Japan: Dashcam Shows Inundated Underground Parking Lot After Torrential Rain

On Friday night, September 12, northern Mie Prefecture was hit by an intense, short-lived downpour. Rainfall peaked at 123.5 millimeters per hour, the highest ever recorded in the area. This dashcam video shows Kusunoki Parking, a large underground parking lot in central Yokkaichi, submerged in floodwaters, with dozens of cars damaged.

Japan: Heavy Rain Hits Northern Mie Prefecture, Dozens of Cars Damaged in Yokkaichi

On Friday night, September 12, northern Mie Prefecture was hit by an intense, short-lived downpour. The rainfall reached a record 123.5 millimeters per hour, the highest ever recorded in the area. Near Kintetsu Yokkaichi Station, which was bustling on a weekend night, streets and shopping districts were flooded, leaving many vehicles stranded and causing chaos. In the city center, the large underground parking lot Kusunoki Parking was submerged, with dozens of cars damaged by the floodwaters.

Campaigning for Japan general election

Campaigning for Japan general election

Yuichiro Tamaki, leader of the opposition Democratic Party for the People, makes a stump speech in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, on Oct. 19, 2024, ahead of the Oct. 27 general election.

Campaigning for Japan general election

Campaigning for Japan general election

Yuichiro Tamaki, leader of the opposition Democratic Party for the People, waves as he makes a stump speech in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, on Oct. 19, 2024, ahead of the Oct. 27 general election.

Japan chipmaker Kioxia aims to list on TSE in Oct.

Japan chipmaker Kioxia aims to list on TSE in Oct.

Photo taken in October 2022 shows Kioxia Holdings Corp.'s plant in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture. The Japanese chipmaker has applied to list its shares on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, possibly in October 2024, sources familiar with the matter said on Aug. 23, 2024.

Toshiba completes new flash memory line at Yokkaichi plant

Toshiba completes new flash memory line at Yokkaichi plant

TSU, Japan - Toshiba Corp. holds a ribbon-cutting ceremony at its Yokkaichi plant in Mie on Sept. 4 to mark the completion of a new flash memory production line. The facility line is designed for Toshiba's joint operations with U.S. computer chip maker SanDisk Corp. to produce NAND flash memory chips that can quickly write and erase data, company officials said.

Toshiba opens new flash memory production facility

Toshiba opens new flash memory production facility

NAGOYA, Japan - Toshiba Corp. President Hisao Tanaka (C) and other officials, including those of its U.S. business partner SanDisk Corp., cut the ribbon at a ceremony to open the second phase of the No. 5 flash memory chip fabrication facility in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, western Japan, on Sept. 9, 2014. They also started construction of a new facility there for production of a next-generation memory chip.

Toshiba to spend annual 200 bil. yen in chip business

Toshiba to spend annual 200 bil. yen in chip business

NAGOYA, Japan - Hisao Tanaka, chief executive officer of Toshiba Corp., says at a press conference in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, his company plans to maintain annual capital spending of around 200 billion yen in its chip business in fiscal 2014 and following years to meet solid demand for smartphones and tablet devices.

Visitor checks Japanese tableware at fair in Beijing

Visitor checks Japanese tableware at fair in Beijing

BEIJING, China - A man examines Japanese tableware at a booth representing Yokkaichi in Japan's Mie Prefecture at a fair in Beijing, China, on July 18, 2014.

Painter Miyatake keeps seeking light in darkness

Painter Miyatake keeps seeking light in darkness

YOKKAICHI, Japan - Photo taken March 27, 2014 shows painter Kikue Miyatake standing in front of a work in progress. To the right is a picture titled "Unwavering Resolve," which she painted in the immediate aftermath of the 2011 devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit northeastern Japan. Photo by Makoto Hori.

Museum of scales in Mie Pref. closes

Museum of scales in Mie Pref. closes

TSU, Japan - Kenzo Kobayashi, the 73-year-old owner and curator of Hakarinoyakata, one of only two museums on scales, weights and measures in Japan, speaks of his collection of over 10,000 items in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, in central Japan, on March 30, 2014. The museum closed the same day, with Kobayashi's collection to be donated to a scale maker in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, for exhibition in a new museum to open there in October.

Plant explosion

Plant explosion

NAGOYA, Japan - Photo from a Kyodo News helicopter shows a Mitsubishi Materials Corp. plant in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, central Japan, on Jan. 9, 2014. Five people died and 12 others were injured in an explosion at the plant the same day.

Plant explosion

Plant explosion

NAGOYA, Japan - Photo from a Kyodo News helicopter shows a Mitsubishi Materials Corp. plant in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, central Japan, on Jan. 9, 2014. Five people died and 12 others were injured in an explosion at the plant the same day.

