Explosion at US base in southern Japan injures 4 SDF members
An explosion at a US military base in Okinawa Prefecture, southern Japan, has injured four members of Japan's Self-Defense Forces.
Police say fire officials informed them of the blast in Yomitan Village on Monday morning.
Prefectural officials say the blast occurred at a temporary warehouse for unexploded bombs. The facility, located in the Kadena ammunition storage area, is overseen by the prefectural government.
The officials say none of the four injured SDF personnel is in life-threatening condition.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NHK
a day ago
- NHK
Japan police: cases of sexually explicit deepfakes top 100 in 2024
Japan's National Police Agency has told NHK that in 2024 they discovered more than 100 cases of sexually explicit fake images depicting underage children. So-called "deep-fake" pornographic images created with generative AI and image-creating apps are a major issue worldwide. Japan is no exception. Last year, police received more than 100 reports of such cases and consultation requests. Of those, at least 17 were confirmed to involve generative AI-created images, and 15 cases involved images created by classmates or others who knew the person depicted in the images. In some cases, creators of such images have been charged. A case has been sent to prosecutors involving a male junior high student who created a nude image of a fully-dressed girl in his class. He is suspected of committing defamation, after distributing the fake image to several classmates on a social media platform. Another case involves a man who used generative AI to merge a photo of a school-age girl that he surreptitiously took at a convenience store into an image of a naked adult woman. He was arrested after entering a building for the purpose of voyeurism. In another case, a suspect misused a yearbook. The National Police Agency says reported cases are probably just the tip of the iceberg. It is offering support to such victims, and say they will deal with cases based on law and evidence. The agency plans to share the cases of sexually explicit deepfake images with experts and relevant government officials and consider how to protect youth from such abuse.
Japan Times
2 days ago
- Japan Times
Police and prosecutors apologize to Ohkawara Kakohki after illegal probe
Tokyo police and public prosecutors on Friday apologized to the president of Ohkawara Kakohki, a former executive and others after a recent court ruling on a damages lawsuit found their investigations into the machinery-maker were illegal. Tetsuro Kamata, deputy superintendent-general of Tokyo's Metropolitan Police Department, and Hirohide Mori, head of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutor's Office's public security division, made the apology to President Masaaki Okawara, 76, and others, including Junji Shimada, 72, a former executive, in a meeting at the company's head office in Yokohama. "We deeply apologize for the great stress and burdens we have caused," Kamata said. "We will do our best to prevent any recurrence," he added, bowing. Mori said, "I apologize from the bottom of my heart." In reply, Okawara underlined the need to fully examine the case that hit his company and make sure that similar incidents never happen again. The bereaved family of Shizuo Aishima, a former executive who was diagnosed with stomach cancer while in detention and later died, did not attend the meeting. The family said it cannot accept an apology at this time. A lawyer for the company submitted a written request that called for including a third party in a probe of the illegal investigations by the MPD and the Supreme Public Prosecutor's Office. In March 2020, the MPD's Public Security Bureau arrested Okawara and two other company executives, alleging that the company exported without permission a spray dryer that could be repurposed for weapons production. In July 2021, the district public prosecutor's office dropped the charges against them, just before the first criminal court hearing on the case. The president and others later filed the damages lawsuit against the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the state on the grounds that the authorities' investigations were unreasonable. Active police officers involved in the investigations testified that the case was a "fabrication." On May 28 this year, the Tokyo High Court upheld a lower court ruling that found the arrests and the indictment illegal, ordering the state and the metropolitan government to pay a total of ¥166 million in damages. On June 11, the MPD and the prosecutors office said they would not appeal the high court ruling and indicated plans to apologize directly to the company.
Japan Times
3 days ago
- Japan Times
Hyogo governor referred to prosecutors over alleged vote-buying
Police referred Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito to prosecutors Friday on suspicion of vote-buying over his alleged payments to a public relations company for campaign activities in the prefecture's gubernatorial election last November, people familiar with the investigation said. The prefectural police sent papers on Saito, 47, to prosecutors after a criminal complaint was filed last December over the governor's alleged payments in violation of the public offices election law. The police also sent papers on the 33-year-old president of the PR firm. Saito has also been referred to prosecutors for an alleged breach of trust related to a victory parade for local baseball teams. The governor has consistently denied any wrongdoing. Speaking to reporters in Kobe on Friday, Saito said, "There is no change in my recognition that I've acted in compliance with laws, including the public offices election law." The PR company president has not responded to requests for comment. Saito is suspected of paying ¥715,000 to the PR firm on Nov. 4 last year for work on his re-election campaign, which included planning a PR strategy and managing the campaign's social media presence. The PR company president said in an online post on Nov. 20, 2024, three days after the election, that her company had been tasked with overall PR activities by Saito's team. The governor later refuted her claim during a news conference. In December, a lawyer and a university professor filed a criminal complaint against Saito over the alleged payments. After the PR firm refused to cooperate adequately with requests for voluntary questioning and document submissions, investigators seized evidence, including a smartphone, during a raid on the company's office in February. Saito first took office as Hyogo governor in August 2021. After being ousted from the post by the prefectural assembly last September over harassment allegations, he won re-election two months later.
