Page 24 - Japan

Japan's minister visits Kyiv to stress mutual concern over N Korean troops

Japan's foreign minister arrived in Kyiv on Saturday to discuss North Korea's deepening military alliance with Russia, including the deployment of thousands of troops to support Moscow's war in Ukraine. Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya will meet his Ukrainian counterpart, Andrii Sybiha, to reaffirm Japan's strong support for Ukraine against Russia's invasion and to discuss further sanctions against Moscow, Japan's Foreign Ministry said. High on the agenda was Tokyo's grave concern over growing military cooperation between North Korea and Russia, the ministry said. According to US, South Korean and Ukrainian intelligence assessments, up to 12,000 North Korean troops have been sent to Russia as part of a major defence treaty between the countries. Last week, Ukrainian officials said Ukraine and North Korean troops engaged in small-scale fighting while Ukraine's army fired artillery at North Korean soldiers in Russia's Kursk border region, where Ukraine launched a surprise push on Augus

Japan PM meets Xi Jinping, voices concern over Taiwan, South China Sea

The two leaders meet on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Lima, Peru

Biden praises cooperation at meeting with S Korean, Japanese leaders

President Joe Biden on Friday praised the cooperation between South Korea, Japan and the US at countering what he described as North Korea's "dangerous and destabilising cooperation with Russia". Biden spoke at the start of a meeting in Peru with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. The talks came amid heightened concerns about North Korea's growing military partnership with Russia and Pyongyang's stepped-up cadence of ballistic missile tests. The meeting on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Peru comes as North Korea has deployed thousands of troops to Russia to help Moscow try to claw back land in the Kursk border region that Ukraine seized earlier this year. I'm proud of how far we've come, Biden said. Whatever the issue, we've taken it on together." North Korean leader Kim Jong Un also ordered a series of ballistic missile tests in the lead-up to this month's US election and is claiming progress on effort

Japanese Princess Yuriko, Emperor Hirohito's sister-in-law, dies at 101

Japanese Princess Yuriko, the wife of wartime Emperor Hirohito's brother and the oldest member of the imperial family, has died after her health deteriorated recently, palace officials said. She was 101. Yuriko died Friday at a Tokyo hospital, the Imperial Household Agency said. It did not announce the cause of death, but Japanese media said she died of pneumonia. Born in 1923 as an aristocrat, Yuriko married at age 18 to Prince Mikasa, the younger brother of Hirohito and the uncle of current Emperor Naruhito, months before the start of World War II. She has recounted living in a shelter with her husband and their baby daughter after their residence was burned down in the U.S. fire bombings of Tokyo in the final months of the war in 1945. Yuriko raised five children and supported Mikasa's research into ancient Near Eastern history, while also serving her official duties and taking part in philanthropic activities. She outlived her husband and all three sons. Her death reduces Japa

Japan's reelected PM Ishiba vows to step up reform against funds misuse

Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba pledged to take tougher measures against misuse of political funds after he was reelected by parliament Monday following a major loss in the polls last month by his governing coalition. Ishiba's Liberal Democratic Party and its junior partner Komeito together lost a majority in the 465-seat Lower House, the more powerful of Japan's two-house parliament, in the October 27 election. The defeat was blamed on voter outrage over financial misconduct by his party. We must remind ourselves of the basics that politics is for the people, as we tackle political and party reforms," Ishiba said. He said that in response to the poor election results, "We must be able to have empathy for the pain, sorrow and anger of the people. A special parliamentary session convened Monday to pick a new leader in a vote required within 30 days of a general election. Ishiba beat top opposition leader Yoshihiko Noda 221-160 in the first runoff in 30 years. In his second ...

Japan PM Ishiba survives parliament vote as protectionist Trump looms large

Former Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, the head of the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party, the biggest party after the LDP, is also expected to be among the candidates put forward as premier

ADB boosts climate finance after US, Japan give first sovereign guarantees

The ADB has set a long-term cumulative climate finance lending target of $100 billion between 2019 and 2030

Japan vows military buildup, deeper ties with US as regional tension rises

Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Saturday renewed a pledge to build up his country's military and deepen its alliance with the United States under President-elect Donald Trump. Ishiba, who made the comments at an annual troop review held at Camp Asaka in the Tokyo suburbs, said the security environment surrounding Japan and the international community has significantly worsened due to escalating tensions with China, Russia and North Korea. He pledged to reinforce Japan's military power. He said breaches of Japanese airspace by Chinese and Russian warplanes earlier this year not only violated Japanese sovereignty but also threatened the safety of Japan and are absolutely unacceptable. He said Japan faces growing threats from China's accelerating military activity around Japanese coasts and from North Korea's repeated missile firings. As we face the most severe and complex security environment, I will balance and strengthen Japan's diplomacy and security, Ishiba said in his ..