Plant explosion

Plant explosion

NAGOYA, Japan - Photo from a Kyodo News helicopter shows a Mitsubishi Materials Corp. plant in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, central Japan, on Jan. 9, 2014. Five people died and 12 others were injured in an explosion at the plant the same day.

Plant explosion

Plant explosion

NAGOYA, Japan - Photo from a Kyodo News helicopter shows a Mitsubishi Materials Corp. plant in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, central Japan, on Jan. 9, 2014. Five people died and 12 others were injured in an explosion at the plant the same day.

Plant explosion

Plant explosion

NAGOYA, Japan - Photo from a Kyodo News helicopter shows a Mitsubishi Materials Corp. plant in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, central Japan, on Jan. 9, 2014. Five people died and 12 others were injured in an explosion at the plant the same day.

Man becomes scrivener to support foreigners

Man becomes scrivener to support foreigners

TSU, Japan - Photo taken Oct. 16, 2013 in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, shows Masafumi Inagaki, an administrative scrivener who provides free consultations to foreigners over procedures to apply for a visa or to marry Japanese among other issues. Inagaki became a scrivener in his 50s to support foreign residents who he believes are socially vulnerable yet will become important members of fast-aging Japanese society.

Funabashi's Izumi scores in nat'l championship final

Funabashi's Izumi scores in nat'l championship final

TOKYO, Japan - Ichiritsu Funabashi captain Ryuji Izumi (back) scores the winner in the second half of extra time in the high school soccer national championship final against Yokkaichi Chuo Kogyo at the National Stadium in Tokyo on Jan. 9, 2012. Izumi netted two goals, leading Funabashi from Chiba Prefecture to a 2-1 victory over Yokkaichi from Mie Prefecture.

Funabashi capture 5th national title

Funabashi capture 5th national title

TOKYO, Japan - Ichiritsu Funabashi players celebrate winning the high school soccer national championship title, the fifth title for the school in Chiba Prefecture, at the National Stadium in Tokyo on Jan. 9, 2012. Funabashi beat Yokkaichi Chuo Kogyo from Mie Prefecture 2-1 in extra time.

Yokkaichi Chuo's Tamura celebrates goal vs Shoshi

Yokkaichi Chuo's Tamura celebrates goal vs Shoshi

TOKYO, Japan - Shota Tamura (L) of Yokkaichi Chuo Kogyo from Mie Prefecture celebrates after scoring in the first half of a high school soccer national championship semifinal against Shoshi at the National Stadium in Tokyo on Jan. 7, 2012. Yokkaichi will face Ichiritsu Funabashi from Chiba Prefecture after a 6-1 victory over Shoshi from Fukushima Prefecture.

Funabashi's Izumi scores vs Oita

Funabashi's Izumi scores vs Oita

TOKYO, Japan - Ryuji Izumi (front), captain of Ichiritsu Funabashi from Chiba Prefecture, scores in the second half of a high school soccer national championship semifinal against Oita at the National Stadium in Tokyo on Jan. 7, 2012. Funabashi will face Yokkaichi Chuo Kogyo from Mie Prefecture in the final after a 2-1 victory over Oita.

Corporate manager arrested for stealing Buddhist statue

Corporate manager arrested for stealing Buddhist statue

KYOTO, Japan - This photo shows more than 20 Buddhist statues confiscated by police from the house of corporate manager Itsuo Abe, 59, of Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture. The Kyoto prefectural police arrested Abe on suspicion of stealing a wooden statue of a multiheaded deity, which was created in the early Edo period (1603-1868), from a Kyoto temple in January.

'Fox' couple toss beans in shrine festival

'Fox' couple toss beans in shrine festival

YOKKAICHI, Japan - A high school girl (R) and a male office worker wearing fox masks and kimonos throw packets of beans from a stage during a traditional ''setsubun'' festival at Miyamado Shrine in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, on Feb. 3. The couple, wearing the masks as foxes are believed to be messengers from God, also participated in a mock wedding ceremony. The bean-tossing and fox wedding ceremonies are aimed at expelling evil spirits.

2 construction workers die of carbon monoxide poisoning

2 construction workers die of carbon monoxide poisoning

YOKKAICHI, Japan - Rescue workers at the entrance of an underground industrial pipe in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, on Sept. 7 work to rescue two construction workers who lost consciousness inside the 1.2-kilometer-long pipe. The two were later pronounced dead from carbon monoxide poisoning.

G-8 summit logo underlines coexistence of environment, humankind

G-8 summit logo underlines coexistence of environment, humankind

TOKYO, Japan - The logo for July's Group of Eight summit in Hokkaido is unveiled during a ceremony at the prime minister's office in Tokyo on Jan. 4 with Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda (2nd from R) and Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura (R) attending. Atsuya Kondo (2nd from L), an 18-year-old high school student in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, and four other junior and high school students jointly created the logo. At left is Hokkaido Governor Harumi Takahashi.

