Activists Angry as the IAEA Approves Fukushima Water Release

In this week’s news roundup, we report on Japan’s controversial plan to release treated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the sea, a decision that was given the green light by the IAEA on Tuesday. Other stories making headlines this week include the discovery of a headless body in Sapporo and the tragic death of two workers at a construction site in Shizuoka. There are also some controversial comments from China’s top diplomat and the completion of Japan’s tallest skyscraper. Plus, we have the latest sports news.

Release of Treated Radioactive Water Given Green Light by UN Watchdog

On Tuesday, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) approved Japan’s plan to release treated radioactive water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the sea. According to the report by the UN nuclear watchdog, the discharge is only expected to have “negligible radiological impact on people and the

A dream New York tour turns into a Montreal airport nightmare for NL teens

Air Canada is apologizing for a situation that saw nearly three dozen teenagers from Conception Bay North, along with their five adult chaperones, stranded for three days in Montreal, dashing their hopes of visiting New York City.

The travel company that arranged the tour, henceforth, is not commenting.

But despite the unpleasant experience, the students remain determined to one day visit the city that’s famous for its arts scene and iconic landmarks.

In a statement to CBC News, an unnamed Air Canada spokesperson blamed unfavorable weather conditions and a shortage of air crew for what the airline described as a regrettable situation.

And since most flights are booked because of the busy summer travel season, the airline said its ability to rebook customers following a flight cancellation is limited, especially for large groups.

“As a result, we were unable to transport these customers as planned and we have apologized for

Canadian wildfire smoke disrupts US air travel

The wildfire smoke that has cast a sickly pall over major cities across the eastern US snarled air travel Thursday, creating headaches for big aviation hubs and upending plans for thousands of travelers.

Nearly 600 flights across the country were delayed and six more had been canceled as of Thursday afternoon, according to FlightAware.com, a flight tracking service.

Follow live coverage of US air quality conditions and Canada’s wildfires

The Federal Aviation Administration said Thursday morning that it had delayed all flights bound for New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport nationwide. It also delayed certain flights bound for New York’s LaGuardia Airport.

The agency warned that delays were also possible at airports in Charlotte, North Carolina, Dallas and Philadelphia and at New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport.

FlightAware’s “MiseryMap” showed that LaGuardia and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport were seeing the most significant disruptions at 4 pm ET Thursday.

6 Kagurazaka Coffee Shops Worth Checking Out

Known for geisha and French restaurants, Kagurazaka is one of Tokyo’s most charming and refined areas. It has stayed true to itself throughout the decades, slowly incorporating novelty without overdoing it. That’s why, in our recommendations for where to sip the best Kagurazaka coffee, there’s a century-old place, a French patisserie, a shrine and a Thai coffeeshop. Together, this variety makes Kagurazaka special.

Canal Cafe

This is an iconic establishment at the foot of hilly Kagurazaka that has been around for more than 100 years. As the name suggests, this café is on the canal, right by JR Iidabashi Station. Whether you’re inside or outside, you can watch the trains stream by, the boats lulling in the water and the office buildings rising behind and lighting up in the evening. During spring, Canal Cafe is also a wonderful cherry blossom viewing spot, with the caveat of long lines and big

Stay at an Airbnb Gassho Home in the World Heritage Site of Gokayama

Not far from the coastal city of Toyamaas you wind around some beautiful country roads and pass by picturesque rice fields, you will come across one of the most untouched and truly stunning parts of Japan in the very sleepy village of Suganuma which is part of the revered Gokayama area (a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site).

Photo credit: Satoshi Nagare

Two very lucky people (one group of two guests) have the opportunity to stay in Suganuma for free and experience genuine local rural Japanese life for two nights from July 17 to July 19, courtesy of the Nakashima family who have resided in Suganuma for five generations. The project, in partnership with Airbnbs Japan and Nanto city, Toyama Prefecture, is located in the village’s gassho-zukuri style farmhouses, which are particular to the region. The houses are responsive with their thatched roof structures. Creating them requires a

Japan Book Review: Honeybees and Distant Thunder by Riku Onda

How do you describe the indescribable? Riku Onda’s Honeybees and Distant Thunder makes a valiant attempt to do just this when portraying the universal language of music and its effect on listeners. While music is something that everyone can understand, it can be hard to pin down and put into words. Onda’s book does this with rich poetry (if occasionally a little verbose), creating a strong emotional connection from the start.

