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Straits Times
a day ago
- Straits Times
Japan outdoor museum of vending machines aims to draw global fans
Find out what's new on ST website and app. TOKYO - An outdoor museum of vending machines in northeastern Japan that opened in March is seeking to showcase the country's cultural phenomenon and attract visitors from overseas. The site in Kurihara, Miyagi Prefecture, displays 38 of the automatic dispensers in a variety of colors across a 6,600-square-meter site. Many of the vending machines are no longer functional and have been repurposed as visual exhibits. Among them, 28 feature unique designs by creators including local artists, influencers and companies, with motifs sporting homegrown delicacies and even a large cat that appears to emerge from a product window. 'We hope to find new possibilities for vending machines, which Japan takes pride in, and encourage people inside and outside the country to visit and enjoy the place,' said Mr Tomohito Kato, the 45-year-old managing director of a local vending machine operator that founded the museum. According to the Japan Vending System Manufacturers Association, over 2.6 million of the dispensers were in use nationwide at the end of 2024. 'Vending machines have become a part of Japanese culture precisely because it is a safe country and there's a low risk of theft,' Mr Kato said. KYODO NEWS
Straits Times
2 days ago
- Straits Times
Japan's former emperor Akihito diagnosed with another heart condition
Find out what's new on ST website and app. Former emperor Akihito was admitted to the hospital on July 14, and discharged on July 18. TOKYO - Japan's former emperor Akihito has been diagnosed with supraventricular tachycardia, a heart rhythm disorder that causes a rapid heartbeat in the upper chambers of the heart, the Imperial Household Agency said on July 18 . The agency said the diagnosis was made at the University of Tokyo Hospital, where the 91-year-old had been hospitalised until July 18 for tests ahead of a new medication regimen to treat existing heart conditions. The former emperor's newly prescribed medication is also effective in treating symptoms of supraventricular tachycardia, according to his aides. The agency said it will continue to monitor his condition. The former emperor was admitted to the hospital on July 14 , where doctors aimed to carefully adjust the dosage of his new medication while monitoring his heart with an electrocardiogram. He was discharged on July 18 and left the hospital by car, accompanied by his wife, former empress Michiko, who had been visiting him daily. The former emperor was diagnosed in May with myocardial ischaemia – reduced blood flow to the heart muscle – after undergoing tests at the same hospital. He has since been under medication and observation for the condition. He has also been taking medication and following fluid intake restrictions since being diagnosed with heart failure in 2022. KYODO NEWS Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore 30% of aviation jobs could be redesigned due to AI, automation; $200m fund to support workers: CAAS Singapore Residents in South West District get help to improve employability, find career opportunities Singapore Alleged Kpod peddler filmed trying to flee raid in Bishan charged with 6 offences Singapore UOB awarded $17.7m in civil suit against Lippo Marina Collection over inflated housing loans Life Kinokuniya opens third bookstore in Raffles City, weeks ahead of schedule Business DBS shares rally to a new record as STI clocks yet another high Singapore 5 foreigners charged over scheme to deliberately get arrested in S'pore to sell sex drugs Asia Lightning strikes kill 33 people in eastern India
Straits Times
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Straits Times
Osaka expo welcomes 10 millionth visitor at halfway stage
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox A general view shows the "Myaku-Myaku", the mascot of the 2025 Osaka Expo as the Gundam pavilion is seen behind on the first day of the six-month event on April 13. OSAKA - The number of visitors to the World Exposition in Osaka has topped 10 million, reaching the milestone at the halfway point of the six-month event, the Japanese expo association said on July 13. The expo had welcomed 10.08 million visitors as of July 12, three months since its April 13 opening, the Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition said. The number of daily visitors started picking up four weeks after the opening, which was marred by news of unfinished pavilions, with a record 184,990 entering the venue on June 28. However, ticket sales slowed from late June as the rainy season drew to a close in the region and intense heat arrived, causing concerns for organisers who need 22 million visitors to reach the event's break-even point. KYODO NEWS
Straits Times
06-07-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
Pandas on Japanese lawmakers' wish list as China's vice-premier plans visit to Osaka World Expo
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Four pandas had been returned to China from Japan in June. Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng plans to visit Japan for a World Exposition event in Osaka on July 11 , with Japanese lawmakers looking to request a new lease of giant pandas to promote bilateral ties, diplomatic sources said on J uly 6 . July 11 marks China's national day at the expo. During Mr He's stay in Japan, he is expected to meet with Mr Hiroshi Moriyama, secretary-general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, who leads a cross-party group of China-friendly Japanese lawmakers. Mr Moriyama, a close aide to Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, is also likely to call for the resumption of China's imports of Japanese beef, which have been suspended since 2001 due to an outbreak of mad cow disease. In contrast, China in June lifted its ban on Japanese seafood imports . The restriction was imposed in August 2023 after Japan began releasing treated radioactive wastewater from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea. Mr Moriyama's request for the panda lease would come as the return of four pandas to China from Wakayama Prefecture, western Japan, in June left only two in the country – a pair displayed at Tokyo's Ueno Zoo whose lease contract will expire in Februar y 2026 . KYODO NEWS
Straits Times
05-07-2025
- Climate
- Straits Times
Magnitude 5.4 quake shakes south-western Japan islands as tremblers continue
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox The quake struck off the Tokara island chain at 6.29am at a depth of about 19km, though no tsunami warning was issued. A quake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.4 rattled islands in south-western Japan on July 5, the latest in a series of tremblers that have prompted some residents to evacuate. The quake struck off the Tokara island chain at 6.29am at a depth of about 19km, though no tsunami warning was issued, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. It measured upper 5 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7. The magnitude and depth of the focus of the quake were revised from 5.3 and 20km, respectively. The agency is warning of possible house collapses and landslides as strong quakes are expected to continue for some time. The number of quakes detected in the Tokara island chain area has exceeded 1,000 since June 21. A trembler with a magnitude of 5.5, measuring lower 6 of the Japanese scale, jolted the area on July 3. Around a dozen residents evacuated from Akuseki Island, which has experienced strong shaking throughout the period, to Kagoshima on the main island of Kyushu via ferry on July 4. KYODO NEWS