M5.4 quake jolts central Japan

M5.4 quake jolts central Japan

YOKKAICHI, Japan - A ceiling board and chairs fell at a roadside restaurant in Kameyama, Mie Prefecture, on April 15 due to a strong earthquake that hit the prefecture and vicinity in central Japan. A man and woman sustained minor injuries due to the falling ceiling board.

M5.4 quake jolts central Japan

M5.4 quake jolts central Japan

YOKKAICHI, Japan - Photo shows the roof of a house in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, which was damaged April 15 by a strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.4.

Police search Ishihara Sangyo plant over disposal violation

Police search Ishihara Sangyo plant over disposal violation

YOKKAICHI, Japan - Photo shows the factory of Ishihara Sangyo Kaisha Ltd. in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, which police searched on Nov. 8 on suspicion of violating the waste management law by selling contaminated recycled products to unlicensed garbage disposal firms.

Police search Ishihara Sangyo plant over disposal violation

Police search Ishihara Sangyo plant over disposal violation

YOKKAICHI, Japan - Police officers walk into the factory of Ishihara Sangyo Kaisha Ltd. in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, on Nov. 8 for investigation on suspicion of violating the waste management law by selling contaminated recycled products to unlicensed garbage disposal firms.

Political party leaders cast votes for general election

Political party leaders cast votes for general election

YOKKAICHI, Japan - Democratic Party of Japan President Katsuya Okada casts his vote for the House of Representatives election together with his wife Tazuko in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, on Sept. 11.

(1)Party leaders cast ballots in upper house election

(1)Party leaders cast ballots in upper house election

YOKKAICHI, Japan - Katsuya Okada, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan, and his wife Tatsuko, cast their ballots for the House of Councillors election at a polling station in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, on July 11.

Horie launches new yacht for solo world trip

Horie launches new yacht for solo world trip

YOKKAICHI, Japan - Japanese adventurer Kenichi Horie (R), who has already sailed around the world twice, launched his new yacht, the Suntory Mermaid, on Nov. 13 in preparation for another nonstop voyage around the world next year.

Matsuzakaya head announces closure of Yokkaichi outlet

Matsuzakaya head announces closure of Yokkaichi outlet

NAGOYA, Japan - Kunihiko Okada (R), president of department store operator Matsuzakaya Co., tells reporters in Nagoya on Jan. 30 that the company will close its loss-making outlet in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, western Japan, on May 31. The Yokkaichi store, which opened in 1991, incurred a cumulative 18.8 billion yen loss in the 1999 business year.

8 bodies recovered after cargo ship founders in Pacific

8 bodies recovered after cargo ship founders in Pacific

KOCHI, Japan - The photo, taken from a Kyodo News helicopter, shows a Japan Coast Guard ship on Jan. 8 rescuing a crew member of a cargo ship that sank the previous day in the Pacific Ocean off Kochi Prefecture. Five crew members of the Panamanian-registered 3,561-ton White Koowa, all Filipinos, have been rescued by coast guard patrol boats and another cargo ship. The bodies of eight crew members were found Jan. 8 and one remains missing. The surviving crew members said the ship, owned by a company in Ehime Prefecture, sank at around 9:30 p.m. on Jan. 7. The vessel was transporting ore from Indonesia to Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture.

Football: 55-year-old Kazuyoshi Miura

Football: 55-year-old Kazuyoshi Miura

Kazuyoshi Miura of Suzuka Point Getters, 55, warms up during half time of a Japan Football League game against Sony Sendai FC on Nov. 6, 2022, at a stadium in Yokkaichi in Mie Prefecture.

Suzuka 8 Hours-Gino Rea

Suzuka 8 Hours-Gino Rea

2022FIM World Endurance Championship Round 3 Suzuka 8 Hours F.C.C. TSR in the 43rd round of the endurance road race Honda France's Gino Lia, a 32-year-old British national, was taken to a hospital in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, after an accident during free practice. He was taken to a hospital in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, after an accident during free practice.

Football: 55-year-old Kazuyoshi Miura

Football: 55-year-old Kazuyoshi Miura

Suzuka Point Getters' Kazuyoshi Miura, 55, stretches his leg during the second half of a match against Rein Meer Aomori in the fourth-tier Japan Football League on March 13, 2022, in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture.

Football: 55-year-old Kazuyoshi Miura

Football: 55-year-old Kazuyoshi Miura

Suzuka Point Getters' Kazuyoshi Miura (top L), 55, tries to deflect a cross with a header during the first half of a match against Rein Meer Aomori in the fourth-tier Japan Football League on March 13, 2022, in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture.

Campaigning for Japanese general election

Campaigning for Japanese general election

Yuichiro Tamaki, head of the Democratic Party for the People, makes a stump speech in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, on Oct. 24, 2021, ahead of a general election on Oct. 31.

