Typhoon Halong hits Izu Islands

In this week’s news roundup, we have the latest on Typhoon Halong Bay, Takaichi Sanae and two of Japan’s newest Nobel Prize winners. We also reported on an Asahi beer shortage and a bear attack at a supermarket in Gunma.

Typhoon Halong passes through, and rainfall on Bajang Island reaches a record high

Typhoon Halong hit the Izu Islands south of Tokyo on Thursday, bringing record rainfall to parts of the region. According to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), the maximum wind speed on Hachijo Island reached 197 kilometers per hour. As a result, several houses and buildings were damaged. Just under 350mm of rainfall was recorded on the island in the 12 hours to midday on October 9. This is the highest rainfall since records began in 2003.

The Japan Meteorological Agency issued a rare heavy rain emergency warning for the island, which was later downgraded. The situation in Oiso Town, Kanagawa Prefecture, is also dire. Three male fishermen were looking for a fishing spot on the beach when they were suddenly swept away by the waves. Two men in their 50s successfully came ashore. Tragically, a man in his 60s was found dead nearly two kilometers offshore.

Sanae Takaichi will become Japan’s first female prime minister

On Saturday, Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party elected Sanae Takaichi as its first female leader. In the second round of the election, she defeated Shinjiro Koizumi, the son of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, by 185 votes to 156 votes. In the run-off elections, the votes of MPs matter more than those of rank-and-file party members. In the first round of the election, she received 183 of 589 votes, ahead of Koizumi and Hayashi who received 164 and 134 votes respectively.

Takaichi is currently expected to be elected prime minister on October 15. However, her rise to power has sparked concerns within the Komeito Party, the Liberal Democratic Party’s coalition partner, with members worried about her stance on political funding scandals and historical issues. Komeito leader Tetsuo Saito met with high school students last Saturday. “I candidly share the deep concerns of our supporters,” he said. “If these issues are not addressed, there will be no coalition government.”

2025 Nobel Prize winners Professor Susumu Kitagawa (left) and Professor Simon Sakaguchi (right)

Two Japanese win Nobel Prize

Haruki Murakami missed out on the Nobel Prize for Literature again on Thursday, but there was still much to celebrate for people in the country as two Japanese nationals won the Nobel Prize in the same year for the first time in a decade. Immunologist Shimon Sakaguchi, 74, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine on Monday. Two days later, Susumu Kitagawa, also 74, won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

The Nobel committee announced Monday at a ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden, that Sakaguchi, a professor at Osaka University, won the prize along with U.S. citizens Mary E. Brunco ​​and Fred Ramsdell “for their fundamental discoveries in peripheral immune tolerance.” Kitagawa, who specializes in coordination chemistry, received the award along with Richard Robson and Omar M. Yaghi. The three were the first to create molecular structures called metal-organic frameworks (MOFs).

Gunma supermarket bear attack highlights surge in bear encounters nationwide

Two people were injured in a bear attack at a supermarket in Gunma Prefecture on Tuesday night. One shopper was reportedly assaulted inside the store and another in the parking lot. According to NHK, the bear, an adult about 1.4 meters long, was rampaging through the fish and sushi areas. It is said that there were more than 30 customers in the store at the time.

Earlier in the day, a farmer in Gojome City, Akita Prefecture, was attacked by a bear. He called police around 8 a.m., saying the carnivorous mammal had bitten him in his yard. About an hour after the incident occurred in the farmer’s garden, a bear was seen in his next-door neighbor’s yard. Later that night, two bears were captured nearby by a local hunter association.

Japan could face widespread shortage of extra-dry beer after Asahi beer suffered cyberattack

On Monday, Asahi announced that six of its breweries, which were forced to close due to a cyber attack, had partially resumed operations. It has also reopened food plants and some soft drink plants. However, the reopened factories are “not yet fully operational,” the company added. The brand said in a statement on Friday that it was “unable to provide a clear timetable for recovery.”

A ransomware incident that began in early October crippled the company’s computer systems. Many supermarkets and convenience stores, including 7-Eleven and Lawson, said they were out of stock. By Saturday night, some izakaya owners in Tokyo reported that their barrels were running dry, leaving loyal Super Dry fans to find replacements. The attack was reportedly carried out using ransomware, which encrypts data and demands payment before it can be released.

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