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.
Here’s a look at some of the stories hitting the headlines in Osaka this week.
Table of Contents
Osaka Man Killed Fighting for Russian Forces in Ukraine
The war has raged between Russia and Ukraine for more than two years now. The conflict has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and displaced millions. However, its effect finally hit home for the city of Osaka this week. A man from Osaka, was killed fighting alongside Russian forces in Eastern Ukraine, sources confirmed this week.
As his family may not yet be aware of the man’s death, Japanese government officials have not yet named the man. They confirmed only that a Japanese man in his 20s, originally from Osaka, was killed in combat last month.
In a sign of just how chaotic the situation on the ground in Eastern Ukraine is at this time, the man died on June 3rd. However, his death was not reported to Japan’s Foreign Ministry officials until July 15th. At this time there are conflicting reports as to why the time between this man dying and his government being informed spanned almost 6 weeks.
Russian authorities state that they informed the Japanese embassy in Russia of the man’s death on June 5th, just two days after he was killed. However, the information didn’t reach Japan until much later.
Government Urges Citizens Not to Follow Dead Man Example
Perhaps in an effort to avoid any copycat actions, details on the life of this man before he headed to Russia remain scarce. Sources claim he served in Japan’s Self-Defense Force for a time, in his home prefecture of Osaka. He is believed to have had contacts in Russia who helped him enter the country and subsequently sign up for the military.
Foreign ministry officials would not comment on how many other Japanese citizens have chosen to go and fight in the war between Russia and Ukraine. Instead, they reiterated their strong opposition to any man or woman from Japan going to Ukraine to fight for either side.
“We advise any Japanese citizens in the region to evacuate as soon as possible. We also strongly advise that no-one should visit the region at this time under any circumstances. It is an active conflict zone and extremely dangerous.
Travel Chaos Leaves Tourists and Workers Stranded
Osaka suffered major transport disruption this past Monday. Commuters endured severe delays to the shinkansen service between Osaka and Tokyo. Two railway maintenance vehicles collided on lines in Aichi Prefecture, near Nagoya City. Nagoya sits almost halfway between Tokyo and Osaka on the main high-speed shinkansen line.
As a result, for most of July 22nd, services were either heavily delayed or cancelled altogether. Travellers struggled to find alternate means of transport. Others simply gave up and went home. Workers due to return from business trips scrambled to book a further night of accommodation. On the plus side, this boosted Osaka’s hospitality sector, as hotels saw a surge in residual business.
In total 328 lines were cancelled before services eventually resumed. The disruption affected an estimated total of 250,000 commuters.
Thankfully, no one was injured in the collision between the two service vehicles.
And Finally…
Most kids have at some point dreamed of being a police officer, jumping in their patrol car to go and hunt down the bad guys. Unfortunately, one resident of Osaka faces criminal charges this week for taking his power fantasy a bit too far.
In a scene reminiscent of one the “Police Academy” movies, Shogo Nozuka, was arrested for modifying his vehicle to look like a police patrol car. Nozuka paid a local car maintenance shop to add a flashing red light to the passenger side of his car. He then forged documents supposedly proving that the car was, indeed, an emergency patrol vehicle. Nozuka regularly drove around Osaka prefecture in his modified ride with the red light flashing. He did this whilst also claiming to be an Osaka police officer.
The real police, unfortunately for Nozuka, didn’t see the funny side. He faces charges of illegally modifying a vehicle, and forging official documents. Upon his arrest, Nozuka admitted the charges against him.
In his defense he kept his statement simple. He said: “I just wanted to see what it was like to ride an emergency patrol car for real.”
Well, it seems he may well get the chance to do so, unfortunately, next time he’ll most likely be in the back seat, rather than behind the wheel!
That’s all for now but be sure to check back again same time next week for another round of this week in Osaka!