Tokyo Olympics: Ugandan athlete who went missing heads back home

Tokyo Olympics: Ugandan athlete who went missing heads back home

Ugandan weightlifter Julius Ssekitoleko (R) is pictured before boarding a plane at Narita airport near Tokyo on July 21, 2021. Ssekitoleko was found by police a day earlier in Yokkaichi, central Japan, after going missing on July 16 from his pre-Olympic training camp in Izumisano, Osaka Prefecture.

Police search Ishihara Sangyo plant over disposal violation

Police search Ishihara Sangyo plant over disposal violation

YOKKAICHI, Japan - Police officers walk into the factory of Ishihara Sangyo Kaisha Ltd. in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, on Nov. 8 for investigation on suspicion of violating the waste management law by selling contaminated recycled products to unlicensed garbage disposal firms. (Kyodo)

Police search Ishihara Sangyo plant over disposal violation

Police search Ishihara Sangyo plant over disposal violation

YOKKAICHI, Japan - Photo shows the factory of Ishihara Sangyo Kaisha Ltd. in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, which police searched on Nov. 8 on suspicion of violating the waste management law by selling contaminated recycled products to unlicensed garbage disposal firms. (Kyodo)

Toshiba completes new flash memory line at Yokkaichi plant

Toshiba completes new flash memory line at Yokkaichi plant

TSU, Japan - Toshiba Corp. holds a ribbon-cutting ceremony at its Yokkaichi plant in Mie on Sept. 4 to mark the completion of a new flash memory production line. The facility line is designed for Toshiba's joint operations with U.S. computer chip maker SanDisk Corp. to produce NAND flash memory chips that can quickly write and erase data, company officials said. (Kyodo)

G-8 summit logo underlines coexistence of environment, humankind

G-8 summit logo underlines coexistence of environment, humankind

TOKYO, Japan - The logo for July's Group of Eight summit in Hokkaido is unveiled during a ceremony at the prime minister's office in Tokyo on Jan. 4 with Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda (2nd from R) and Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura (R) attending. Atsuya Kondo (2nd from L), an 18-year-old high school student in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, and four other junior and high school students jointly created the logo. At left is Hokkaido Governor Harumi Takahashi. (Kyodo)

Political party leaders cast votes for general election

Political party leaders cast votes for general election

YOKKAICHI, Japan - Democratic Party of Japan President Katsuya Okada casts his vote for the House of Representatives election together with his wife Tazuko in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, on Sept. 11. (Kyodo)

Hiroshige - 53 Stations of the Tokaido - Print 44

Hiroshige - 53 Stations of the Tokaido - Print 44

44 Yokkaichi - The hurricane. A man racing after his hat, bowled along by the wind, and another crossing a small bridge over a stream, his coat blown about him. Yokkaichi Station was not only a port, but also a thriving market town. The name Yokkaichi literally means 'fourth day market' and is derived from the traditional market held on the fourth day of each month at this town.Travellers had to cross a series of tiny bridge built over the small rivers flowing through low level land along the seashore. Utagawa Hiroshige (1797 - 1858). The Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido - Hoeido edition (1831-4) Date: 1831 - 1834

This year's issue of Overcoming Pollution

Mie Prefecture has established a Pollution Center to deal with the problems of the Yokkaichi oil complex. 　 (Video) Yokkaichi oil complex with smoke rising from its chimneys Monthly review meetings based on applications from patients Asthma patients Children wearing masks in the Isotsu district Purification equipment in an elementary school auditorium Children doing dry cloth rubbing Establishment of the nation's first pollution center Air pollution measuring vehicles headed for the site Air pollution measuring vehicles headed for the site Persuading citizens to remodel the city The Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) experiments with apartment complexes built outside the pollution limit line.

Toshiba completes new assembly line for flash memory

Toshiba completes new assembly line for flash memory

Photo taken July 15, 2016, in the central Japan city of Yokkaichi shows a ceremony to mark the completion of Toshiba Corp.'s new assembly line for next-generation flash memory chips. At the plant, jointly operated with its U.S. partner Western Digital Corp., Toshiba will produce 3D flash memory chips that can hold more data than conventional NAND-type memory. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Okada casts early ballot for upper house election

Okada casts early ballot for upper house election

Katsuya Okada, leader of Japan's main opposition Democratic Party, casts an early ballot in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, on July 8, 2016, for the July 10 House of Councillors election. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Okada casts early ballot for upper house election

Okada casts early ballot for upper house election

Katsuya Okada, leader of Japan's main opposition Democratic Party, speaks to reporters in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, on July 8, 2016, after casting an early ballot for the July 10 House of Councillors election. Odaka voiced hope that the voters share a sense of danger over a constitutional revision being pushed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo