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China escalated its trade tensions with Japan on Wednesday by launching an investigation into imported dichlorosilane, a chemical gas used in making semiconductors, a day after it imposed curbs on the export of so-called dual-use goods that could be used by Japan's military. The Chinese Commerce Ministry said in a statement that it had launched the investigation following an application from the domestic industry showing the price of dichlorosilane imported from Japan had decreased 31% between 2022 and 2024. The dumping of imported products from Japan has damaged the production and operation of our domestic industry, the ministry said. The measure comes a day after Beijing banned exports to Japan of dual-use goods that can have military applications. Beijing has been showing mounting displeasure with Tokyo after new Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested late last year that her nation's military could intervene if China were to take action against Taiwan an island democr
A strong earthquake hit western Japan on Tuesday but there was no danger of a tsunami, officials said. The quake, with a preliminary magnitude of 6.2, occurred in Shimane prefecture in northwestern Japan, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. The prefectural capital of Matsue and nearby cities, including some in the neighboring Tottori prefecture, were among the most strongly shaken. The epicenter was located at a depth of about 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) inland, the agency said, adding there was no risk of a tsunami. No injuries or damage were reported from the quake. The Nuclear Regulation Authority said no abnormalities were found at the Shimame nuclear power plant and a related facility in the region. Japan is on the so-called Pacific ring of fire, which is one of the world's most earthquake-prone areas.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung is set to begin his visit to China on Sunday as Beijing looks to deepen ties with the country after heightened tensions between China and Japan over Taiwan, a self-ruled island it claims as its sovereign territory. Lee's four-day trip is his first visit to China since taking office in June. It comes at a time of heightened tensions between China and Japan, after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in November said that her country's military could get involved if China were to take action against Taiwan. During his stay, Lee will meet with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, their second meeting in just two months. Lee signals commitment to China's ties ------------------------------------------ Ahead of his trip, Lee gave an interview to China's state broadcaster CCTV at Seoul's Cheong Wa Dae, the presidential office also known as the Blue House. Lee was quoted as saying that it was his first interview held in the presidential palace and th
President Donald Trump invited Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi during a phone call Friday to visit the United States this year, the Japanese foreign ministry said, in what would be the ultraconservative leader's first trip to the US since taking office in October. The White House is yet to confirm the call and the invitation. It comes as ties between Japan and China have been strained, ramping up tensions in the region. The US, a close ally of Japan, is seeking to strengthen its ties with Tokyo but also stabilize its relationship with Beijing ahead of a likely trip by Trump to China in April. Beijing staged two-day military exercises in the waters off Taiwan this week. Takaichi, Japan's first female prime minister, infuriated China late last year when she said Chinese military action against Taiwan could be grounds for a Japanese military response, breaking away from former Japanese leaders' strategic ambiguity on the highly sensitive matter. In a statement Friday, the Japane
A massive crash in snowy weather killed one person and injured 26 on an expressway in Japan late on Friday as the country kicked off its end-of-the-year holiday season. The Gunma prefectural highway police said on Saturday that the pileup on the Kan-etsu Expressway started with a collision between two trucks in the town of Minakami, about 160 kilometres (100 miles) northwest of Tokyo. A 77-year-old woman from Tokyo died, police said. Out of the 26 injured, five were reported to be in serious condition. The crash of the trucks blocked parts of the expressway, and cars coming from behind them were unable to brake on the snowy surface. More than 50 vehicles were involved in the pileup, police said. A fire erupted at the far end of the pileup, spreading to more than a dozen vehicles, some of which were completely burned. Nobody was injured from the fire, which was extinguished about seven hours later, police said. A warning about heavy snow was in effect late on Friday, when many Japa
A man was arrested after stabbing eight people and injuring seven others with what was believed to be bleach at a rubber factory in central Japan on Friday, officials said. Eight people were taken to hospitals after being stabbed by the man with a knife at the Yokohama Rubber Company in the city of Mishima, in the Shizuoka prefecture, west of Tokyo, according to the Fujisan Nanto Fire Department. The department told The Associated Press that five of the people who were stabbed were in serious condition but other details were not available. Shizuoka prefectural police said the attacker, a 38-year-old man, was arrested for alleged attempted murder at the factory, but did not give further details. Seven others were also injured by the bleach thrown at them during the attack, the fire department said. No other details were immediately known.
Japan's Cabinet on Friday approved a record defence budget plan exceeding 9 trillion yen (USD 58 billion) for the coming year, aiming to fortify its strike-back capability and coastal defence with cruise missiles and unmanned arsenals as tensions rise in the region. The draft budget for fiscal 2026 beginning April is up 9.4 per cent from 2025 and marks the fourth year of Japan's ongoing five-year programme to double annual arms spending to 2 per cent of gross domestic product. The increase comes as Japan faces elevated tension from China. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said in November that her country's military could get involved if China were to take action against Taiwan, the self-governing island that Beijing says must come under its rule. Takaichi's government, under US pressure for a military increase, pledged to achieve the 2 per cent target by March, two years earlier than planned. Japan also plans to revise the ongoing security and defence policy by December 2026 t
The governor of Niigata on Tuesday formally gave local consent to put two reactors at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in the north-central prefecture back online, clearing a last hurdle toward restarting the plant idled for more than a decade following the 2011 meltdowns at another plant managed by the same utility. Gov. Hideyo Hanazumi, in his meeting with Economy and Industry Minister Ryosei Akazawa, conveyed the prefecture's endorsement to restart the No. 6 and No. 7 reactors at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant, accepting the government's pledge to ensure safety, emergency response and understanding of the residents. Restart preparations for No. 6 reactor have moved ahead, and utility company TEPCO is expected to apply for a final safety inspection by the Nuclear Safety Authority later this week, ahead of a possible resumption in January. Work at the other reactor is expected to take a few more years. The move comes one day after the Niigata prefectural assembly adopted a
Japan's exports climbed 6 per cent in November from a year earlier, with shipments to the United States rising for the first time since March as uncertainties over tariffs abated following a trade deal with the Trump administration. The preliminary data released Wednesday showed Japan's total imports rose 1.3 per cent last month over a year earlier, leaving a surplus of 322.2 billion yen (about USD 2.1 billion). Exports to the US rose nearly 9 per cent from the year before as shipments of cars, chemicals and cameras helped make up for declines in machinery and iron and steel. Imports of US oil nearly tripled, along with sharp increases in imports of grain and other food products. Japan's deal on tariffs with President Donald Trump's administration, setting the baseline import duty for most products at 15 per cent instead of the earlier plan for a 25 per cent tariff, helped boost passenger car shipments by 8 per cent when measured by the number of vehicles. But the value of those car
Wheels India on Monday said it has signed a technical assistance agreement with Japan's Topy Industries for design, development and manufacture of aluminium alloy wheels. Topy will provide technical knowhow and engineering support to enhance Wheels India's design and manufacturing capabilities for cast aluminium wheel business under the agreement, the company said in a statement. "This agreement is expected to bring in considerable technical expertise in the aluminium wheel segment for Wheels India. We are confident that this agreement will also help us win new businesses and bolster our competitive advantage in the cast aluminium segment," Wheels India Managing Director Srivats Ram said. Topy Industries is an over 100-year-old globally renowned wheel manufacturer. They are a leading manufacturer of aluminium wheels with cutting-edge technologies, he noted. Srivats further said,"Through this agreement, we are hoping to make fresh inroads into the Japanese OEMs in India in the allo