We’d been warned about the trains. Or, to be more accurate, the stations. People with experience of Japan looked on us with pity, like raw recruits being sent over the top to impending doom. Ominous warnings were sounded and tales told of underground labyrinths teeming with commuters and the odd tourist rooted to the spot in awe and confusion.

Two days out from their all-Six Nations World Cup 2019 opening showdown, and the game is afoot.

Joey Carbery's versatility is an obvious asset to Ireland at this World Cup but the Munster out-half's ankle injury has left him strapped for time and with little option but to concentrate on his primary duties at No.10 before Sunday's opener against Scotland.

Henshaw, who played only 80 minutes during pre-season, in the final warm-up game against Wales in Dublin on September 7, was set to go for a scan this morning.

Having trailed 10-7 at half-time, Ireland started the second period with intent with two tries before the hour mark

Japanese police have caught a 23-year-old man who had been sought since a teenage girl escaped his apartment after being held captive for nearly two years.

Japanese police have detained a 23-year-old man wanted for allegedly abducting a teenage girl and holding her captive in his apartment for two years.

Swiss police have identified the remains of two Japanese climbers who went missing 45 years ago, months after their bones were found on a glacier under the Matterhorn mountain.

Japan’s ruling party has elected Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda as its new chief, meaning he will almost certainly become the next prime minister and inherit the challenge of rebuilding from the country’s disasters.

A JAPANESE man accused of raping and murdering British teacher Lindsay Ann Hawker, whose battered body was found in a sand-filled bathtub, has admitted the killing, but said it was accidental.

New readings show radiation levels continue to rise in the ocean outside a leaking nuclear plant in Japan's north east, officials said today, as they debated whether to broaden the evacuation zone around the tsunami-damaged facility.

Shops across Tokyo began rationing goods including milk, toilet paper, rice and water today as a run on bottled water coupled with delivery disruptions left shelves bare, nearly two weeks after the earthquake and tsunami.

Sony said today that it is suspending production at some plants in Japan which make popular consumer electronics like digital cameras and televisions due to shortages of parts and raw materials following the calamitous earthquake earlier this month.

A massive tsunami triggered by the largest earthquake in Japan’s recorded history slammed into the eastern coast today sweeping away boats, cars, homes and people.

An earthquake measuring 8.9 on the Richter scale rocked Japan’s eastern coast today, unleashing a 33ft (10m) tsunami which swept boats, cars, buildings and tons of debris miles inland.

An earthquake measuring 8.9 on the Richter scale rocked Japan’s north-eastern coast today, unleashing a 33ft (10m) tsunami which swept boats, cars, buildings and tons of debris miles inland.

THE Japanese man accused of murdering British teacher Lindsay Hawker has written a book confessing to the killing — and has promised to donate the proceeds to her family.

A STRONG earthquake shook Japan’s capital and surrounding areas yesterday, halting trains and a professional baseball game, but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.9 shook the Japanese capital of Tokyo and surrounding areas today.

A major Japanese meat processor said today it was recalling millions of packages of sausages and pizzas after finding cyanide in water at one of its plants.

A father and son are missing after a Japanese navy destroyer equipped with advanced radar ploughed into their fishing boat off the Pacific coast early today, splitting the vessel in two and hurling them into the chilly water.

China said today that it was investigating a company whose insecticide-tainted frozen dumplings made 10 people ill in Japan.

At least eight people in Japan have fallen ill after they ate poison-laced frozen dumplings, police and health officials said today.

A 6.2-magnitude earthquake has rocked eastern Japan, the meteorological agency said.

Police said one person had died, at least six others were missing and 15 injured as a powerful typhoon lashed southern Japan with heavy rains today, disrupting air traffic, prompting the evacuation of thousands of households and leaving thousands more without electricity.

YOU all know the one about patience seldom in a woman, never in a man. Well, females aren't allowed to play in the US Open so the males had the field to themselves yesterday to disprove that old adage.

Catherina McKiernan romped to victory in the Margate International cross country meeting in England today – and then set her sights on rolling back the years at next month’s European Cross Country Championships in Edinburgh.

The Football Association of Ireland has reacted angrily to claims in an evening newspaper that it paid €20,000 for a bar bill during the World Cup finals last summer.

By Mark Gallagher, Seoul

MICK McCARTHY leads the Irish soccer squad into their crunch match against Saudi Arabia today with his suitcases for tomorrow’s stand-by flight to Korea already packed.

David Beckham and his England colleagues have been accused of making a ‘‘hollow apology’’ to their fans and of ‘‘living in an ivory tower’’ by Republic of Ireland goalkeeper Dean Kiely.

Hundreds of Japanese people who turned out to watch the Ireland team training today had one name on their lips: Robbie Keane.

ONE foot in Yokohama, one foot still in Ibaraki, the Irish squad were back in training at their camp in Chiba yesterday, planning for Saudi Arabia but still savouring the afterglow of Germany.

By Liam Mackey

Ireland manager Mick McCarthy today paid tribute to fans who had travelled to Japan to cheer on his team in the World Cup.

The Republic of Ireland have defended their decision not to train in the Kashima Stadium in Ibaraki ahead of Wednesday's Group E clash with Germany.

The Republic of Ireland have defended their decision not to train in the Kashima Stadium in Ibaraki ahead of Wednesday's Group E clash with Germany.

By Liam Mackey, Chiba.

MATTO ORANDO’S gone down in history in Japan. As have his team-mates Robbi Kureano, Damien Dutt, Dinn Kieri and Anderi Oburian.

CAMEROON have moved firmly in focus for Ireland after Mick McCarthy brought back a first-hand eye-witness account of their 2-2 draw with England in a challenge game in Chiba on Sunday.

Lottery counter staff in Japan claim a customer told them to throw away a winning ticket worth £277,000.