Fukuoka

Kane Tanaka, a Japanese woman recognized by Guinness World Records as the world's oldest living person, turned 118 on Jan. 2, according to local media.

Tanaka, born on Jan. 2, 1903, celebrated her 118th birthday at a care facility in Fukuoka, southwestern Japan, where she lives, NHK News reported.

The world's oldest woman, Kane Tanaka, turned 117.

Kane Tanaka celebrate her birthday, January 2, at an elderly home in Fukuoka. Among her guests, besides friends and staff at home, was a television team.

In New York, a restaurant has been opened that offers a dinner for customers who want to eat absolutely alone but without feeling awkward because of noisy companies around the tables. The restaurant is part of a chain of Japanese restaurants offering favorite of many worldwide dish ramen.

The death toll from torrential rains and flooding that swept through Japan's south has reached 25, the government said on July 11, as rescue teams battled through thick mud to rescue more than 100 still stranded.

At least two people have been killed and 18 others are missing in huge floods that are surging through southern Japan, with authorities warning hundreds of thousands of people to flee.

Unprecedented torrential rain has caused rivers to burst their banks, sweeping away roads and houses, and destroying schools.

A giant sinkhole appeared in the middle of a busy Japanese city on Nov. 8, swallowing part of a five-lane street near the main railway station.

The gaping hole, around 30 meters (98 feet) wide, exposed pressure on support columns of nearby buildings at a traffic intersection in the southern city of Fukuoka, prompting fears of further collapses.