1868), in which feudal lords called "daimyo" governed in consultation with senior vassals, according to the government.

Hikone Castle was added to the tentative list for future nomination in 1992, but the process stalled after Himeji Castle in Hyogo Prefecture was listed as a World Heritage site the following year.

Hikone Castle struggled to distinguish itself from Himeji Castle, prompting the prefectural government and the city of Hikone to submit a revised nomination draft to the Cultural Affairs Agency in May with additional explanations of its value and distinctive features.

If the process proceeds smoothly, the World Heritage Committee will examine the castle's nomination and decide whether to inscribe it on the World Heritage List in the summer of 2028, according to UNESCO.

The castle, built on the orders of Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu, escaped demolition after the Meiji Restoration when Emperor Meiji, who visited Hikone in 1878, ordered its preservation.

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JAPAN TO REUSE FUKUSHIMA CLEANUP SOIL IN MIYAGI AND SAITAMA PREFECTURES - TOKYO JAPAN

JAPAN TO REUSE FUKUSHIMA CLEANUP SOIL IN MIYAGI AND SAITAMA PREFECTURES - TOKYO JAPAN 

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TOKYO

Japan's Environment Ministry says it plans to reuse soil collected in decontamination work near the disaster-stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex at national government branch offices in Miyagi and Saitama prefectures.

The government has already reused the soil at 12 sites in Tokyo since July last year, including the prime minister's office and other buildings in the Kasumigaseki district. Excluding demonstration projects in Fukushima Prefecture, the expansion to the cities of Sendai and Saitama will mark the first reuse of the soil outside Tokyo.

The government aims to further expand the soil's reuse to other branch offices in Japan to reduce the total amount of soil that eventually needs to be dealt with.

As of the end of July, about 14.46 million cubic meters of removed soil and other waste had been placed at an interim storage facility near the nuclear complex.

The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, hit by a powerful earthquake and tsunami in 2011, suffered fuel meltdowns at three of its nuclear reactors, releasing radiation into the atmosphere.

The government aims to recycle 75 percent of the soil with relatively low levels of radioactivity for use in public works, but the outlook for achieving that target remains uncertain, with only 2 cubic meters to be used in the two cities.

While the timing has yet to be decided, the soil will be used in plantings at a government building in Sendai's Aoba Ward, and in flower beds at a government building in Saitama's Chuo Ward.

Sendai Mayor Kazuko Kori noted at a press conference Tuesday that as the soil is also being used at the prime minister's office, "I don't think it will be a problem."

Meanwhile, Saitama Gov Motohiro Ono and Saitama Mayor Hayato Shimizu have asked the government to disclose information such as monitoring test results and proceed only after obtaining residents' understanding.

Okuma Mayor Jun Yoshida and Futaba Mayor Shiro Izawa, whose towns host the interim storage facility, separately expressed hope that the move will contribute to progress toward final disposal outside the prefecture.

The expansion beyond Tokyo is "a new step, and I want to help people in regional areas further understand its safety," Environment Minister Hirotaka Ishihara said at a press conference.

The soil waste currently at an interim storage facility near the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant must by law be moved outside the prefecture by March 2045.

But with the search for final disposal sites making little progress, the government hopes that expanding soil reuse to regional branch offices will help win public understanding.

According to a roadmap for final disposal outside Fukushima Prefecture drawn up in August last year, the government will begin selecting candidate disposal sites around 2030 and make the selection around 2035.

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YAYOI KUSAMA, WHO SPLASHED POLKA DOTS ACROSS ART WORLD DIES AT 97 - TOKYO JAPAN

YAYOI KUSAMA, WHO SPLASHED POLKA DOTS ACROSS ART WORLD DIES AT 97 - TOKYO JAPAN  

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TOKYO

Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, who splashed her signature polka dots on paintings, sculptures and museum installations around the world, has died, her studio said Thursday. She was 97.

Kusama died Aug 14 at a hospital in Tokyo, Yayoi Kusama Studio said.

“She continued to paint until her final days, never setting aside her brush, and continued exploration of forever love and eternal soul,” the studio's statement said. “We will carry forward Kusama’s wishes and, through art, continue to bring hope and strength for the future to people around the world.”

Kusama, one of Japan’s most respected contemporary artists, was widely exhibited around the world, including the Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York.

Repetitive motifs were her trademark, in various shapes, resembling netting, swirls or worms, but most often dots, dancing proudly on her canvases, or as sparkling balls or dots of light in her installations, in all their vibrant psychedelic glory.

“Polka dots are fabulous,” Kusama said in a 2012 interview with The Associated Press, appearing in her signature orange bobcut wig and polka dot-covered attire.

“I want to create a thousand paintings, maybe two thousand paintings, as many as I can draw,” she said in her childlike but matter-of-fact tone. “I will keep painting until I die.”

Kusama insisted she drew the way she saw the world -- covered with spots, part of the hallucinations she said she had from childhood. She was in and out of psychiatric institution for decades, although her sickness did not hold her back as she was one of the first Japanese women to go to New York to pursue her art, in 1957.

