Each week, here at Osaka.com, we bring you a selection of some of the top stories about Osaka making the local and national news here in Japan. Sometimes it’s serious, sometimes it’s funny, but it’s always direct to you, from Osaka.
Hospitalizations and Deaths as Osaka Feels the Heat
Osaka bore the brunt of some truly bizarre weather patterns this week. One minute there was torrential rain, next it was blazing sunshine. However, the same, stifling heat remained ever present. As a result, 18 people across Japan, including an undisclosed number in Osaka, tragically died over the past 7 days due to heatstroke. More than 3,000 have been hospitalized nationally due to extreme heat, with about 200 cases, mostly elderly, in a serious condition.
Osaka’s stifling heat peaked at 33 degrees. However temperatures hovered around 30 for most of the week.
Officials in Osaka have asked the public to remain alert, to keep well hydrated at all times, and to rest when they start to feel tired.
Weather experts emphasized this week, that even when the weather appears cloudy and overcast, as it has for the majority of this week, the heat can still pose a danger.
“This isn’t just about getting sunburnt,” said a local representative. “The heat and humidity can cause severe dehydration even without direct sunlight.
“We encourage everyone to do all they can to keep cool.”
Current Heat Just a Taste of Things to Come
Unfortunately, this latest spate of heat-related injuries and fatalities may just be the beginning. Japan’s annual summer temperatures usually peak around late July or early August. So, we could still be as much as 6 weeks away from the peak of the summer heat.
Meteorologists predict that heavy rains, expected next week will provide some temporary respite. However, this also brings with it the dangers of localized flooding and high waves, especially around the Osaka Bay area.
It seems we’re in for a rough couple of months of weather in Osaka, whatever happens. Stay safe everyone.
Osaka’s Korean Diaspora Turn Up Diplomatic Heat on Anniversary
June 23rd marked 60 years since the normalizing of relations between Japan and South Korea. Before WWII, Korea was a Japanese colony, and alleged war crimes, particularly in relation to violence and sexual coercion against Korean women committed during the nation’s long and bloody battle for liberation from Japanese rule remain a sore point in diplomatic relations.
Koreans in Osaka gathered to mark the occasion this week. Some renewed calls for the Japanese government to do more for the victims of these crimes.
However, on the Japanese side of things, there have already been numerous government apologies and acknowledgements of these crimes. Many Japanese feel that the matter should now be considered closed. Others go further and accuse the Korean government of using it as a point-scoring political football, to distract from their own domestic problems.
Not much was said by South Korea’s government on the issue this week. They have their own internal political strife to contend with at the moment. The same could be said of Japan’s ruling party, The LDP, with an upper house election imminent.
South Korea’s new president Lee Jae Myung has spoken of taking a “pragmatic” approach to relations with neighboring nations.
Most of Osaka’s Koreans, at least those I spoke to, hope this is the case. They want acknowledgment of Japan’s past crimes, but they also want both governments to work together to forge a better future. A future where such atrocities can never happen again.
And Finally…
Historians in Osaka celebrated a momentous discovery this week. Researchers announced that knife and armor fragments, said to have come from the Tomb of Emperor Nintoku, in Osaka Prefecture are, indeed, 5th century artefacts from the aforementioned burial site.
Researchers at Kokugakuin University in Tokyo confirmed this week that the pieces, which had been held in a private collection until recently, are the genuine article.
Both the knife and the armor were forged using highly advanced techniques for the time. The Daisen Kofun, to give the Tomb site its official title, is the largest of its kind in Japan. Noted for their large, keyhole-shaped structure, such Kofun are found all across Japan. However, they are so old, that verifying who exactly is entombed there remains a point of debate among modern academics.
Emperor Nintoku is a semi-mythical figure in Japanese history. It’s widely acknowledged that he was a real person, but very little is known about his life. The exact dates of his rule also remain the subject of much debate and conjecture.
Whoever’s remains actually reside within the Daisen Kofun, this latest discovery is sure to only further heighten interest in one of Osaka’s most famous historical landmarks.
That’s all for now but be sure to check back again same time next week for another round of this week in Osaka!
