Tag: Abe

Japan lifts coronavirus emergency but urges caution

  by Natsuko FUKUE Agence France Presse TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan lifted a nationwide state of emergency over the coronavirus on Monday, gradually reopening the world’s third-largest economy as government officials warned caution was still necessary to prevent another wave. “We had very stringent criteria for lifting the state of emergency. We have judged that we have met this,” Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told a nationally televised news conference. Compared with hard-hit areas in […]

Japan lifts virus emergency for most regions

by Shingo ITO TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s prime minister on Thursday lifted a state of emergency imposed due to the coronavirus for the majority of the country but kept it in place for top cities Tokyo and Osaka. After fears the virus could explode in Japan, new infections have come down sharply, enabling the government to end the measure in 39 out of 47 prefectures before it was due to expire on May 31. […]

Japan PM proposes state of emergency over virus, $1-trillion stimulus

  by Natsuko FUKUE Agence France Presse TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s prime minister Monday proposed a state of emergency for several major regions seeing a sharp rise in coronavirus cases, as well as a stimulus package worth $1 trillion to cushion the impact on the world’s third-biggest economy. The official declaration of the state of emergency would likely come as soon as Tuesday, Shinzo Abe told reporters, as the country grapples with a recent […]

Japan expands entry ban, quarantine over virus

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s prime minister said Wednesday the country will expand quarantine measures and a ban on entry from parts of countries including Italy and Spain affected by the coronavirus outbreak. The announcement by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe adds parts of Italy, Spain and Switzerland and all of Iceland to existing rules banning the entry of foreign travelers coming from hard-hit parts of China, South Korea and elsewhere. The new measures also expand […]

Japan’s Abe warns conflict with Iran impacts entire world

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has warned that military confrontation with Iran will impact global peace and stability, as he visits the Middle East hoping to ease tensions spiked by the US killing of a top Iranian general. His comments came at the start of a five-day Gulf tour that had been thrown into doubt after Tehran responded to the attack on Qasem Soleimani by launching a barrage of missiles […]

Japan’s Abe urges Hong Kong freedoms in Xi meeting

BEIJING, China (AFP) — Hong Kong should “continue to be free and open”, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told the Chinese president on Monday, as the city is rocked by months of pro-democracy protests. Abe met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing ahead of flying to the southwestern city of Chengdu to join a trilateral meeting Tuesday, which will also be attended by South Korean President Moon Jae-in. In a press briefing after the […]

Japan’s Abe shakes up cabinet, brings in rising star

by Hiroshi Hiyama  TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s Shinzo Abe on Wednesday appointed new foreign and defence ministers and promoted a popular rising political star, in a cabinet reshuffle that fuelled speculation over the prime minister’s successor. The spectacular appointment as environment minister of the telegenic Shinjiro Koizumi, the 38-year-old son of much-loved former PM Junichiro Koizumi, set tongues wagging in Tokyo political classes as the Abe era draws to a close. “Abe intends to […]

Japan’s Abe claims victory in upper house election

by Shingo ITO Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe claimed victory Sunday for his ruling coalition in the upper house election but appeared to fail to secure a “supermajority” in the chamber in support of his dream to amend the nation’s pacifist constitution. With the results, the 64-year-old Abe, who is on course to become Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, aims to shore up his mandate ahead of a crucial consumption tax hike later this year, along […]

33 dead in suspected arson attack on Japan animation studio

  by Shingo ITO Agence France Presse TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A suspected arson attack at an animation production company in Japan killed 33 people and injured dozens more on Thursday, after a man reportedly doused the building with flammable liquid and shouted “drop dead.” A motive for the apparent attack remained unclear hours after the blaze. If arson is confirmed, the attack will be among the deadliest criminal acts in decades in Japan, where […]

In Tehran, Japan’s Abe urges Iran to play ‘constructive role’

by Amir HAVASI TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe urged Tehran to play a “constructive role” for Middle East peace Wednesday during a rare diplomatic mission to the Islamic republic aimed at defusing US-Iran tensions. Iran has been locked in a bitter standoff with the United States since US President Donald Trump withdrew from a landmark 2015 nuclear deal in May last year. Washington has since reimposed crippling unilateral sanctions — which […]

Duterte thanks Japan for giving importance to Mindanao’s dev’t and for continued confidence in PHL

  (Eagle News) — President Rodrigo Duterte thanked Japan for its growing interest and confidence in the Philippines as a preferred trade and investment destination, as the country committed around 25 billion yen for the development of Mindanao. He also expressed his appreciation to Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo for his continued support for his administration’s “Build, Build, Build” infrastructure program. Duterte, who came back to the country from his four-day successful Japan trip on […]

Japan PM to meet Iran’s Khamenei to mediate with US: report

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will meet Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei later this month with Tokyo hoping to mediate between Washington and Tehran, a report said Sunday. As tensions intensify between Iran and Japan’s key ally the United States, Abe has reportedly proposed serving as a go-between and is said to be weighing up a state visit to Iran. According to the Mainichi Shimbun report, Abe’s planned meeting with […]