The Latest Breaking News from Niigata

NIIGATA -- Shrine maidens tossed omikuji fortune slips into the air at Gokoku Shrine in Niigata to raise the luck of visitors on their first shrine visit in the New Year.

In 1977, 13-year-old Megumi Yokota vanished from the Japanese coastal city of Niigata on her way home from school. Twenty-five years later, North Korea admitted that its agents had snatched her away, along with 12 other Japanese citizens, in order to train its spies. In a groundbreaking diplomatic move, Pyongyang…

Japan's government warned residents of Miyagi, Yamagata and Niigata prefectures to seek shelter indoors after North Korea's missile launch, according to J-Alert Emergency Broadcasting System issued on Thursday.

In the 1970s and 1980s, North Korea organised a kidnapping campaign in "enemy" countries. As one of its closest neighbours, Japan became a prime target. The programme, decided at the highest level of the Communist state, was likely intended to train North Korean spies in foreign languages and customs. FRANCE…

Japan holds the rotating presidency of the Group of Seven next year, meaning that not only will the summit be held in Hiroshima in May, but also ministerial meetings will be held throughout the nation.

Torrential rains are battering towns and villages in Yamagata, in Japan's central Niigata, where roads are now flooded and rivers have burst their banks as officials report at least three missing people and a massive 500,000 evacuations

The governor of Japan's Niigata prefecture easily defeated his anti-nuclear opponent in an election on Sunday, public broadcaster NHK said, a result that could embolden members of the ruling party who are pushing for the country's largely idled nuclear energy plants to be revived.

Japanese yellowtail fishing grounds have undergone a dramatic shift in recent years. Hokkaido, which previously registered next to no catches, registered the nation's largest annual yellowtail haul in 2020, while Toyama and Niigata prefectures, traditionally known for their winter yellowtail, continue to register poor catches.

NIIGATA -- Late for school, a young girl bursts from her house with a slice of bread clamped between her teeth. This busy-morning scene is a staple of Japanese anime and manga, but has recently been revamped, with an onigiri rice ball supplanting the bread.