Latest news with #Ichikawa
Indian Express
19-06-2025
- Indian Express
Why Japan's most celebrated airport is slowly sinking into the sea
Japan's Kansai International Airport (KIX), celebrated for its architecture, efficiency and precision baggage handling, is now fighting a far less glamorous battle—against nature itself. Built on a sprawling man-made island in Osaka Bay, the engineering marvel is slowly but steadily sinking into the clay bed it stands on, raising urgent questions about its long-term future and the viability of such ambitious offshore infrastructure. Inaugurated in 1994, KIX was once touted as a triumph of Japanese engineering. It was envisioned as a solution to congestion at Osaka's older airport and has since become a bustling international hub, linking over 30 million passengers to 91 cities across 25 countries. But three decades later, gravity and geology are proving to be formidable foes. The airport's original island has sunk 12.5 feet since opening. The second island, added during expansion, has fared worse, descending a staggering 57 feet since landfill work began. Last year alone, 21 cm of subsidence was recorded at 54 points on this newer island, South China Morning Post reported. The operator, Kansai Airports, insists that a degree of settlement was always expected and that recent measurements show the rate of sinking is slowing. 'It is sinking by less than 10cm (4 inches) a year now, but that is slowing and manageable,' said Hiroo Ichikawa, professor emeritus of urban planning and policy at Meiji University, SCMP reported. He acknowledged that while some missteps were made—like building critical infrastructure underground, which proved disastrous during a typhoon—engineers are now better prepared. The vulnerability of the site was dramatically exposed in 2018 when Typhoon Jebi, the strongest storm to hit Japan in 25 years, forced the complete shutdown of KIX. A storm surge swamped the airport, cutting power, flooding the basement-level disaster response centre and electric substation, and leaving 5,000 people stranded without power for over 24 hours. The project, constructed atop 20 metres of soft alluvial clay, was always a gamble. Despite using 2.2 million vertical pipe drains and massive landfill (including 200 million cubic metres of debris and 48,000 tetrapods) to stabilise the ground, the clay has compressed more than predicted. Over $150 million has since been spent raising sea walls around the islands to counter the threat of encroaching water. But not all experts are raising the alarm. Ichikawa called the project a 'valuable learning experience' and said similar airports, like Chubu Centrair near Nagoya, have benefited from the lessons learned at KIX. Opened in 2005 and smaller in scale, Centrair has experienced significantly less subsidence and was named the world's best regional airport for the 11th consecutive year in 2025 by Skytrax. 'The effect of sinking was taken into consideration in the design,' Ichikawa noted, SCMP reported. 'Engineers are constantly monitoring conditions at KIX and are working to limit the subsidence, but nothing is impossible and it really is just a question of cost.'
The Mainichi
17-06-2025
- Business
- The Mainichi
Tokyo stocks rise on easing concerns over Israel-Iran conflict
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Tokyo stocks climbed Tuesday, with the Nikkei index ending at a four-month high, on hopes tensions in the Middle East will ease after Iran was reportedly seeking a cease-fire with Israel. The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended up 225.41 points, or 0.59 percent, from Monday at 38,536.74, its highest level since Feb. 21. The broader Topix index finished 9.82 points, or 0.35 percent, higher at 2,786.95. On the top-tier Prime Market, gainers were led by nonferrous metal, glass and ceramics product and real estate issues. The U.S. dollar briefly rose to the lower 145 yen range in Tokyo, as the yen, seen as a safe-haven asset, was sold amid hopes for an easing of the Israel-Iran conflict following a report that Teheran sent a message to the United States and Israel seeking to end hostilities. The currency market was not much affected by the Bank of Japan decision Tuesday to slow down the pace of reducing its government bond purchases, as the measure landed within market expectations, dealers said. Stocks gained for a second straight day after Wall Street advanced overnight as oil prices dropped following recent surges due to the conflict between the two Middle East countries. "The Nikkei's rise on Monday possibly reflected hopes of a near-term end to the conflict, with the latest news backing such a view supporting the market today," said Masahiro Ichikawa, chief market strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Co. However, gains were limited as Japan-U.S. tariff negotiations appeared to stall after their leaders failed to reach a deal over steep levies at their summit, brokers said. "While the outcome came mostly within expectations, it gave the impression that reaching an agreement would be much more difficult than initially thought," Ichikawa said.
