Japan PM Sanae Takaichi’s step-grandson enrols in Chinese university amid Tokyo-Beijing row
Bilateral relations between Japan and China hit a roadbump following Takaichi’s pro-Taiwan remarks

© AFP/Getty
Bilateral relations between Japan and China hit a roadbump following Takaichi’s pro-Taiwan remarks

© AFP/Getty

From Spain to Japan, experiments have repeatedly shown a left-turn bias, but exact mechanic ‘is still an open question’
“I’m not an ambi-turner,” laments Derek Zoolander in the eponymous noughties satire about the world’s hottest male model and his rare catwalk hangup. “It’s a problem I’ve had since I was a baby … I can’t turn left.”
Now, research suggests that the fashionista’s career-threatening quirk was even more unusual than previously thought. Tests reveal that when people are ambling about, they have a natural tendency to turn to the left and walk in an anticlockwise direction.
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© Photograph: Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP/Getty Images

Renewed outrage at White House’s use manga and anime imagery after US president is depicted as ninja Naruto
Japanese anime and manga fans are urging Donald Trump to stop using their favourite characters in his social media posts.
About 20,000 people have signed a petition on Change.org entitled Protect Japanese Manga, protesting against the official White House X account posting videos featuring unauthorised use of imagery from the popular Dragon Ball, Yu-Gi-Oh! and Naruto series. Angry fans have also been posting on social media.
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© Photograph: StudioB/Alamy

© Photograph: StudioB/Alamy

© Photograph: StudioB/Alamy
Utsunomiya officials yet to decide what to do with the captured bear

© Reuters

Police and hunters in Utsunomiya, 100km north of the capital, resume their search for animal that is not usually seen so close to Tokyo
A city in Japan has closed all its 94 primary and secondary schools after a bear was spotted in the municipality for the first time.
Officials in Utsunomiya, a city of half a million people about 100km (62 miles) north of Tokyo, took action after a medium-sized black bear – estimated to be about one-metre-long – was seen near a park in the city on Saturday. The bear was spotted again on CCTV running just in front of two startled young men in the city centre, in the early hours of Sunday.
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© Photograph: Yoshihiro Sato

© Photograph: Yoshihiro Sato

© Photograph: Yoshihiro Sato

© Kiuko Notoya/The New York Times
More than 1 million people advised to evacuate homes amid 80mph winds and heavy rain
Typhoon Jangmi (also known as Typhoon No 6) moved northwards over the course of this week. From Okinawa to mainland Japan, prolonged and heavy rainfall led to landslide warnings and the flooding of rivers, with Japan issuing level 4 warnings for some rivers, signalling a risk of overflowing. This level is high enough for municipalities to issue evacuation orders. Three-hourly rainfall totals on Wednesday reached 105mm in Chiyoda, Tokyo, which was a record high for the month. Sustained wind speeds of 80mph (130kph) were recorded on Monday – making it a category 1 typhoon – bringing damage and disruption to businesses, transport, infrastructure and the environment.
By Wednesday, 23 people had been injured, 17 of whom were in Okinawa. The typhoon damaged 57 homes and led to 60,000 homes losing electricity. In addition to this, 1.52 million people were advised to evacuate by authorities. The typhoon damaged the exterior wall of Himeji Castle, a Unesco world heritage site in western Japan. The maximum recorded wind speed at Himeji was 56mph, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. The typhoon has now weakened into a tropical depression and has moved eastwards, away from the islands.
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© Photograph: Franck Robichon/EPA

© Photograph: Franck Robichon/EPA

© Photograph: Franck Robichon/EPA