五輪で3度優勝の吉田選手が引退を発表【Three-time Olympic champ Yoshida announces retirement】
Japan’s three-time Olympic gold medalist in women’s wrestling Saori Yoshida announced her retirement on Tuesday at the age of 36. The 13-time world champion, who also received the People’s Honor Award, has not competed since her loss in the final at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
小学4年生が最年少の囲碁プロに【4th grader to become youngest pro Go player】
A fourth-grade Japanese girl will debut as the youngest professional player of the Asian board game “Go” when she turns 10 this spring, the Japan Go Association announced on Saturday. The girl, a resident of Osaka, said she wants to win a title while being in junior high school.
日本が商業捕鯨再開のためＩＷＣ脱退へ【Japan to leave IWC to resume commercial whaling】
Japan is considering withdrawing from the International Whaling Commission to resume commercial whaling next year, government sources said on Thursday. The move would spark criticism from Australia and other anti-whaling nations over whale conservations.
札幌の爆発で不動産会社社長が謝罪【Real estate firm chief apologizes for Sapporo blast】
The president of a Japanese real estate firm apologized on Tuesday for causing a building explosion that injured 42 people in Sapporo on the weekend. He admitted that two employees emptied about 120 spray cans of deodorizer for disposal inside the room where doors and windows were closed.
日本の民間行事がユネスコに登録【Japan’s folk rituals added to UNESCO list】
A group of “visiting deity” folk rituals were added on Thursday to UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list. In the festivals, people in rural communities wearing masks or costumes visit homes to drive away evil spirits at the end of the year or when seasons change.
