Art festival in Niigata Pref.

Art festival in Niigata Pref.

Niigata Gov. Hideyo Hanazumi speaks during the opening ceremony for Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale in Tokamachi, Niigata Prefecture, on July 13, 2024. Artists from about 40 countries will display over 300 artworks for the art festival, which will be held through Nov. 10 on a 760-square-kilometer field straddling Tokamachi and Tsunan.

Marine agency patrol boat runs aground

Video taken from a Kyodo News airplane on Jan. 18, 2023, shows the Niigata Coast Guard Office patrol boat Echigo off Kashiwazaki in Niigata Prefecture, northwest of Tokyo. The 3,100-ton vessel was leaking oil after running aground during a patrol.

Coast guard patrol boat runs aground

Coast guard patrol boat runs aground

Photo taken on Jan. 18, 2023, shows the Niigata Coast Guard Office patrol boat Echigo off Kashiwazaki in Niigata Prefecture, northwest of Tokyo. The 3,100-ton vessel was leaking oil after running aground during a patrol.

Coast guard patrol boat runs aground

Coast guard patrol boat runs aground

Photo taken on Jan. 18, 2023, shows the Niigata Coast Guard Office patrol boat Echigo off Kashiwazaki in Niigata Prefecture, northwest of Tokyo. The 3,100-ton vessel was leaking oil after running aground during a patrol.

Coast guard patrol boat runs aground

Coast guard patrol boat runs aground

Photo taken from a Kyodo News airplane on Jan. 18, 2023, shows the Niigata Coast Guard Office patrol boat Echigo off Kashiwazaki in Niigata Prefecture, northwest of Tokyo. The 3,100-ton vessel was leaking oil after running aground during a patrol.

Coast guard patrol boat runs aground

Coast guard patrol boat runs aground

Photo taken from a Kyodo News airplane on Jan. 18, 2023, shows the Niigata Coast Guard Office patrol boat Echigo off Kashiwazaki in Niigata Prefecture, northwest of Tokyo. The 3,100-ton vessel was leaking oil after running aground during a patrol.

Marine agency patrol boat runs aground

Marine agency patrol boat runs aground

Photo taken from a Kyodo News airplane on Jan. 18, 2023, shows the Niigata Coast Guard Office patrol boat Echigo off Kashiwazaki in Niigata Prefecture, northwest of Tokyo. The 3,100-ton vessel was leaking oil after running aground during a patrol.

Coast guard patrol boat runs aground

Coast guard patrol boat runs aground

Photo taken from a Kyodo News airplane on Jan. 18, 2023, shows the Niigata Coast Guard Office patrol boat Echigo off Kashiwazaki in Niigata Prefecture, northwest of Tokyo. The 3,100-ton vessel was leaking oil after running aground during a patrol.

Marine agency patrol boat runs aground

Marine agency patrol boat runs aground

Photo taken from a Kyodo News airplane on Jan. 18, 2023, shows the Niigata Coast Guard Office patrol boat Echigo off Kashiwazaki in Niigata Prefecture, northwest of Tokyo. The 3,100-ton vessel was leaking oil after running aground during a patrol.

Marine agency patrol boat runs aground

Marine agency patrol boat runs aground

Photo taken from a Kyodo News airplane on Jan. 18, 2023, shows the Niigata Coast Guard Office patrol boat Echigo off Kashiwazaki in Niigata Prefecture, northwest of Tokyo. The 3,100-ton vessel was leaking oil after running aground during a patrol.

(1)Joetsu Shinkansen services fully resume

(1)Joetsu Shinkansen services fully resume

NAGAOKA, Japan - A Joetsu Shinkansen bullet train from Tokyo arrives at JR Nagaoka Station in Niigata Prefecture on Dec. 28 as East Japan Railway Co. resumed full services on the line. Bullet train services between Echigo-Yuzawa and Nagaoka stations were suspended following the deadly Oct. 23 quakes that caused the Toki No. 325 bullet train to derail.

N. Korean defectors transferred to Nagasaki

N. Korean defectors transferred to Nagasaki

TOKYO, Japan - Photo taken from a Kyodo News helicopter shows a helicopter, which is believed to be carrying nine defectors from North Korea, taking off from the Japan Coast Guard patrol ship Echigo off the coast of Komatsu, Ishikawa Prefecture on Sept. 14, 2011. The nine will be transported to Omura Immigration Center in Nagasaki Prefecture by coast guard plane from Komatsu airport. The coast guard found a wooden boat carrying the nine the previous day in the sea off the Noto Peninsula, Ishikawa.