Although soft-spoken and shy in her mannerisms, she was always unabashedly bold in the assertion of her dotty vision, not only in sticking to the style for decades but also in making it accessible to the masses.

In her later years, as the times caught up with her art, she enjoyed fame. She signed on with fashion brands like Louis Vuitton as well as other licensed products like teacups, T-shirts and key chains with her illustrations, including replicas of her likeness that were used in show windows and other marketing.

In 2008, Christie’s auctioned her work for $5.8 million. In 2016, she won the most prestigious award Japan gives its artists, the Order of Culture.

Upon receiving the award, she told reporters she was more determined than ever to pursue her art, stressing that the sincerity and devotion she had demonstrated in her personal life were crucial parts of her artistic legacy.

“I feel there is little left in my life, but I am now still fighting to the death for my art,” she said. “I am giving all I have so that many people will continue to be interested in my art, even after I am dead.”

Kusama was called pop, avant-garde, feminist, just to name some of the categories thrown at her, most of which Kusama brushed off as not quite representative of her art.

She was born in a middle-class family but felt misunderstood, as her parents wanted her to simply get married. They wanted to buy her kimono, not paints and brushes. She knew she had to get away. She chose America.

When she arrived in New York, the fad was “action painting,” characterized by dribbles, swooshes and smears, not dots. She suffered years of poverty and obscurity. But she kept painting dots.

She put circles of paper on people’s bodies, and once a horse, in “happening” anti-war performances in the late 1960s, which got some people arrested for obscenity but helped get media attention for her art. While in New York, she befriended artists like Andy Warhol, Georgia O’Keefe and Joseph Cornell, who praised her innovative style.

Over the years, Kusama has made quirky but stunningly celebratory works like “Macaroni Girl,” a female figure plastered with macaroni, which expresses the fear of food; “The Visionary Flowers,” giant sculptures of twisting tulips, and “Mirrored Corridor,” a room with mirrors that delivers an illusion of a field of phallic protrusions speckled with dots.

Kusama, who has also made films and published several novels, said she wasn’t sure where she got her ideas. She just picked up her brush and started drawing. The process was so mysterious sometimes she surprised herself, she told AP.

“I think, ‘Oh, I drew that? I was thinking that,’” she said.

But she appeared happy to have her art be the focus of media attention and praise, reading one of her poems to a reporter or tackling her artworks with gusto for photos.

But she was also a charmingly disarming mix of vulnerability and defiance — at one moment, declaring herself “an artistic revolutionary,” and then the next, mumbling: “I am so afraid, all the time, of everything.”

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HEAVY RAIN BATTERS CENTRAL JAPAN, CAUSING LANDSLIDES, FLOODING - KANAZAWA JAPAN

HEAVY RAIN BATTERS CENTRAL JAPAN, CAUSING LANDSLIDES, FLOODING - KANAZAWA JAPAN

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KANAZAWA

Heavy rain battered parts of central Japan on Thursday, causing landslides and flooding with a series of reports of cars becoming submerged and calls for rescue.

The Japan Meteorological Agency issued a special heavy rain warning for some areas in Ishikawa and Toyama prefectures, with residents warned to evacuate or take immediate steps to ensure their safety amid life-threatening conditions.

The Level 5 warning, the highest warning for heavy rain, indicating that a disaster has likely occurred or is imminent, was issued for municipalities including Himi in Toyama Prefecture and Hakui, Shika, Hodatsushimizu and Nakanoto in Ishikawa Prefecture.

Residents were urged to heed local authorities' evacuation advisories and remain vigilant against landslides. Around 180,000 people in five municipalities in the two prefectures were urged to take the safety measures.

In Himi, a man in his 50s who is part of a local firefighting corps, told Kyodo News over the phone that a river had overflowed and that several cars were submerged.

There were no reports of casualties so far, according to the Ishikawa prefectural government.

In the 12 hours up to 7:20 a.m., heavy rain of over 300 millimeters fell in Himi and Hakui, and over 200 mm in Hodatsushimizu, setting new records at each location.

According to the agency, a front is extending eastward from the Sea of Japan through northern and eastern Japan and is expected to move southward through Friday. Atmospheric conditions will become extremely unstable due to a cold-air mass and a trough of low pressure.

Over a 24-hour period through noon Friday, the agency is expecting up to 200 mm of rain in Hokuriku and up to 150 mm for the Kanto-Koshin and Tokai regions.

Heavy rain has also hit Niigata Prefecture neighboring Toyama.

Earlier this month, a Level 5 warning was issued in some municipalities in Chiba Prefecture, due to heavy rain, which resulted in flooding, leaving 13 people dead. Cars on roads across the prefecture were subsequently immobilized by the flood, with around 2,500 vehicles abandoned at one point.

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JAPANESE UNIVERSITY FINDS RIVER BACTERIA THAT REMOVE 'FOREVER CHEMICALS' - TOKYO JAPAN

JAPANESE UNIVERSITY FINDS RIVER BACTERIA THAT REMOVE 'FOREVER CHEMICALS' - TOKYO JAPAN  

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TOKYO

A research team has found that bacterial strains in river sediments contaminated with so-called forever chemicals can remove the harmful substances, according to a Japanese university that led the study.

