The world’s largest nuclear power plant pauses and restarts

In this week’s news roundup, we report on the restart and shutdown of Unit 6 of the Kashiwazaki Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant. According to TEPCO, there is no risk of radiation leakage. Tetsuya Yamama, the murderer of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, was sentenced to life imprisonment. Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae announced snap elections on February 8. Economic Security Minister Kimi Onoda has refuted rumors that she is a VTuber and cosplay fan. A popular Japanese YouTuber is facing backlash after vlogging about Air India.

Tokyo Electric Power suspends nuclear reactor restarts, unsure when problem will be resolved

Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) restarted operations at the world’s largest nuclear power plant at 7 pm on Wednesday. However, less than six hours later, the restart was suspended. Like other reactors in the country, Unit 6 of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant in Niigata Prefecture was shut down after the 2011 Fukushima disaster. This week, it became the 15th plant to restart.

However, the restart was stopped when an alarm related to the operation and monitoring of the control rods sounded. “We don’t expect the problem to be resolved within a day or two. It’s unclear how long it will take,” site chief Takeyuki Inagaki told a news conference on Thursday. TEPCO said the reactor was safe and there was no risk of radiation leakage.

Shinzo Abe murderer Tetsuya Yamama sentenced to life imprisonment

The Nara District Court on Wednesday sentenced 45-year-old Tetsuya Yamama to life in prison for the murder of Shinzo Abe, three and a half years after he committed the crime. according to Japan Broadcasting CorporationThe defendant remained calm and kept his hands on the table as the verdict was read. Presiding judge Shinichi Tanaka described the crime as “despicable” and “extremely malicious”.

“The defendant personally approached the victim, waited for an opportunity, and fired two shots from behind, aiming at the victim’s upper body.” explain Tanaka. “This act was despicable and extremely vicious.” He added: “The bullet from the homemade gun struck a wide area. In addition to the victim, other people may have been hit.” The defense team argued for a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

Image: Wikimedia

Prime Minister Gao Shi announces snap election on February 8

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi announced on Monday that she would dissolve the lower house of parliament, paving the way for snap elections on February 8. Japan’s first female leader aims to capitalize on the high approval ratings she has enjoyed since taking office last October. However, her popularity contrasts with the Liberal Democratic Party’s (LDP) approval rating, which hovers around 30%.

The decision to call for early elections was therefore seen as a risk. “I’m putting my future as prime minister at risk,” Takaichi said. “I want the people to decide directly whether the management of the country can be entrusted to me.” The lower house is due to be dissolved today. Voting to elect the 465 lower house members will begin on January 27.

Japan’s Minister of Economic and Security Kimimi Onoda (left) and Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae (right) | Wikimedia

Kimi Onoda debunks online rumors that she is a fan of Cosplayer and VTuber

On Sunday night, Economic Security Minister Kimi Onoda updated her X account to warn against the spread of false information about her on social media. she said while commenting on the video that appeared on her Instagram page explain“Even just from this video, there are so many false claims that I could go on forever…” She then corrected some of them, including one about her being a VTuber.

“Again, I have absolutely zero knowledge or experience with VTubers,” Onoda posted. She added that cosplay is not her thing, she can’t build computers and she doesn’t have a motorcycle or motorcycle license. “They take old photos or random images and arbitrarily create fake profiles spreading completely fabricated information. It’s honestly just a huge nuisance…please ignore them and don’t watch.”

Image: Ikechan (via Youtube)

Japanese YouTuber Ikechan faces backlash after Air India vlog

A well-known Japanese YouTuber named Ikechan was criticized this week for commenting on the number of Indians on a flight to India. Over the weekend, she shared her latest vlog online X The caption read, “My first trip to India, on the notoriously bad Air India!! The plane was packed with Indians.” The tweet has been viewed more than 24 million times.

The post was met with heavy criticism, including from Japan who apologized on behalf of Ike-chan. “As a Japanese, I’m sorry. This doesn’t represent us – it’s just attention seeking.” release An X user. Ji Chang stirred further controversy when he referenced last year’s Air India crash in the thumbnail and added the words “worst reputation.” She was accused of trivializing the tragedy and later deleted the caption in a follow-up post.

New portrait of Qing Jin © NIHON SUMO KYOKAI

Ukrainian star Qing Nishiki leads the New Year sumo competition

After 12 days of competition at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, Ukraine’s Aoshi Nishiki has taken the lead in the New Year’s Grand Sumo Championship. The 21-year-old moved to the second-highest ozeki in record time, beating joint leader Atami Fuji to take the commanding lead on Thursday. He has won 10 of 12 games so far. Yokozuna duo Onori and Hoshoryu each have eight wins.

In other sports news, Ayumu Hirano suffered multiple fractures and bruises during Saturday’s World Cup match in Switzerland. The reigning men’s snowboard halfpipe Olympic champion has still been selected for the Japanese team to compete in the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics starting next month. No skeletal misalignment was found during an examination on Monday, according to the Japan Ski Association.

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Updated on January 23, 2026