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Japan Today
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Japan Today
Japanese social media user held over ¥3 mil extortion to delete post
A Japanese social media personality has been arrested for allegedly extorting a man out of 3 million yen in exchange for removing his private details from the internet, Tokyo police said Monday. Yuki Azuma, 29, who posts as Entertainer Orihara, is known for exposing apparent secrets of famous people on social media, according to the police. He allegedly uploaded the personal information and headshot of a 30-year-old man to X, and extorted the money from him at a Tokyo restaurant in October last year. Azuma hinted at further posts, telling the man he was considering releasing "everything," the police said. He has remained silent about the allegations, they said. © KYODO
Japan Today
4 hours ago
- Business
- Japan Today
Japan's departure tax revenue hits record high in FY2024
Japan's revenue from a departure tax collected from travelers in fiscal 2024 hit a record high amid an influx in the number of visitors, the Finance Ministry said Monday. Although revenue from the tax for the full fiscal year, which runs from April to March, has yet to be calculated with final receipts gathered by the end of May, the total has already reached 48.1 billion yen, eclipsing the previous record of 44.3 billion yen in fiscal 2019, it said. The full total will be announced later. The government imposes a 1,000 yen International Tourist Tax on each traveler leaving the country, regardless of nationality. After peaking in fiscal 2019, the revenue from the tax dropped sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic, but it has been recovering recently. The country has been attracting more visitors on the back of a weaker yen and an increase in the number of flights, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has indicated a willingness to increase the departure tax amid growing calls to raise funds to promote tourism further and address overcrowding at tourist sites. © KYODO
Japan Today
4 hours ago
- Japan Today
Japanese prisons to place more focus on rehabilitation than punishment
An amendment to the Penal Code placing greater emphasis on rehabilitation efforts in prison took effect Sunday, marking the first time changes have been made to the forms of punishment under Japan's more than a century-old crime laws. Imprisonment is no longer divided into the categories of with and without labor, and prison work is no longer mandatory for inmates, allowing more time to be allocated for rehabilitative guidance and education to reduce recidivism, according to the Justice Ministry. The revised law, which will affect people convicted from Sunday, stipulates anew that imprisonment consists of "confinement in a penal institution" and that inmates can be assigned to undertake "necessary work" or can undergo "necessary guidance" for rehabilitation and improvement. Prior to the change, the treatment of inmates was largely based on the likelihood of reoffending, potentially subjecting an elderly repeat shoplifter and a yakuza gang member to the same regime. The new system sets up 24 programs tailored to an inmate's age, characteristics and other factors, including a Daily Care-Senior curriculum for those aged 70 and older and suffering from dementia and Addiction Recovery targeting drug abusers. Other programs target those aged between 20 and 26, and those facing prison terms of at least 10 years. Elderly inmates are expected to be able to focus more on maintaining their physical and cognitive functions rather than engaging in typical prison work, while younger inmates will undergo a program to enable their return to school after leaving prison, according to the ministry. Inmates will be sent to prisons that can offer appropriate programs for them. Their situation will be reviewed every six months, enabling them to switch to different treatment programs if needed. Japan's Penal Code was enacted in 1907. The legislation to realize the latest change was enacted by parliament in 2022. © KYODO
Japan Today
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Japan Today
Japanese social media user held over $21,000 extortion to delete post
A Japanese social media personality has been arrested for allegedly extorting a man out of 3 million yen in exchange for removing his private details from the internet, Tokyo police said Monday. Yuki Azuma, 29, who posts as Entertainer Orihara, is known for exposing apparent secrets of famous people on social media, according to the police. He allegedly uploaded the personal information and headshot of a 30-year-old man to X, and extorted the money from him at a Tokyo restaurant in October last year. Azuma hinted at further posts, telling the man he was considering releasing "everything," the police said. He has remained silent about the allegations, they said. © KYODO
Japan Today
18 hours ago
- Business
- Japan Today
Japan whaling ship returns after taking 25 fin whales in Sea of Okhotsk
A commercial whaling ship docks at Sendai port in Miyagi Prefecture on Monday, after conducting a hunt in the Sea of Okhotsk. A commercial whaling ship returned to a port in northeastern Japan on Monday carrying 25 fin whales taken in the Sea of Okhotsk. The fin whale hunt in Japan's exclusive economic zone, north of the northern island of Hokkaido, was conducted for the first time since Japan formally withdrew from the International Whaling Commission in 2019. About 320 tons of fin whale meat were unloaded at Sendai port in Miyagi Prefecture on Monday, with some 1.6 tons set to be transported to six markets across the country including Tokyo and Osaka as raw meat. The ship departed Shimonoseki port in the western Japanese prefecture of Yamaguchi on April 21. The Japanese Fisheries Agency added fin whales to the list of commercial whaling target species in 2024, setting a catch quota of 60 for this year. As an International Whaling Commission member, Japan halted commercial whaling in 1988 but continued to hunt whales for what it called research purposes. The practice was criticized internationally as a cover for commercial whaling. © KYODO