Tokyo Reported
15-06-2025
- Tokyo Reported
Nagano father of victims in yakuza shooting calls for support
NAGANO (TR) – 'I don't want to forget these curtains and window until I leave this house vacant.' Those are the words of 60-year-old Takenori Ichikawa. Five years ago, a yakuza member broke into the house in the town of Sakaki through the window and took the lives of his daughter and son. Last month, Ichikawa spoke to Fuji News Network (June 2) about his unhealed grief. Since the incident, the father has continued to call for the expansion of support for crime victims, saying that 'there is still a lot of room for improvement.' On the night of May 26, 2020, gang member Sho Ozawa, aged 35 at the time, broke into and shot and killed Ichikawa's eldest daughter, 22-year-old Anna, and second son, 16-year-old Naoto, with a handgun. Ozawa then committed suicide on the spot. Two days before the incident, police had obtained an arrest warrant for Ozawa on suspicion of assaulting Ichikawa's eldest son. Police had also taken measures to evacuate the son. However, this did not prevent the crime from being committed against the family. 'Yesterday [May 19] was Naoto's 21st birthday,' Ichikawa said. 'I spent the whole day thinking, 'What kind of 21 year old would he have been?' Anna will be 28 on her birthday, so she is at that age where she would have started a family and raised children. But a life surrounded by many grandchildren is no longer possible, and that has become the future for me and my wife.' On the night of May 26, 2020, gang member Sho Ozawa shot and killed two people in the town of Sakaki (X) False rumors Adding to the pain are the 'false rumors' and 'slander,' such as 'the eldest son had ties to a gang' and 'it's the father's fault for not letting him escape.' 'The loss of two children is already painful for our family, and the secondary damage adds even more to the suffering. It's been a difficult five years,' said Ichikawa. The government is offering some support. In 2022, the prefecture enacted the Crime Victim Support Ordinance, which includes the payment of condolence money to bereaved families and victims. The movement for such support by municipalities accelerated following the murder of four people in Nakano City in 2023. Currently, 73 of the 77 municipalities have ordinances in place. The remaining four municipalities are expected to enact their ordinances by fiscal 2025. Ichikawa said, 'I believe that being in a stable economic environment is absolutely necessary for the psychological damage caused by crime to heal, so this ordinance will allow for significant assistance to victims. I think it is a big step forward that [support] has become possible thanks to the enactment of the ordinance.' 'Tomoni-kai' 'Tomoni-kai' was launched last year by citizen volunteers in Chikuma City, Nagano Prefecture. In order to spread understanding about crime victim support, the group meets once a month to learn about the current state of efforts nationwide. Ichikawa also participated in the activity on May 17. 'Tomoni-kai' representative Yamazaki Kazuo said, 'In everyday life, it is difficult to understand the feelings, living conditions and hardships of those who have become victims of crime. It is very important to actively look at the crimes that occur every day in the world from the victim's perspective.' Ichikawa said, 'It is important to let people know, and if you feel that the voices of the victims are strongly needed when talking about the reality, we would like to cooperate.' Five years have passed since the incident. Ichikawa said he would like to continue to share his experiences and thoughts as a victim in order to expand support for crime victims. 'It is true that there are still some areas that have not been noticed and some areas that I think can be done. The bereaved families of victims of violent crimes are so confused that they do not know what to ask for, and they lose sight of themselves for a long period of time, so I think it is necessary to understand this and use your imagination to create support,' he said.
The Mainichi
04-06-2025
- Business
- The Mainichi
Nikkei snaps 3-day losses as chip shares sought on firm AI demand
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Tokyo stocks rose Wednesday with the Nikkei index snapping a three-day losing streak, as semiconductor-related shares were sought on expectations for continued growth in demand for artificial intelligence. The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended up 300.64 points, or 0.80 percent, from Tuesday at 37,747.45. The broader Topix index finished 14.02 points, or 0.51 percent, higher at 2,785.13. On the top-tier Prime Market, gainers were led by pulp and paper, oil and coal product and securities house issues. In the foreign exchange market, the U.S. dollar briefly strengthened to the lower 144 yen range in Tokyo, lifted by receding concern over a U.S. economic slowdown following stronger-than-expected job openings data, dealers said. Heavyweight chip shares tracked overnight gains by their U.S. counterparts after U.S. technology giant Meta Platforms Inc. announced it signed a deal to secure electricity from a nuclear plant to meet growing power demand from AI and data centers, brokers said. "Firm AI demand is one of the factors needed for a stock market recovery, and hopes for a reviewing of U.S. export curbs on chips to China would grow if tensions between the two largest economies recede," said Masahiro Ichikawa, chief market strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Co. "The outlook for U.S.-China relations is a significant factor for semiconductors," Ichikawa added. The yen's depreciation also helped lift some export-oriented auto and machinery issues as the weaker yen increases exporters' overseas profits when repatriated. Market sentiment was supported by hopes for progress in U.S.-China tariff negotiations with the two leaders expected to talk soon, while the doubling of U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to 50 percent, which took effect Wednesday, had little impact on the market, brokers said.
