Latest Scouting in Japan Stories

Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi will be sent into space on Sunday with a load of raw seafood.Noguchi will take off from the Baikonur cosmodrome with Russia's Oleg Kotov and NASA's Timothy Creamer. "We had training in Japan and I trained (my space colleagues) to be sushi lovers, so I am going to make a couple of flavors of sushi," Noguchi told a press conference ahead of Sunday's launch of the Russian Soyuz spacecraft."...Some sashimi, and raw fish and sushi and I will bring...

CHIGASAKI, Japan -- Hundreds of students, officials and hometown well-wishers let out a cheer as the space shuttle Discovery returned safely to Earth with Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi on board. About 400 people gathered at a school gymnasium in Noguchi's hometown, Chigasaki, to watch a live broadcast showing the return of the shuttle and its seven astronauts. The coastal city is just south of Tokyo. "Welcome back!" the crowd shouted with a mixture of joy and relief as Discovery...

CHIGASAKI, Japan -- Drums pounded and hundreds of hometown well-wishers roared with joy Tuesday as Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi blasted off aboard the space shuttle Discovery. About 300 people braved a typhoon and crowded into a brightly decorated reception room at City Hall to watch ride into space with six other astronauts. Chigasaki, a coastal city just south of Tokyo, is Noguchi's hometown. "It's magnificent," said Takakazu Ishii, 26, after watching the liftoff. "It's...