A coastguard aircraft involved in a fatal collision at Tokyo’s Haneda airport was not cleared for take-off, Japanese authorities have said. The smaller aeroplane collided with a Japan Airlines (JAL) passenger jet on the runway on Tuesday. Newly released transcripts of air traffic control instructions just before the crash confirmed the JAL Airbus A350 was…
Passengers dashed to the emergency exits of a burning Japan Airlines jet without their hand luggage, in compliance with the flight crew’s instructions. Leaving their valuables behind was a “major factor” behind the swift evacuation of all 379 people on board, right before the aircraft was engulfed in flames on the runway of Haneda Airport…
First came the shock, as the Airbus A350 carrying 379 people collided with a second plane while landing in Tokyo. Then came heat and smoke as the jet sped along the runway in flames. Then survival instinct kicked in, as people scrambled to flee a cabin filling with fumes, knowing that lives depended on the…
It’s been nearly 13 years since the devastating earthquake and tsunami that triggered an accident at a nuclear plant in Fukushima. But memories in Japan are still fresh. And on Monday, all of them will have been brought back in to focus as the shaking began in Ishikawa and the tsunami alarms began sounding. The…
Japan has issued a major tsunami warning after a 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck the central region. Residents in the coastal Noto area in Ishikawa prefecture were asked to “evacuate immediately to higher ground,” national broadcaster NHK said. NHK said waves as high as 5m had reached Noto. Authorities have also issued tsunami warnings for neighbouring…
A Japanese luxury department store has apologised for delivering hundreds of collapsed strawberry Christmas cakes. Some 807 out of around 2,900 strawberry cakes delivered in the run up to Christmas were damaged on arrival, sparking a social media backlash. Takashimaya said Wednesday it had “betrayed the expectations of many” and was taking responsibility. Senior managing…
Japan says it will send Patriot air defence missiles to the US after changing its arms export rules, in a significant shift away from its pacifist policies. The move could free up the US to send its own stockpile to Ukraine. Western powers have been running out of ammunition to supply Ukraine in its defence…
There was a time when more than one of your TVs, computers, speaker systems or other essential electronic goods would have been made by Toshiba. Once a poster boy for Japan’s dominance in electronics – known as Japan Inc – the company has delisted, ending a 74-year history with Tokyo’s stock exchange. So why did…
A Japanese court has found three ex-soldiers guilty of sexually assaulting a female colleague. The landmark verdict comes after Rina Gonoi, 24, caused a public outcry and drew international attention when she put her story on YouTube in 2022. Fukushima prosecutors then brought charges against the three men in March, reversing their earlier decision. Japan…
Japanese baseball star Shohei Ohtani has made history by signing a record-breaking $700m (£558m) contract with the LA Dodgers. His recent elbow surgery did not stop the Dodgers from offering the eye-watering 10-year deal – smashing Mike Trout’s $426.5m 12-year deal contract signed in 2019, previously the largest in Major League Baseball (MLB). The 29-year-old…