The finding offers hope for tackling per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, which are difficult to break down because their carbon-fluorine bonds are among the strongest chemical bonds. PFAS have become a global environmental and health issue in recent years, accumulating in water, soil and wildlife.

PFAS, known for strong water and oil repellency as well as great chemical stability, have been found in high concentrations near military sites and in industrial areas.

The forever chemicals are also used in products ranging from fabrics to firefighting foam.

Japan bans, with some exceptions, the manufacture and import of several types of PFAS, including PFOS, or perfluorooctanesulfonic acid, and PFOA, or perfluorooctanoic acid.

"If we can culture and use bacteria collected from the natural environment, we will be able to decontaminate with lower costs," said Hideyuki Inui, associate professor at Kobe University.

The research team collected sediment samples along the Samondo River in Osaka Prefecture, then isolated and identified bacterial strains capable of reducing concentrations of PFOS and PFOA, according to the study published online in the August issue of the Journal of Water Process Engineering.

They also confirmed that one of the strains significantly reduced the concentration of PFAS in leachate from an industrial waste landfill, demonstrating its applicability beyond the laboratory setting.

Their study revealed that adsorption of PFAS onto bacterial cells plays a key role in removing the substances.

While some microbial strains have been reported to be capable of degrading PFAS, the types of bacteria involved and the roles of degradation and adsorption in removing the substances remain largely unknown, according to the researchers.

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EMPEROR, EMPRESS TO VISIT QUAKE - HIT KUMAMOTO PREFECTURE IN LATE SEPTEMBER 2026 - TOKYO JAPAN

EMPEROR, EMPRESS TO VISIT QUAKE - HIT KUMAMOTO PREFECTURE IN LATE SEPTEMBER 2026 - TOKYO JAPAN  

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TOKYO

Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako are planning to make a day trip to Kumamoto Prefecture in late September to visit areas hit hard by a July earthquake, sources affiliated with the Imperial Household Agency said Thursday.

The couple are considering visiting some of the worst-affected municipalities and meeting people impacted by the disaster, according to the agency sources.

They are expected to fly to Kumamoto and travel within the prefecture by helicopter provided by the Self-Defense Forces, possibly viewing the damage from the air.

The emperor and empress have expressed deep concern over the extensive damage and for those affected by the magnitude 7.1 quake. A close aide said they "hope to be able to visit the affected areas to offer their sympathies once the timing is right."

The agency had initially been trying to arrange a two-day trip in late September for the couple to review reconstruction 10 years after the 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes but revised the plan following the July 28 temblor.

The couple also canceled a stay in early August at an imperial villa in Shizuoka Prefecture and conveyed their sympathies to Kumamoto Gov Takashi Kimura on Aug 3.

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JAPAN TO SURVEY ANIMAL CAFES OVER HYGIENE, WELFARE CONCERNS - TOKYO JAPAN

JAPAN TO SURVEY ANIMAL CAFES OVER HYGIENE, WELFARE CONCERNS - TOKYO JAPAN

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TOKYO

Japan plans to probe popular animal cafes, where visitors can interact with anything from cats to capybaras, following concerns about hygiene and the creatures' welfare, authorities said Thursday.

Japan has hundreds of the cafes where campaigners say animals are sometimes kept in cramped spaces, and that their popularity encourages the capture and illegal trade of rare wildlife.

A fact-finding survey will begin as early as next month, starting with obtaining basic facts such like the number of establishments and what animals they keep, an environment ministry official told AFP.

The ministry will examine whether they comply with relevant laws, including whether animals have enough space and how often cleaning takes place, said the official, without wishing to be named.

"We may then do on-site inspections if we find facilities that appear to be breaching rules" stipulated by the animal welfare law, he said.

The decision to launch the survey followed recommendations by members of an expert panel about animal welfare.

Animal welfare groups have long been alarmed by the cafes, where visitors can pet and play with a dizzying array of animals including micro-pigs, hedgehogs, owls and snakes.

A 2025 survey by World Wide Fund for Nature Japan said that some kept endangered species listed on the Red List of the International Union for Conservation.

They also included species covered by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, which regulates international trade in wildlife.

Some shops had inadequate hygiene management without nudging users to handwash after contact with animals, and its "microbiological testing detected pathogenic bacteria in multiple facilities", the report said.

"Whether the animals are otters, capybaras, raccoons, owls, reptiles, or other wild species, these businesses are built around close encounters that prioritize customer entertainment over the animals' needs," said Laila Imai, campaign coordinator in Asia of animal welfare group PETA.

"Many are subjected to constant handling, noise, flashing cameras, and interactions with strangers throughout the day," Imai said. "What may appear charming to visitors can be stressful and unnatural for the animals forced to live that way."

Some animal cafes act as adoption centers, helping to find new homes for rescued cats and dogs.

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