JR Shimonoseki Station destroyed by predawn fire
January 6, 2006A fire broke out early Saturday at JR Shimonoseki Station in Yamaguchi Prefecture which destroyed the wooden facility that serves as one of the key terminal stations in southwestern Japan before it was put out about three hours later, the local police and fire department said. No one was injured by the fire, which started at around 2 a.m. The authorities are investigating the cause of the blaze, which disrupted train services in the region.
Heavy snow continues to hit Japan, 57 dead reported since Dec.
January 6, 2006Heavy snowfall lashed western and northern Japan on Friday and is expected to continue through Sunday as record amounts of snow wreaked havoc on transport, claiming 57 lives and injuring hundreds of people since the snow season started in early December, officials said. The Japan Meteorological Agency warned of the possibility of avalanches and other weather-related incidents as well as further traffic disruption from snow and cold weather.
Heavy snow continues to hit Japan, 53 dead reported since Dec.
January 6, 2006Heavy snowfall lashed western and northern Japan on Friday and is expected to continue through Sunday as record amounts of snow have wreaked havoc to transport and claimed 53 lives and injured hundreds of people since the snow season started early December, officials said. The Japan Meteorological Agency warned of the possibility of avalanches and other weather-related incidents as well as further traffic disruption from snow and cold weather.
Female agent among abductors, says repatriated abductee Soga
January 6, 2006One of five repatriated abductees has told Japanese police that a female North Korean agent was among a group of kidnappers who forcibly took her to North Korea in 1978, police sources said Friday. Hitomi Soga, 46, who was repatriated to her homeland in October 2002 together with four other victims of abduction by North Korea, gave the testimony to police investigators, the sources said. Soga is the wife of former U.S. Army deserter Charles Jenkins, 65, who came to Japan via Indonesia in 2004 with their two daughters to be reunited with Soga.
Japan police question U.S. sailor over Yokosuka murder
January 6, 2006Japanese police on Friday questioned a U.S. serviceman who was in U.S. Navy confinement at the Yokosuka naval base and has admitted to Tuesday's killing of a Japanese woman in Yokosuka, Kanagawa prefecture, with the approval of the U.S. military, police sources said. The U.S. Naval Forces in Japan admitted earlier Friday they are holding a sailor in confinement at the Yokosuka naval base as a ''potential suspect'' for alleged involvement in Tuesday's death of 56-year-old Yoshie Sato.
More heavy snow expected in Sea of Japan areas from Friday night
January 6, 2006Snow continued to fall Friday and is expected to fall heavily through Sunday in Sea of Japan coastal areas of western and northern Japan, which have already been hit by record amounts of snow, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. The weather has hampered transportation in the areas, including bullet trains on the Akita Shinkansen Line, which were suspended Thursday between Morioka and Akita, a northeastern Japanese city on the Sea of Japan side. The line resumed operating around noon Friday.