Page 61 - Japan

S Korea shoppers stock up salt as Japan plans to releases Fukushima water

In many supermarkets across South Korea, salt has vanished from their stores which had led to heightened public anxiety

Japan defends neutrality of IAEA report on Fukushima water release plan

Japan's industry minister visited the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant on Monday to see equipment that would be used in the planned release into the sea of treated radioactive water to ensure the safety of the controversial plan, while demonstrators, including many from South Korea, rallied against it. The Japanese government defended the neutrality of the United Nations nuclear agency's final report that concluded Japan's water release plan met international safety standards, denying allegations that Japan pressured the International Atomic Energy Agency into publishing only favourable results. Economy and Industry Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura visited the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant Monday morning to see key equipment, including an emergency shutdown system, days after the Japanese regulatory authority granted a permit for the operator and the IAEA said the environmental impact from the water release would be negligible. The government and the plant operator,

Heavy rains cause floods in southwest Japan, at least 6 people missing

Torrential rain has been pounding southwestern Japan, triggering floods and mudslides and leaving at least six people missing Monday. Rains falling on the regions of Kyushu and Chugoku since the weekend caused flooding along a number of rivers as well as mudslides, closing roads, disrupting trains and cutting the water supply in some areas. The Japan Meteorological Agency issued an emergency heavy rain warning for Fukuoka and Oita prefectures on the southern main island of Kyushu, urging residents in riverside and hillside areas to take maximum caution. More than 1.7 million residents in vulnerable areas were urged to take shelter. The Fire and Disaster Management Agency said at least six people were missing. In the town of Soeda in Fukuoka prefecture, two people were buried underneath a mudslide. One was rescued alive, but the other was found without vital signs, the agency said. Further information on their condition wasn't immediately available. In the city of Karatsu in Saga .

S Korean lawmakers chide IAEA chief over Japan's plan to release wastewater

South Korean opposition lawmakers sharply criticized the head of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog on Sunday for its approval of Japanese plans to release treated wastewater from the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant. They met with Rafael Grossi in a tense meeting in Seoul that took place while protesters screamed outside the door. Grossi, the International Atomic Energy Agency's director general, arrived in South Korea over the weekend to engage with government officials and critics and help reduce public concerns about food safety. The IAEA last week approved the Japanese discharge plans, saying the process would meet international safety standards and pose negligible environmental and health impacts. South Korea's government has also endorsed the safety of the Japanese plans. In his meeting with members of the liberal Democratic Party, which controls a majority in South Korea's parliament, Grossi said the IAEA's review of the Japanese plans was based on transparent and ..

China looms large as Asian leaders seek to enhance ties with NATO

Japan PM will use opportunity to stress the need for relations between Japan and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to be stronger, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said

China, South Korea released water with high levels of tritium, says Japan

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno also said Japan will explain to China the planned water discharge into the sea from the nuclear complex

S Korea endorses safety of Japan's plans to release Fukushima plant water

South Korea's government on Friday formally endorsed the safety of Japanese plans to release treated wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into sea as it tried to calm people's fears about food contamination. Seoul's assessment was based on a 22-month review by government-funded scientists and aligned with the International Atomic Energy Agency's views. The agency greenlit the Japanese discharge plans this week, saying the treated wastewater would meet international safety standards and that its environmental and health impact would be negligible. Even before Friday's announcement, South Korean officials have been actively campaigning to dissolve the public's unease about the wastewater release, holding daily briefings to address what they describe as excessive fears and tightening radiation tests on seafood imported from Japan. Conservative lawmakers from President Yoon Suk Yeol's ruling party have even toured seafood markets to drink sea water fetched from fish tanks i

IAEA chief Grossi nods to discord among Fukushima water report experts

Beijing has blasted the IAEA's report saying the body should not be endorsing a plan which poses risks to marine life and human health, despite assurances from Japan

Ex-Japan PM hopeful of leap forward in economic relations with India

Earlier, on Thursday, the former Japanese PM called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with the two holding discussions on deepening India-Japan Special Strategic and global partnership

Uniqlo expands to western India, to open its first store in Mumbai

Japanese apparel retailer Uniqlo on Thursday said it will open its first store in Mumbai as part of the expansion of the company's sales network in the country. This would be Uniqlo's 11th store in India, where the company opened its first store in October 2019. Uniqlo was largely focusing on the northern Delhi-NCR region. The Mumbai store would be launched on October 6 at Phoenix Marketcity, Kurla. "October will also mark the anniversary of our four-year journey in India, and this new milestone highlights our strong ongoing commitment to India, Uniqlo India CEO Tomohiko Sei said. "Until now, our customers in Mumbai have been using our e-commerce channel to shop for their lifewear essentials, and we now look forward to welcoming them in person to our first Mumbai store," he said. Uniqlo also has a presence in India through online sales and it expects 15 per cent sales from e-commerce channels. Today, Uniqlo has more than 2,400 stores across the world. Uniqlo is a brand of Fast .