Probable N. Korea defectors in Japan

Probable N. Korea defectors in Japan

TOYAMA, Japan - Photo taken from a Kyodo News helicopter shows nine probable defectors from North Korea being escorted by officers after getting off a helicopter aboard the Japan Coast Guard patrol ship Echigo in the Sea of Japan off Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Sept. 13, 2011. The coast guard found a wooden boat carrying the nine -- six adults and three children -- and took them to Kanazawa port. A man among them told the coast guard that they are relatives and they left a North Korean port on Sept. 8 in the hope of going to South Korea.

Probable N. Korea defectors in Japan

Probable N. Korea defectors in Japan

TOYAMA, Japan - Photo taken from a Kyodo News helicopter shows nine probable defectors from North Korea being escorted by officers after getting off a helicopter aboard the Japan Coast Guard patrol ship Echigo in the Sea of Japan off Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Sept. 13, 2011. The coast guard found a wooden boat carrying the nine -- six adults and three children -- and took them to Kanazawa port. A man among them told the coast guard that they are relatives and they left a North Korean port on Sept. 8 in the hope of going to South Korea.

Probable N. Korea defectors in Japan

Probable N. Korea defectors in Japan

TOYAMA, Japan - Photo taken from a Kyodo News helicopter shows nine probable defectors from North Korea being escorted by officers as they get off a helicopter aboard the Japan Coast Guard patrol ship Echigo in the Sea of Japan off Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Sept. 13, 2011. The coast guard found a wooden boat carrying the nine -- six adults and three children -- and took them to Kanazawa port. A man among them told the coast guard that they are relatives and they left a North Korean port on Sept. 8 in the hope of going to South Korea.

Japan's MSA ships leave for joint drills with S. Korea

Japan's MSA ships leave for joint drills with S. Korea

KITAKYUSHU, Japan - Crew members of three Japan's Maritime Safety Agency (MSA) vessels stand at salute at Moji port in the southwestern Japan city of Kitakyushu on Oct. 3 before leaving for joint drills with South Korean vessels, in which they will simulate the rescue and cleanup of a collision of two vessels. The patrol boats are the 3,200-ton Echigo, the 1,200-ton Hakata, and the 180-ton Inasa.

Equipment for pressure treatment developed by Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine and others

Equipment for pressure treatment developed by Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine and others

Kazuyuki Akasaka, a specially appointed professor at Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kenji Kaneori, an associate professor at Kyoto Institute of Technology, and their colleagues have developed a technology to process food under high pressure and improve its shelf life. (= March 11, 2019, credit: Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun/Kyodo News Images)

Bullet train billed as "world's fastest art experience" unveiled

Bullet train billed as "world's fastest art experience" unveiled

Photo taken April 11, 2016, shows the inside of a special bullet train billed as "the world's fastest art experience," when it was unveiled to the press at JR Niigata Station by East Japan Railway Co. The six-car train, featuring modern art both on the exterior and in the interior, will run between Niigata on the Sea of Japan coast and Echigo-Yuzawa, a gateway to hot spring and ski resorts, mainly on the weekends and holidays from April 29. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Bullet train billed as "world's fastest art experience" unveiled

Bullet train billed as "world's fastest art experience" unveiled

Photo taken April 11, 2016, at JR Niigata Station shows a special bullet train billed as "the world's fastest art experience," when it was unveiled to the press by East Japan Railway Co. The six-car train, featuring modern art both on the exterior and in the interior, will run between Niigata on the Sea of Japan coast and Echigo-Yuzawa, a gateway to hot spring and ski resorts, mainly on the weekends and holidays from April 29. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Bullet train billed as "world's fastest art experience" unveiled

Bullet train billed as "world's fastest art experience" unveiled

Photo taken April 11, 2016, shows the inside of a special bullet train billed as "the world's fastest art experience," when it was unveiled to the press at JR Niigata Station by East Japan Railway Co. The six-car train, featuring modern art both on the exterior and in the interior, will run between Niigata on the Sea of Japan coast and Echigo-Yuzawa, a gateway to hot spring and ski resorts, mainly on the weekends and holidays from April 29. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Bullet train billed as "world's fastest art experience" unveiled

Bullet train billed as "world's fastest art experience" unveiled

Photo taken April 11, 2016, shows the play area for children inside a special bullet train billed as "the world's fastest art experience," when it was unveiled to the press at JR Niigata Station by East Japan Railway Co. The six-car train, featuring modern art both on the exterior and in the interior, will run between Niigata on the Sea of Japan coast and Echigo-Yuzawa, a gateway to hot spring and ski resorts, mainly on the weekends and holidays from April 29. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Bullet train billed as "world's fastest art experience" unveiled