The Star
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Star
Disabled Japanese writer makes literary history
When Saou Ichikawa was named the winner of the Akutagawa Prize in 2023, one of Japan's oldest and most prestigious literary awards, she flashed a thumbs-up to her parents and editor before going onstage to receive it in front of a gold screen. While the 45-year-old novelist was the 181st winner of the prize, she was the first to require a ramp to ascend the stage. Ichikawa has congenital myopathy, a muscle disorder that requires her to use a wheelchair for mobility and a ventilator to breathe, and was the first author with a severe physical disability to win. She used her moment in the national spotlight to highlight how people with disabilities face isolation and are invisible in society, a theme she took up in her prize-winning novel, Hunchback . 'I wrote this novel thinking that it is a problem that there were few authors with disabilities,' she told reporters, pressing a button on her larynx to speak. 'Why did the first winner not appear until 2023? I want everyone to think about that.' It was a long journey for Ichikawa, who was removed from school after being put on the ventilator at age 13. But she refused to disappear, becoming an author in her 20s in an effort to reclaim a voice in society. For two decades, she wrote more than 30 pulp romance and fantasy stories meant for young readers. But all of her manuscripts were rejected. Hunchback draws heavily from Ichikawa's personal experiences as a woman living with a severe physical disability in Instagram/ Whilereadingandwalking In 2019, when she enrolled in an online degree program at Tokyo's Waseda University, one of Japan's top schools, she began thinking about how people with disabilities are rarely represented in literature. She resolved to change that by telling the story of a character like herself, reliant on a wheelchair and a ventilator because of a major disability. Hunchback , her first work in which she said she took up a serious topic, bared a part of her experience for readers to see. 'There were only very stereotyped representations of the disabled, and I wanted to break that,' Ichikawa said in an interview at the home of her parents, with whom she lives. 'I wanted to show that we are people, too, with a diverse range of personalities and desires.' These include sexual desires, which her main character, a woman named Shaka who has a similar muscle disorder, uses to assert control over her own life and to seek revenge on a society that tries to deny her humanity. 'Through Japan's history, disabilities and illnesses were seen as something shameful to be kept hidden,' Ichikawa said. 'When pregnant women passed by people with severe disabilities, they were told to show a mirror to ward off evil spirits.' She stuck with writing, despite many setbacks, because she had no other way to be heard. Still, Ichikawa, who writes on an iPad, never imagined that her first work of 'pure literature' would win a top prize. 'When I heard, my mind froze,' she said. 'I think I was accepted because of my novelty, but I hope I can open the way for others to write more freely.' Ableism and social inclusion Ichikawa's breakthrough comes as Japan is becoming more aware of what is called ableism, the assumption that society belongs to the able-bodied. In 2019, two people with severe disabilities won the election to Japan's parliament, where renovations were required to accommodate their wheelchairs. An inclusive society begins by recognising and meeting the needs of the disabled community. Photo: 123rf 'Her winning the Akutagawa Prize has made a lot of people suddenly see the invisible barriers,' said Yuki Arai, a professor of literature at Nishogakusha University in Tokyo. Hunchback is a shout of anger at a society that doesn't realise it's denying them participation.' The most frequently cited passage of Ichikawa's book is a rant by the main character, who wants to read but cannot grasp a book in her hands. In a burst of angry self-loathing, Shaka blames an 'ableist machismo' that blinds most people to the barriers shutting out those with disabilities. 'Able-bodied Japanese people have likely never even imagined a hunchback monster struggling to read a physical book,' Shaka says. Although born with her illness, Ichikawa was healthy as a young child, enjoying dance and gymnastics in elementary school. Knowing that her condition could worsen, her parents took her on trips to Thailand and Canada. After Ichikawa started requiring a wheelchair and ventilator, her parents built a home by the coast so she could still see the ocean. She said this was nevertheless a dark time when she was plagued by nightmares, including one in which her floor was littered with the carcasses of dead bugs. Later, she read in a book on dreams that this reflected a fear of being left behind. Despite multiple book rejections, Ichikawa didn't give up, saying she had 'nothing else to do.' Hunchback has exceeded her dreams, with an English translation recently released. Now that she has ascended to a bigger stage, Ichikawa has no intention of leaving it. 'I plan to go on a rapid-fire spree of writing spontaneous novels for the next few years,' she said. 'I want to break preconceptions and prejudices.' – ©2025 The New York Times Company
