Bonsai trees and a royal birthday: Japan’s imperial family dips a careful toe in world of Instagram | Japan
The rarefied world of Japan’s imperial family has entered the age of social media, but fans expecting selfies, emojis and casual shots of the emperor, empress, or off-the-beaten-path princes and princesses may be disappointed. A far cry from the photos of sunrises, sunsets and moments of mindfulness that form the stock traded on many Instagram […]
Japan’s Space One Kairos rocket explodes just seconds after inaugural flight
The Kairos, a small solid-fuel rocket made by Japan’s Space One, exploded shortly after its maiden launch on Wednesday as the company sought to become the first Japanese company to put a satellite into orbit. The 59-foot-long solid-fuel rocket exploded seconds after liftoff at 11:01 a.m., leaving large smoke, fire, rocket fragments and fire-fighting water […]
Japan’s SLIM moon probe unexpectedly survives lunar night
Japan’s space agency said on Monday that its lunar lander SLIM unexpectedly crashed on a freezing lunar night, more than a month after the spacecraft made a historic “pinpoint” touchdown on the moon’s surface. It announced on Monday that it had survived and re-established communications with Earth. The Smart Lunar Survey Lander (SLIM) landed on […]
Pod of killer whales trapped in ice off Japan’s coast and officials say they have no way to rescue them
A pod of at least 10 killer whales is reportedly trapped in sea ice off Japan’s northern coast, and authorities say there is no way to rescue them. A local fisherman discovered a pod of whales trapped in sea ice off the coast of Rausu town in eastern Hokkaido and reported the horrifying discovery to […]
Biden to host Japan’s Kishida for state visit in April
President Biden is scheduled to host Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida as a state guest this spring, part of U.S. efforts to counter China and strengthen ties in the region to counter the threat from North Korea. The White House announced Thursday that the visit is scheduled to take place on April 10 and its […]
Japan’s Slim spacecraft lands on moon but struggles to generate power | Space
Japan's hopes of becoming the fifth country to soft-land a working spacecraft on the moon hit a snag on Friday when mission controllers announced the rover was unable to generate electricity after touchdown. The lunar exploration smart lander (Slim) was testing new technology for pinpoint landings when the rover touched down just after 3pm UK […]