Bullet train billed as "world's fastest art experience" unveiled

Photo taken April 11, 2016, shows the inside of a special bullet train billed as "the world's fastest art experience," when it was unveiled to the press at JR Niigata Station by East Japan Railway Co. The six-car train, featuring modern art both on the exterior and in the interior, will run between Niigata on the Sea of Japan coast and Echigo-Yuzawa, a gateway to hot spring and ski resorts, mainly on the weekends and holidays from April 29. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Bullet train billed as running modern art museum to debut in spring

Bullet train billed as running modern art museum to debut in spring

The operator of the Joetsu Shinkansen bullet train line unveils the exterior of a special train, adorned with images of fireworks taken by renowned photographer Mika Ninagawa, on Jan. 12, 2016, at JR Omiya Station, north of Tokyo. The Genbi (modern art) Shinkansen, a six-car train that displays modern art such as paintings and videos inside, will run between Echigo-Yuzawa and Niigata stations on the line mainly on the weekends and holidays from this spring. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

JR East unveils exterior of special edition bullet train

JR East unveils exterior of special edition bullet train

The Genbi Shinkansen, a six-car bullet train adorned with images of fireworks taken by renowned Japanese photographer Mika Ninagawa, is unveiled at JR Omiya Station, north of Tokyo, on Jan. 12, 2016. East Japan Railway Co. will run the train, which displays modern art inside, between Echigo-Yuzawa and Niigata stations on the Joetsu Shinkansen Line mainly on the weekends and holidays from this spring. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

JR East unveils exterior of special edition bullet train

JR East unveils exterior of special edition bullet train

The Genbi Shinkansen, a six-car bullet train adorned with images of fireworks taken by renowned Japanese photographer Mika Ninagawa, is unveiled at JR Omiya Station, north of Tokyo, on Jan. 12, 2016. East Japan Railway Co. will run the train, which displays modern art inside, between Echigo-Yuzawa and Niigata stations on the Joetsu Shinkansen Line mainly on the weekends and holidays from this spring. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

(1)Joetsu Shinkansen services fully resume

(1)Joetsu Shinkansen services fully resume

NAGAOKA, Japan - A Joetsu Shinkansen bullet train from Tokyo arrives at JR Nagaoka Station in Niigata Prefecture on Dec. 28 as East Japan Railway Co. resumed full services on the line. Bullet train services between Echigo-Yuzawa and Nagaoka stations were suspended following the deadly Oct. 23 quakes that caused the Toki No. 325 bullet train to derail. (Kyodo)

A Kakubeejishi

A Kakubeejishi

A ritual lion dance called Echigo Jishi. Performers were boys of about 10 years old who did handstands and somersaults wearing a skirt like robe and a pair of wooden clogs. The boys' master accompanied their acrobatics on drums. They carried a drum in front and held a lion's mask during the performance. Two boys performed this lion dance, which flourished during the Edo Period and influenced the music and dance of the time.==Date:unknown, Place:unknown, Photo:unknown, (Credit:Nagasaki University Library/Kyodo News Images) [Cabinet Number83‐21‐0]

Party of kakubei-jishi,street-tumblers wearing a lion's mask

Party of kakubei-jishi,street-tumblers wearing a lion's mask

Kakubejishi is an acrobatic dance performed by children in front of houses with the headquarters in Echigo. It was called Kakubejishi in Edo. There are acts for one and for two or more people. In this photo, three children engage in an combination act.==Date:unknown, Place:unknown, Photo:Ogawa Kazumasa, (Credit:Nagasaki University Library/Kyodo News Images) [Cabinet Number44‐24‐0]

N. Korean defectors transferred to Nagasaki

N. Korean defectors transferred to Nagasaki

TOKYO, Japan - Photo taken from a Kyodo News helicopter shows a helicopter, which is believed to be carrying nine defectors from North Korea, taking off from the Japan Coast Guard patrol ship Echigo off the coast of Komatsu, Ishikawa Prefecture on Sept. 14, 2011. The nine will be transported to Omura Immigration Center in Nagasaki Prefecture by coast guard plane from Komatsu airport. The coast guard found a wooden boat carrying the nine the previous day in the sea off the Noto Peninsula, Ishikawa. (Kyodo)