From Murders to Music

Onda’s musical novel Honeybees and Distant Thunder was a smash hit when it first came out in 2017, snapping up both the Naoki Prize and Japan Booksellers’ Award the same year. Its popularity sparked the production of the 2019 film Listen to the Universewhich was well received by domestic audiences. Honeybees and Distant Thunder is Onda’s third book to be translated into English, this time with Haruki Murakami veteran Philip Gabriel taking the

The Most Influential Travel Brands Right Now

Donald Wood
by Donald Wood
Last updated: 1:20 PM ET, Thu June 22, 2023

The American magazine company TIME released its annual list of the 100 most influential companies in the world, with several travel-related brands making the list.

The list comprises five categories—Leaders, Disrupters, Innovators, Titans and Pioneers—by TIME editors who evaluate each company based on key factors, including impact, innovation, ambition and success.

In the Leaders category, adventure tour operator Intrepid Travel made the annual list, with the magazine highlighting the brand’s environmentally and socially responsible options. Intrepid “saw record-breaking booking days after launching a flight-free program (and more than 100 Indigenous-led tours) last year.”

SpaceX also found itself listed among the Leaders category, partly due to the company’s dedication to the emerging space tourism market. Elon Musk’s company launched 61 Falcon 9 flights last year, “making it the world’s workhorse rocket.”

“It’s fantastic to see that TIME focused on

Highway 4 to remain closed for at least another 10 days

Single-lane alternating traffic is expected to be moving along the highway by the weekend of June 24-25, the Transportation Ministry says

Highway 4 is not expected to be open again to motorists until at least June 24, and even then it will be for single-lane alternating traffic only at first, the Transportation Ministry says.

The ministry said crews were working flat-out to prepare for a staged reopening after the highway was shut down June 6 because of debris, including trees, falling from the Cameron Bluffs wildfire.

The shutdown has cut off paved road access to west coast communities such as Port Alberni, Ucluelet and Tofino.

Only an unpaved forest service route via Lake Cowichan is available to motorists who need to get to and from the west coast.

Provincial officials say it could be mid-July before the highway linking the east and west coasts of Vancouver Island is fully reopened.

5 Iconic Tokyo Crossings (That Aren’t Shibuya Scramble)

Shibuya Scramble is one of Tokyo’s incomparable sights and perhaps the most photographed location in the capital — and not without good reason. There’s something about the towering commercial buildings, dozens of advertising billboards, and the sheer number of pedestrians that give this particular crossing a truly magical atmosphere. But street photographers, both amateur and professional, might want to consider looking into lesser-known alternatives that have similar levels of oomph with a portion of the crowd. Below are five Tokyo crossings that we feel deserve some love.

Photo by structuresxx via Shutterstock

Sukiyabashi Crossing

Probably as close to Shibuya Scramble as you can get in Tokyo (without actually being in Shibuya) is Ginza’s Sukiyabashi Crossing. In addition to the crisp white pedestrian lines, Ginza Sony Park’s outdoor hangout, and the nearby Sukiyabashi Park provide all the visual and auditory stimulation to create that neo-Tokyo feeling. But what makes this crossing

Sanctuary is Netflix’s Imperfect Love Letter to Sumo

Netflix’s Sanctuary is a rare thing in Japanese entertainment: a fictional story about sumo. There’s a reason why we don’t see many of those, and it’s because sumo isn’t just a sport. Its origins go back to prehistoric religious dances, and even today, sumo referees act as Shinto priests when they consecrate the ring before tournaments. That’s what the title of the drama show alludes to: that the dohyo sumo ring is a sacred sanctuary and that sumo itself is partly a religious ceremony.

Sumo, however, is also a world full of scandals, and as such, it would be hard to build a gripping, hard-hitting narrative about real sumo that wouldn’t feel like an attack on Japanese wrestling. So instead, Sanctuary praises sumo at every turn, does no deep dives into it, and overlooks its many real problems.

The Show’s Voice of Reason is an Annoying Outsider Who Must