Mount Fuji likely gets its trademark snowcap after long delay in 130 years

Japan this year also had an unusually hot summer and warm autumn

Honda reports 15% drop in Q2 operating profit, misses analyst forecasts

Honda said last week its global vehicle sales shrank 1.5per cent to 2.8 million over the first nine months of the year, as a hefty 29per cent drop in China and a 6 per cent fall in Asia and Oceania

Japan's Mount Fuji still without its iconic snowcap for 1st time in 130 yrs

Japan's iconic Mount Fuji, known for its snowcap forming around this time of the year, is still snowless in November for the first time in 130 years, presumably because of the unusually warm temperatures in the past few weeks. The lack of snow on Mt. Fuji, a UNESCO World Heritage site, as of Tuesday breaks the previous record set on October 26, 2016, meteorological officials said. Usually, the 3,776-metre-high mountain has sprinkles of snow falling on its summit starting October 2, about a month after the summertime hiking season there ends. Last year, snow fell on the mountain on October 5, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency, or JMA. The snowless Mt. Fuji has captured attention on social media. People posted photos showing the bare mountain, some expressing surprise and others concerned over climate change. The JMA's Kofu Local Meteorological Office, which keeps weather data in central Japan and was the agency that announced the first snowfall on Mt. Fuji in 1894, has ci

Japan launches world's first wooden satellite, LignoSat, into space

Japanese researchers have launched LignoSat, the world's first wooden satellite, aiming to test the viability of timber as a sustainable material in space

Japan launches defence satellite aimed at speedier military operations

Japan launched a defence satellite aimed at speedier communication and military operations on a new flagship H3 rocket on Monday and successfully placed it into orbit, as the country seeks to build up its military capability amid growing tension in the region. The H3 No. 4 rocket lifted off from the Tanegashima Space Centre on a southwestern Japanese island. Everything went as planned and the satellite was successfully put into a targeted orbit, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, announced. The rocket was carrying a Defense Ministry satellite, Kirameki No. 3, which uses X-band communication for information and data sharing, as well as military operations and command. X-band satellite is less affected by weather conditions and is capable of supporting stable communication. Kirameki No. 3 follows two earlier X-band satellites already in operation to meet Japan's growing communication demands and enhance its satellite operations. Maj. Gen. Yasuhiro Kato, the Joint Staff .

Japan launches defence satellite carried by new flagship H3 rocket

Japan launched a defence satellite designed for information-gathering and military operations on a new flagship H3 rocket on Monday, as the country seeks to build up its military capability amid growing tension in the region. The H3 No. 4 rocket lifted off from the Tanegashima Space Center on a southwestern Japanese island. Everything went as planned and the satellite placed at the top of the rocket was successfully separated about half an hour after liftoff, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, said in a livestream. JAXA will give further details about the launch later Monday. The rocket is carrying a Defense Ministry satellite, Kirameki No. 3, which uses X-band communication for military operations and reconnaissance, including information-gathering for signs of North Korean missile activity. X-band satellite is less affected by weather conditions and is capable of supporting stable communication. Kirameki No. 3 adds to two earlier X-band satellites already in ...

Nuclear reactor that restarted 13 yrs after Fukushima disaster shuts again

A Japanese nuclear reactor that restarted last week for the first time in more than 13 years after it had survived a massive 2011 earthquake and tsunami that badly damaged the nearby Fukushima nuclear plant was shut down again Monday due to an equipment problem, its operator said. The No. 2 reactor at the Onagawa nuclear power plant on Japan's northern coast was put back online on Oct. 29 and had been expected to start generating power in early November. But it had to be shut down again five days after its restart due to a glitch that occurred Sunday in a device related to neutron data inside the reactor, plant operator Tohoku Electric Power Co. said. The reactor was operating normally and there was no release of radiation into the environment, Tohoku Electric said. The utility said it decided to shut it down to re-examine equipment to address residents' safety concerns. No new date for a restart was given. The reactor is one of three at the Onagawa plant, which is 100 kilometers (

US, Japan, South Korea hold drills after N Korea's ballistic missile launch

"Amid gradually increasing security cooperation between the three countries, (we) will strengthen coordination to deter and jointly respond to North Korea's threats," it said in the statement cited

Japan, EU forge security pact amid rising tensions with China and Russia

Borrell emphasized the dangerous global climate, referring to the top security concerns for both Japan and the EU without specifically naming China, Russia, or North Korea

Japan plans automated transport to address driver shortage, cut emissions

Japan is planning to build an automated cargo transport corridor between Tokyo and Osaka, dubbed a conveyor belt road by the government, to make up for a shortage of truck drivers. The amount of funding for the project is not yet set. But it's seen as one key way to help the country cope with soaring deliveries. A computer graphics video made by the government shows big, wheeled boxes moving along a three-lane corridor, also called an auto flow road, in the middle of a big highway. A trial system is due to start test runs in 2027 or early 2028, aiming for full operations by the mid-2030s. We need to be innovative with the way we approach roads, said Yuri Endo, a senior deputy director overseeing the effort at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. Apart from making up for a shrinking labour force and the need to reduce workloads for drivers, the system also will help cut carbon emissions, she said. The key concept of the auto flow-road is to create dedicated

Nomura woes deepen with trading scandal, arrest for attempted murder

The scandals reinforce Nomura's image as a firm prone to missteps, including data leaks and a multi-billion dollar loss from the collapse of Archegos Capital Management

Asian stocks slip as chips drag, yen nears 3-month low before BOJ decision

Yen hovered close to a three-month low against the dollar, weighed down by political instability after a drubbing for Japan's ruling coalition in parliamentary elections last weekend