Health ministry prepares national cancer database
January 2, 2006The health ministry is preparing to build a national database of registered cancer patients that will include their treatments and post-treatment condition in a bid to fight cancer, the No. 1 killer of Japanese people. Region-specific data on canc...
One dead, 20 injured in bus-car collision in Gifu
January 2, 2006One person died and 20 others were injured after a local bus and a car crashed head-on Monday afternoon in Takayama, Gifu Prefecture, prefectural police said. Police said the man driving the car, Sosaku Nomura, 69, was killed in the accident that...
Viewer rating for NHK's 'Kohaku' show improves
January 2, 2006The audience rating for NHK's annual New Year's Eve music show, "Kohaku Utagassen" (red and white song contest), improved last year, Video Research Ltd said Monday, giving some encouragement to the scandal-hit public broadcaster. The show, which l...
2 Akita inn employees hospitalized over toxic hot-spring gas
January 2, 2006Two employees of an Akita Prefecture inn were hospitalized for medical checks Thursday because they may have inhaled toxic gas from nearby hot springs, police said Monday. The two are employees of the Okuyama inn at the Doroyu hot spa resort, wher...
Japanese perform mounted archery in Oman
January 2, 2006A group of nine Japanese, clad in the outfit of medieval warriors, gave a performance of "yabusame" mounted archery during a horse show held in the Omani capital Sunday night. The nine are members of the Takeda school of yabusame in Kamakura, Kana...
2005 traffic death toll below 7,000 for first time in 50 years
January 2, 2006The death toll from traffic accidents totaled 6,871 last year, dropping below 7,000 for the first time since 1956, the National Police Agency said Monday. The agency attributed the steady reduction to the effect of multiple factors, including tigh...
Tanker, cargo ship collide in Inland Sea
January 2, 2006A tanker and a cargo vessel collided in the Inland Sea shortly after midnight Sunday, the Japan Coast Guard said Monday. No one was hurt in the 12:30 a.m. collision between the 699-ton tanker Kannon Maru No. 8 and the 698-ton cargo ship Taisei Maru. ...
Emperor offers New Year's greetings to general public
January 2, 2006Emperor Akihito offered his annual New Year's greetings to well-wishers who gathered at the Imperial Palace on Monday. "I am truly pleased to celebrate the New Year with you," the emperor said in a speech through a microphone from the glass-covered b...