Iwaki - The Tokyo Olympics torch relay got underway on Thursday after a year's coronavirus delay, with officials hoping it will be a "ray of light" after the problems caused by the pandemic.

Osaka - Here we go! After months of pandemic delays, Nintendo's first ever theme park, featuring a "Mario Kart" ride in a real-life Bowser's Castle, opened in Japan on Thursday to delighted fans.

Nakajima - Japan fell silent on Thursday to mark 10 years since the worst natural disaster in the country's living memory: a powerful earthquake, deadly tsunami and nuclear meltdown that traumatised a nation.

Sydney - This agreement is more than historic. It’s a massive up of the ante in space exploration and development. The question now is “what about everyone else”? Particularly the US?

Nakajima - Japan on Thursday marks 10 years since the worst natural disaster in the country's living memory: a powerful earthquake, deadly tsunami and nuclear meltdown that traumatised a nation.

Namie - Masakazu Daibo has reopened his family's eel restaurant in part of Japan declared a no-go zone after the 2011 nuclear disaster, but so far he has barely a single neighbour.

Taro - The Japanese town of Taro had sea walls that were supposed to be able to survive almost anything the ocean could offer up, but the 2011 tsunami still brought utter destruction.

Ishinomaki - Yuto Naganuma looks silently as the cold sea breeze sweeps over the crumbling walls of the school where his little brother was lost in Japan's devastating 2011 tsunami.

Sydney - African swine fever virus has already killed a billion pigs in recent years. A new variant, believed to be caused by an illegal vaccine, threatens to do even more damage. This is likely to hit the world’s food supply hard.

Sydney - In the idea-less world of international power politics, China’s incursion into Taiwanese airspace just adds more bile to the global mess. This time, however, there’s more heat and more risk.

Sydney - Baidu intends to produce smart EVs using manufacturer Geely according to Reuters. This is major league level, and will hit the auto industry hard. Arguably worse is the fact that the buzz phrase “smart EV” will become unavoidable.

Fukushima - The removal of nuclear debris from Japan's crippled Fukushima power plant will be delayed by about a year, because the pandemic has set back development of specialised equipment, the plant's operator said Thursday.

Kamoike - Powerful Typhoon Haishen approached South Korea on Monday after slamming southern Japan with record winds and heavy rains that prompted evacuation warnings for millions.

Kamoike - A powerful typhoon that officials warned could bring record rains and gusts strong enough to flip cars slammed into southern Japan on Sunday, prompting authorities to urge millions to seek shelter.

Kamoike - A powerful typhoon that officials warned could bring record rains and gusts strong enough to flip cars slammed into southern Japan on Sunday, prompting authorities to urge millions to seek shelter.

Tokyo - The flying car is a science fiction cliché and a technical problem. A new Japanese model has wings, is stable if you know how to drive it, and has a range of 5km due to battery issues. ...So now what happens?

Narita - A new team of experts left Japan for Mauritius on Wednesday with special oil-absorbent materials to help the clean-up of tonnes of oil that leaked from a Japanese-owned ship.

Beijing - As though the United States’ many woes and faux pas weren’t enough - The other prehistoric make-everything-worse douchebag in the global equation, China, is acting downright strange. “Mixed messages” hardly covers it.

Nagasaki - The Japanese city of Nagasaki on Sunday commemorated the 75th anniversary of its destruction by a US atomic bomb, with its mayor and the head of the United Nations warning against a nuclear arms race.

Yokogawa - Japan on Thursday marked 75 years since the world's first atomic bomb attack, with the coronavirus pandemic forcing a scaling back of ceremonies to remember the victims.