Probable N. Korea defectors in Japan

Probable N. Korea defectors in Japan

TOYAMA, Japan - Photo taken from a Kyodo News helicopter shows nine probable defectors from North Korea being escorted by officers after getting off a helicopter aboard the Japan Coast Guard patrol ship Echigo in the Sea of Japan off Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Sept. 13, 2011. The coast guard found a wooden boat carrying the nine -- six adults and three children -- and took them to Kanazawa port. A man among them told the coast guard that they are relatives and they left a North Korean port on Sept. 8 in the hope of going to South Korea. (Kyodo)

Probable N. Korea defectors in Japan

Probable N. Korea defectors in Japan

TOYAMA, Japan - Photo taken from a Kyodo News helicopter shows nine probable defectors from North Korea being escorted by officers after getting off a helicopter aboard the Japan Coast Guard patrol ship Echigo in the Sea of Japan off Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Sept. 13, 2011. The coast guard found a wooden boat carrying the nine -- six adults and three children -- and took them to Kanazawa port. A man among them told the coast guard that they are relatives and they left a North Korean port on Sept. 8 in the hope of going to South Korea. (Kyodo)

Probable N. Korea defectors in Japan

Probable N. Korea defectors in Japan

TOYAMA, Japan - Photo taken from a Kyodo News helicopter shows nine probable defectors from North Korea being escorted by officers as they get off a helicopter aboard the Japan Coast Guard patrol ship Echigo in the Sea of Japan off Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Sept. 13, 2011. The coast guard found a wooden boat carrying the nine -- six adults and three children -- and took them to Kanazawa port. A man among them told the coast guard that they are relatives and they left a North Korean port on Sept. 8 in the hope of going to South Korea. (Kyodo)

Genbi "modern art" shinkansen's last run

Genbi "modern art" shinkansen's last run

The Genbi shinkansen bullet train, featuring modern art both on the exterior and in the interior, arrives at JR Niigata Station following its last run on Dec. 20, 2020. The six-car bullet train, which operated between Niigata and Echigo-Yuzawa stations in Niigata Prefecture, northwest of Tokyo, had run mainly on the weekends since April 2016.

Genbi "modern art" shinkansen's last run

Genbi "modern art" shinkansen's last run

People gather to see the Genbi shinkansen bullet train, featuring modern art both on the exterior and in the interior, at JR Niigata Station on Dec. 20, 2020, following its last run. The six-car bullet train, which operated between Niigata and Echigo-Yuzawa stations in Niigata Prefecture, northwest of Tokyo, had run mainly on the weekends since April 2016.

Japan PM Abe visits Australia

Japan PM Abe visits Australia

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visits the Japan Coast Guard ship Echigo in Darwin, Australia, on Nov. 17, 2018. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Japan PM Abe visits Australia

Japan PM Abe visits Australia

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe makes remarks on the Japan Coast Guard ship Echigo in Darwin, Australia, on Nov. 17, 2018. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Japan PM Abe visits Australia

Japan PM Abe visits Australia

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visits the Japan Coast Guard ship Echigo in Darwin, Australia, on Nov. 17, 2018. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Japan PM Abe visits Australia

Japan PM Abe visits Australia

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe makes remarks on the Japan Coast Guard ship Echigo in Darwin, Australia, on Nov. 17, 2018. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Japan PM Abe visits Australia

Japan PM Abe visits Australia

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe makes remarks on the Japan Coast Guard ship Echigo in Darwin, Australia, on Nov. 17, 2018. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

MSDF, Maritime agency boats pursue ''unidentified'' vessel

MSDF, Maritime agency boats pursue ''unidentified'' vessel

TOKYO, Japan - In a drill to deal with maritime intruders in the Sea of Japan, an ''unidentified'' ship (C, foreground) tries to flee from the destroyer Mineyuki (R) of the Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) and the patrol vessel Echigo (L) of the Maritime Safety Agency. The joint exercise off the Noto Peninsula, Ishikawa Prefecture, took place Nov. 30. The photo was provided by the MSDF.

Japan's MSA ships leave for joint drills with S. Korea+

Japan's MSA ships leave for joint drills with S. Korea+

KITAKYUSHU, Japan - Crew members of three Japan's Maritime Safety Agency (MSA) vessels stand at salute at Moji port in the southwestern Japan city of Kitakyushu on Oct. 3 before leaving for joint drills with South Korean vessels, in which they will simulate the rescue and cleanup of a collision of two vessels. The patrol boats are the 3,200-ton Echigo, the 1,200-ton Hakata, and the 180-ton Inasa.