Our 5 most read stories from July 13 to 21, 2024

We have listed our five most read stories on the news site The Mainichi, from top to bottom, published between July 13 and 21. The first story was viewed by 17% of our regular readers. (The Mainichi)

People leave the right side open for people going up the escalator, in Nagoya’s Naka Ward in October 2023. The sign on the lower right reads: “Please do not walk.” (Mainichi/Shiho Sakai)

Hitachi’s explanatory website answers the growing question: Why is it dangerous to walk on escalators?

TOKYO — A major Japanese escalator manufacturer has launched a website explaining why it’s dangerous to walk on escalators, while people are still marching up and down them despite calls from governing bodies and railway companies to stop. The full story.

Truant fourth-grader wrongly told to leave public school in Tokyo after attending ‘free school’

TOKYO — The Meguro Ward Board of Education in the Japanese capital wrongly required the parents of a boy who dropped out of a public elementary school to file a notice of withdrawal when he decided to attend an alternative “free school” in 2023 after being bullied, the Mainichi Shimbun has learned. The full story.

A university student, center, teaches math to “Toyoko children” at the Komaba Campus of the University of Tokyo on June 1, 2024. (Mainichi/Shohei Kato)

University of Tokyo students organize study sessions for Kabukicho’s ‘Toyoko kids’

TOKYO — The youngsters who hang around a corner of the Japanese capital’s Kabukicho district, looking for a place to belong after running away from home or dropping out of school, are known as the “Toyoko kids.” Now a project is underway to support young people in the area who want to change their environment and avoid the dangers of drug abuse and sexual violence in the area. The full story.

Footballer Kaishu Sano in a national team uniform is seen at the Japan National Stadium in Tokyo on January 1, 2024. (Mainichi/Tatsuya Fujii)

Japan national soccer player Kaishu Sano and 2 others arrested for alleged rape

TOKYO — Japan national soccer player Kaishu Sano and two male acquaintances were arrested on July 14 for alleged rape, the Mainichi Shimbun learned from a source close to the investigation. The full story.

This photo from the company shows Kimura Drink Co. ramune, in its iconic glass bottles with marble seals.

Ramune: A traditional Japanese summer soft drink is making waves worldwide

TOKYO — It’s a fixture at summer festivals across Japan: food stalls with buckets of ice-cold water chilling “ramune” soft drinks in their signature light-blue glass bottles, luring thirsty festival-goers and their children. It would be a moment as familiar to the grandparents of those children as it is to the children themselves. The whole story.

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