Please activate JavaScript function on your browser Hotels utilizing movable shipping containers and trailers as guest rooms are opening across Japan They are mainly located along suburban highways have nearby parking facilities and are cheaper than normal hotels please disable the ad blocking feature and reload the page This website uses cookies to collect information about your visit for purposes such as showing you personalized ads and content By clicking “Accept all,” you will allow the use of these cookies Users accessing this site from EEA countries and UK are unable to view this site without your consent By Akio Oikawa / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer Operators say that these hotels can also contribute to local communities such as by moving into areas hit by disasters to accommodate evacuees One such hotel can be found on a site along a national highway in Yachimata are the guest rooms of Hotel R9 The Yard Yachimata Each container is a double or twin room about 13 square meters in size One serving of frozen curry and rice is provided for each guest which can be heated using the microwave in the room The hotel’s footprint is about 2,600 square meters and a large parking lot is located on site “I can drive up here by car and go directly to my room without using an elevator,” said Masayuki Fukushima Accommodation for one person starts at ¥6,200 per night in Chiba Prefecture has been running container hotels since 2017 mainly strategically located near industrial parks and expressway interchanges The company currently operates about 100 such hotels with a total of about 3,500 rooms from the Kanto region to Okinawa They are used by many people on business trips are required to be licensed by public health centers They have advantages over regular hotels such as shorter construction times and the ability to be moved and used as evacuation facilities in the event of a disaster The company has signed agreements with about 160 municipalities to dispatch its container rooms to them in the event of a disaster some of its containers were used as temporary medical facilities in Tochigi Prefecture “Our hotels don’t have large baths or restaurants,” said Develop spokesperson Kana Asogawa “But we aim to provide comfortable rooms with high-quality beds and other amenities at reasonable prices.” the Trail Inn chain in the Tohoku and Kanto regions uses trailer houses with wooden interiors as guest rooms These trailers have passed automobile inspections In response to the increase in tourism after the COVID-19 pandemic offers larger guest rooms that can accommodate families with children “We aim to offer our safe and secure guest rooms with the same standards as regular hotels in more locations,” said Koji Nakada container and trailer hotels can operate in areas where there have been few accommodation facilities in the past chief consultant at JTB Tourism Research & Consulting Co “These hotels are also opening in resorts in more remote areas where regular hotels could not be built,” Okada added “I hope that tourists will consider effectively incorporating these hotels into their travel plans to enjoy their out-of-the-ordinary feel.” Our weekly ePaper presents the most noteworthy recent topics in an exciting © 2025 The Japan News - by The Yomiuri Shimbun Today's print edition Home Delivery Three years have passed since a truck driven by a drunken driver plowed into a group of elementary school students in the city of Yachimata resulting in two deaths and three severe injuries drunken driving collisions have continued to occur with approximately 2,300 cases reported last year marking an increase from the previous year One contributing factor is thought to be alcohol addiction.googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1499653692894-0'); }); "People who are addicted to alcohol often cry when they drink wondering why they can’t stop," said Hiroaki Shiokawa chairman of an abstinence association in Chiba Prefecture Shiokawa himself has battled the same addiction In a time of both misinformation and too much information quality journalism is more crucial than ever.By subscribing Your subscription plan doesn't allow commenting. To learn more see our FAQ Sponsored contents planned and edited by JT Media Enterprise Division Your browser does not support JavaScript, or it is disabled．Please check the site policy for more information National Report Shocked and angered parents and residents are demanding action to ensure road safety for children following the deaths of two young students who were struck by a drunk driver in a school zone in Chiba Prefecture when his 7-ton vehicle hit a group of five children on their way home from nearby Choyo Elementary School at around 3:25 p.m An 8-year-old girl is in critical condition Authorities detected alcohol exceeding the legal limit on Umezawa's breath Chiba prefectural police arrested Umezawa on the spot on suspicion of violating the law of Punishment of Acts Inflicting Death and Injury on Others by Driving a Motor Vehicle police sent him to the Chiba District Public Prosecutors Office on suspicion of dangerous driving resulting in death and injury Umezawa was headed back to his company’s office and he told investigators that he had a drink along the way Police believe Umezawa was under the influence and could not operate his truck normally and decided to apply the charge which carries a much more severe statutory penalty Umezawa likely consumed alcohol a few hours before the accident He told police that “a person came running out” from the side of the road and he swerved to the left to avoid a collision and hit a power pole But police did not find evidence that backs up Umezawa’s statement a security camera nearby captured Umezawa’s truck slowly veering left and hitting a power pole the five children’s classmates and their parents have visited the accident site one after another A 53-year-old man whose child attends the school came to offer flowers “Children are the joy of life for parents,” he said Many did not hide their anger at the suspect do not drive!” said an 80-year-old woman who lives near Kaito's home She said she often saw Kaito playing cheerfully and walking his dog “I am deeply sorry for his parents,” she said A 31-year-old man whose son is in the same class with one of the victims said with indignation “I can’t still believe that (the classmate) died ACCIDENT SITE PREVIOUSLY IDENTIFIED AS UNSAFE Chiba Governor Toshihito Kumagai told reporters on June 29 that the prefectural education board will conduct an emergency inspection of school zones The accident has also strongly affected education officials of Yachimata who have recognized the area surrounding the accident site as a dangerous school zone and sought to strengthen safety measures The central government ordered local governments to conduct a safety inspection of school zones and implement thorough measures in 2012 after a vehicle hit children walking to their school in a group and killed two of the students in Kameoka The education board of Yachimata inspected school zones for 13 elementary and junior high schools back then the city established a school zone traffic safety program identifying unsafe locations and taking requests from residents such as for installing traffic signals The June 28 accident site has been identified as an unsafe location difficult for large vehicles to pass through at the same time and there is no guardrail Neighbors have long urged the city to do something to make the road safer for children a truck struck a group of students from Choyo Elementary School in the school zone and injured four The city has set up signs and made pavement markings to warn drivers that the road is a school zone A plan to install traffic signals has been discussed but the accident occurred and children’s lives have been lost,” a city education board employee said in disappointment “I don’t know what to do about my feelings.” Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has taken up the issue He held a Cabinet meeting on June 30 to discuss traffic safety in school zones urging related ministries and agencies to implement emergency measures “We still see no end to these kinds of heart-wrenching accidents,” Suga said “We will make an exhaustive investigation in the cause of the accident and ensure related business operators will thoroughly implement safety measures.” VOX POPULI: Pedestrians need better protection from drivers who are out of control Hefty fines and longer prison terms for reckless driving Ministry to require rearview cameras for new cars from 2022 Tokyo police go on traffic blitz as fatal motorcycle accidents double Elderly driver in fatal accident in Ikebukuro pleads not guilty Information on the latest cherry blossom conditions Please right click to use your browser’s translation function.) A series based on diplomatic documents declassified by Japan’s Foreign Ministry Here is a collection of first-hand accounts by “hibakusha” atomic bomb survivors chefs and others involved in the field of food introduce their special recipes intertwined with their paths in life A series about Japanese-Americans and their memories of World War II In-house News and Messages No reproduction or republication without written permission Two elementary school boys were killed and three other pupils were seriously injured Monday when a truck driven by a drunk man crashed into them on a street in Chiba Prefecture near Tokyo in Yachimata as the children were on their way home from school Alcohol in excess of the legal limit was detected when Hiroshi Umezawa took a breathalyzer test was arrested at the scene on suspicion of negligent driving resulting in injury They quoted Umezawa as saying he crashed into the group of four boys and a girl after hitting a utility pole when he suddenly swerved to the left while information about the other child was not immediately available one was unconscious and the two others were severely injured The children were pupils of nearby Choyo Elementary School which checked their belongings at the scene Umezawa works for a Yachimata transport company a reinforcing bar processing company in Tokyo telling reporters he is terribly sorry that Umezawa "caused the traffic accident by drunken driving something that should never have happened." Chinen said the transport company does not make it a custom to conduct alcohol tests for drivers trusting them not to drink before or during work Umezawa has worked for the company since April 2005 To have the latest news and stories delivered to your inbox Simply enter your email address below and an email will be sent through which to complete your subscription Please check your inbox for a confirmation email Thank you for reaching out to us.We will get back to you as soon as possible A youth and an abandoned dog participate in the correctional program at Yachimata Juvenile Training School in Japan Japan – “Down,” came the instruction from a 19-year-old youth The teenager repeated the command and after several tries The teenager’s face broke into a broad smile and he stroked the dog’s head Yachimata Juvenile Training School in Yachimata hosts a program for offenders to discipline and train abandoned dogs The program aims to strengthen offenders’ resilience and their understanding of the importance of life by letting them train abandoned dogs once marked for culling and by allowing the dogs to return to a family this initiative involving the training of abandoned dogs as part of corrective education and their subsequent transfer to families is the first of its kind in Japan Just over 50 young men aged 17 to 20 who have committed crimes such as theft and assault live at the school The school started the program last July as part of its corrective education with each young man responsible for a dog and its training for a period of about three months Humanin Foundation takes in abandoned dogs in the care of entities such as local governments and conducts dog training at the school for a few hours on weekdays volunteer families in the area look after the dogs they are transferred to families willing to adopt them six young men have participated in the program There are 52 juvenile training schools in Japan all of which provide life counseling and moral education In the search for effective corrective education methods the training school in Yachimata devised this program with assistance from Hokoyama who had been involved in a program using dogs at U.S It is said that at a youth correctional facility in Oregon that has carried out a similar program since 1993 the youths in that program found they had gained greater resilience and responsibility while training dogs as well as a greater sense of self-respect “I thought about the value of life,” said a 20-year-old offender at Yachimata Juvenile Training School who participated in the program from July to October last year He stopped going to school after the upper grades of primary school and was arrested five times on charges such as assault This is the second time he has been put in a juvenile training school He became flustered at first when the dog training went less smoothly than he’d expected he never used violence against the dog because he recalled the violence he suffered at the hands of his stepfather “I thought it would be meaningless to use violence,” he said He was furious at the selfishness of owners who had abandoned their dogs but said “I’ve realized I also did selfish things and hurt many people.” He and the volunteer family taking care of the same dog also reported to each other on its status through letters “I was able to save a life that was to be culled I could be useful to someone for the first time,” he said he wrote “Go and live happily” on a bandanna and tearfully tied it around the dog’s neck said: “Participants (in the program) take to the dogs earnestly and with affection They recognize the importance of life and make great efforts to fulfill their responsibilities We hope they’ll make good use of this experience after they go out into society.” Log in to leave a comment Workers spread peanuts out on about 700 tatami-mat-size nets for drying during peak production season in Yachimata Although sun-drying is more labor-intensive than machine-drying the technique supposedly enhances the sweetness and taste of the nuts “The harvest was delayed as we have had much rain this year but we were able to make tasty peanuts,” said Masuda Chairman Shigeru Masuda Please view the main text area of the page by skipping the main menu. The page may not be displayed properly if the JavaScript is deactivated on your browser Japanese version A Japanese court on Friday sentenced a 61-year-old man to 14 years in prison for a drunken driving accident that left two elementary school children dead and three others severely injured near Tokyo last year The Chiba District Court found Hiroshi Umezawa guilty of driving under the influence of alcohol when he crashed into a group of pupils heading home from school on a street in Yachimata prosecutors condemned Umezawa for what they said was one of Japan's worst-ever cases of drunken driving Driver admits drinking alcohol before accident that killed 2 kids 2 killed as truck driven by drunk man hits kids near Tokyo The court found that Umezawa had continued to drive drunk since 2020 at the latest "Although he had to keep safety in mind as a professional driver of a heavy truck he continued to drive drunk easily," Presiding Judge Daisaku Kaneko said in handing down the ruling Umezawa admitted to the charge of dangerous driving resulting in injury or death and apologized to the bereaved families Bereaved family members expressed their reluctance to accept the ruling saying the maximum 15-year jail term sought by prosecutors already felt inadequate and that they cannot understand why the eventual sentence was an even shorter 14 years Prosecutors pointed out that Umezawa often drove under the influence of alcohol he drank 220 milliliters of "shochu" distilled liquor he had bought at a convenience store Alcohol in excess of the legal limit was detected when he took a breathalyzer test after the accident were killed in the accident while two other boys and a girl were seriously injured Umezawa drank alcohol at a rest area on an expressway during work around 3 p.m before driving on a street in Yachimata around 3:30 p.m. where he dozed off and crashed into the group of school children Keywords:　Food　Manufacturing industry　 Home purchases will receive special membership at the farm which is well equipped with a production management system People often find it difficult to produce and harvest crops in home gardens or rental allotment farms without management service so the members of this farm will have the advantage of learning directly from professional farmers about how to grow vegetables organically Sobu Construction Company plans to sell 10 houses in the first fiscal year and to build a