Ex-Japan PM Suga pitches for improving business environment in India

Ahead of his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi here, former Japan Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Thursday said he will pitch for improving the business environment in India for companies from his country. Suga was scheduled to meet Modi later in the day. "I will convey to His Excellency (PM Modi) the request we have received from the business leaders who are accompanying us this time and are keen to improve the environment for Japanese companies to do business in India," Yoshihide said at an event organised by industry body FICCI. Addressing another event organised by industry body CII, the former Prime Minister of Japan said, he will continue to encourage the Japanese private sector to invest in India. In my meeting with Prime Minister Modi, I would like to ask him to improve the business environment in India, he added. He observed that Japan is in full agreement with the public and private sectors on the importance of strengthening ties with India. "Last year, the Jap

Indian, Japanese navies kick off 6-day wargame from Visakhapatnam

The Indian and Japanese navies on Wednesday kicked off a six-day wargame off Visakhapatnam to further expand their overall military cooperation. The Indian Navy is hosting the seventh edition of the Japan-India Maritime Exercise (JIMEX) and this edition marks the 11th anniversary of wargame since its inception in 2012. The Indian Navy has deployed India's first indigenously built guided missile destroyer INS Delhi, indigenously built anti-submarine warfare corvette INS Kamorta, fleet tanker INS Shakti, a submarine, maritime patrol aircraft P8I and ship-borne helicopters and fighter aircraft for the exercise, officials said. The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) is represented by the guided missile destroyer JS Samidare and its integral helicopters. The exercise will be conducted over six days in two phases -- a harbour phase that will be followed by warfighting skills at sea. "The JIMEX 23 provides an opportunity to learn from each other's best practices and facilitates ..

IAEA chief to visit Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant before water release

The UN nuclear chief is to visit Japan's tsunami-wrecked nuclear power plant Wednesday after the agency affirmed the safety of a contentious plan to release treated radioactive water into the sea. On his way to the Fukushima Daiichi plant, a highlight of his four-day Japan visit, International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Mariano Grossi will join government and utility officials to hear the concerns of mayors and fishing association leaders and to assure them of the plan's safety. The IAEA, in its final report released Tuesday, concluded the plan to release the wastewater which would be significantly diluted but still have some radioactivity meets international standards and its environmental and health impact would be negligible. But local fishing organisations have rejected the plan because they worry that their reputation will be damaged even if their catch isn't contaminated. It is also opposed by groups in South Korea, China and some Pacific Island nations due to safety

EAM meets Japanese Bank chairman Tadashi, discusses economic cooperation

'Discussed India-Japan economic and technology cooperation and its further prospects,' Jaishankar added

Want to see expansion of UNSC permanent seats to include India, Brazil: UK

The UK has called for the expansion of the UN Security Council's permanent seats to include India, Brazil, Germany and Japan as well as African representation, underlining that it is high time the powerful UN body entered the 2020s. Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the United Nations and President of the Security Council for the month of July Ambassador Barbara Woodward's comments came as she briefed UN correspondents on the programme of work of the Security Council for the month. On reform of the UN Security Council, we want to see the expansion of the Council's permanent seats to include India, Brazil, Germany and Japan and African representation. It's high time the Council entered the 2020s, Woodward told reporters here on Monday. Woodward referred to remarks by British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly last week in which he announced the UK's ambition to drive forward reform of the multilateral system. Woodward said the UK's presidency of the Security Council in

UN nuclear chief in Japan to give report on release of radioactive water

The head of the UN nuclear agency is in Japan to meet with government leaders Tuesday and to see final preparations for the release of treated radioactive wastewater into the sea from the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant, on a visit Japan hopes will give credibility to the contentious plan. International Atomic Energy Agency head Rafael Mariano Grossi will meet with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida later Tuesday to submit IAEA's final report on the water release. All of IAEA's interim evaluations have been positive and the final report is expected to say that the water sampling, testing and monitoring plans involved in the release are adequate and fulfill international requirements. The treated radioactive water, stored in about 1,000 tanks that are nearing their 1.37 million ton capacity, must be removed to prevent accidental leaks and to make room for the plant's decommissioning. Japanese regulators finished their final safety inspection of the equipment last Friday and the plant ...

IBM throws weight behind Japanese chip startup it sees as crucial

Rapidus, a venture backed by some of Japan's biggest electronics firms, is turning IBM's 2-nanometer chip design into production-ready silicon and aims to fabricate such chips

Investors pour most money into Japan stocks since 2020, says BofA

Foreign investors are excited about the prospect of a new era of growth in corporate Japan and their buying helped the Nikkei share benchmark to scale three-decade peaks earlier this month

UN nuke chief to visit Fukushima plant, see preps for release of wastewater

The chief of the UN nuclear agency will visit Japan next week to meet with Japanese leaders and see final preparations for the release of treated radioactive wastewater from the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean, officials said Friday. Japan's government hopes the visit by International Atomic Energy Agency head Rafael Mariano Grossi will add credibility to the discharge plan. It has been strongly opposed by local fishing groups and by neighboring South Korea, China and some Pacific Island nations over safety concerns. Grossi will visit Japan July 4-7, Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said. He is expected to meet with Hayashi, Industry Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and visit the Fukushima plant, which was damaged by a massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011. Japan attaches great importance to the efforts of the IAEA, which serves an important role in promoting nuclear nonproliferation and peaceful uses of nuclear energy. We hope

Pak Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto to visit Japan to revive bilateral ties

Pakistan's Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is set to make his official maiden visit to Japan from July 1 to 4 to revive the bilateral relations after a considerable hiatus. Pakistan has tried to maintain a fine balance while pursuing ties with its all-weather ally China and its rival Japan. During the visit, Bilawal will be calling Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and will hold a meeting with the National Security Advisor Takeo Akiba, the Foreign Office said. The Foreign Minister's visit signals the revival of leadership level contacts with Japan after a considerable hiatus, it said in a statement, adding that Bilawal will hold delegation-level talks with his Japanese counterpart Yoshimasa Hayashi. He will deliver a lecture at the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI), which is a renowned think tank in Japan. Bilawal is also expected to interact with senior officials and executives representing prominent business houses and entities related to the import of Pakistani manpowe