shared kitchen garden in its subdivision lots within a few years it is expected to help promote community-building in its subdivision lots as well as a good life for the local community This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License Vox Populi Vox Dei is a daily column that runs on Page 1 of The Asahi Shimbun a photojournalist known for his Vietnam War coverage once traveled the entire length of the Japanese archipelago on foot The experience made him acutely aware that Japanese roads "are basically designed primarily for cars In his book "Nihon Judan Toho no Tabi" (Traveling through Japan on foot) he recalled there were sidewalks along city roads but none along roads that connected cities He was always on the alert when walking along a roadside path marked only with a white line But there was not even a white line at the site of a tragedy that occurred on June 28 In the city of Yachimata in Chiba Prefecture a truck rammed into a line of elementary school students walking home from school This was the regular commuting route for these youngsters But not only was the road without a sidewalk or even a guard rail it also served as a convenient byway for drivers and alcohol above the legal limit was detected in him He admitted to consuming alcohol on his way back from delivering supplies to Tokyo There were reportedly no visible brake marks on the road drinking turned a vehicle into a lethal machine "Have we not become too desensitized by (repeated tragedies)?" wrote Kiyoshi Sato in his account of the loss of his 6-year-old daughter in a 2003 accident caused by a dump truck driver Sato also asserted that to highlight the maliciousness of reckless driving the standard Japanese expression "kotsu jiko" (traffic accident) should be replaced with the more incriminating “kotsu jiken” (traffic case) or "kotsu hanzai" (traffic crime) Yet another lethal accident has irrationally eliminated the future of its young victims No one must ever sit in the driver's seat without being fully aware of the deadly consequences that could ensue But Japan is still appallingly lacking in the means to protect lives from out-of-control cars and drivers Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture VOX POPULI: Ishiguro’s ‘Klara and the Sun’ a perfect rainy season read VOX POPULI: Toshiba’s cozy relationship with METI is a blast from the past VOX POPULI: Japan a century from now: What will it look like VOX POPULI: Fans will miss writer Takashi Tachibana’s endless curiosity VOX POPULI: File shows how Finance Ministry cornered official over ‘M Case’ Workers spread peanuts in nets to sun dry them at a nut-processing facility in Yachimata Although sun drying is dependent on weather conditions and more labor intensive than machine drying it is said to enhance the natural sweetness and rich taste of the nuts “We’ve been blessed with good weather this year I hope people all over the country will enjoy our quality peanuts,” said Shigeru Masuda the 81-year-old chairman of peanut producer Masuda Co A powerful typhoon that hit the Tokyo metropolitan area earlier this month is likely to have damaged at least 20,000 houses in Chiba Prefecture The tally was far larger than the roughly 4,000 that the Chiba prefectural government officially announced earlier Tuesday A Chiba prefectural official said the number of houses damaged by Typhoon Faxai may increase because local authorities have yet to find out details about affected areas as they have been busy dealing with power cuts and evacuated people The typhoon has also caused about 26.7 billion yen ($247 million) in damage to the agriculture and fisheries industries in the prefecture up 7.3 billion yen from the level tallied last Friday many elementary and junior high schools in the prefecture reopened after a weeklong closure due to widespread blackouts caused by the typhoon all 13 public elementary and junior high schools reopened although around 6,000 households remained without electricity Three elementary schools secured electricity from power generator vehicles Fourteen schools were still unable to restart classes Industry minister Isshu Sugawara told a press conference Tuesday that electricity is expected to be restored almost completely by Sept Finance Minister Taro Aso said the central government will use 1.32 billion yen ($12 million) from a state reserve fund to support recovery of the typhoon-affected areas "We will continue providing assistance swiftly to disaster victims," Aso told a press conference According to the Yachimata city government public elementary and junior high schools had been closed since Sept when Faxai made landfall in the prefecture becoming one of the strongest recorded typhoons to hit the Kanto region of eastern Japan Air conditioners at all of the schools in Yachimata including ones relying on electricity from power generator vehicles according an official at the city government but are unable to serve milk as production has been disrupted due to the power outage "It was a relief to hear the voices of the children again," said Hitoshi Morisawa "I am thankful that a power generator vehicle came." (A school kitchen with blue plastic sheets protecting equipment from rain leak) 13 of 14 public elementary and junior high schools had restarted by Tuesday One of the junior high schools was unable to reopen due to a rain leak caused by heavy downpours on Monday 73,000 households still without power in Chiba 1 week after typhoon Blackout-hit zoo in Chiba Pref. reopens with support from public Typhoon-hit Chiba asks for volunteers' help amid prolonged power cut Thank you for reaching out to us.We will get back to you as soon as possible.