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by Thomas Watkins, with Ben Dooley in Beijing Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US military has indefinitely postponed major joint exercises with South Korea, an official told AFP on Thursday, acting on President Donald Trump’s pledge to halt the “provocative” military drills following his summit with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un. The move, a significant break in how the US and South Korean militaries have worked together for decades, came […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A bill intended to reduce the volume of microplastics dumped into the ocean was approved by Japan’s parliament on Friday, but it included no sanctions for failure to comply. The measure, which received unanimous approval in the upper house, seeks to encourage businesses to reduce their use of microplastics, including microbeads — tiny plastic particles used in exfoliating creams and other cosmetic products. But the law contains no details of punishment […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s SoftBank is planning to invest between $60-100 billion in a solar power project in India, a Japanese report said Friday, as the firm looks to expand its interests into various sectors. The report by public broadcaster NHK comes after SoftBank announced in March it would partner Saudi Arabia on a multi-billion dollar solar project that the company’s founder called the largest in the world. NHK said the massive investment in India […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — The Tokyo DisneySea theme park is getting a $2.3 billion overhaul and adding a section based on the wildly popular movie “Frozen” to its offerings, its operator said Thursday. Oriental Land, which runs the ocean-themed park as well as the adjacent Tokyo Disneyland and hotels, said the 250-billion-yen ($2.3-billion) undertaking will be the most expensive expansion plan in the site’s 35-year history. The project will add attractions replicating the Kingdom of […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan is working to arrange a meeting between Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Kim Jong Un after the North Korean leader said he was open to talks, local media reported Thursday. The Sankei Shimbun said Kim discussed the possibility during historic talks Tuesday with US President Donald Trump. “During the summit with Trump, Kim told Trump ‘I can meet with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’,” the Sankei reported. Japan wants the talks to […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea’s Kim Jong Un understands that denuclearization must happen “quickly”, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday, warning there will be no sanctions relief for Pyongyang until the process is complete. Washington remained committed to the “complete, verifiable and irreversible” denuclearization of North Korea, Pompeo added, after the joint statement from the historic US-North Korea summit in Singapore drew criticism for lack of detail on the key issue. “We […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday welcomed a document signed by North Korea’s leader at an unprecedented summit with US President Donald Trump as a “first step” towards denuclearisation. Speaking briefly hours after Kim Jong Un and Trump held historic talks in Singapore, Abe also said he was pleased that the US leader had raised the emotive issue of Japanese abducted by Pyongyang. “Through this US-North Korea summit, Chairman Kim […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japanese officials criticized Russia on Monday for its plans to lay fibre-optic cables to islands disputed by Tokyo and Moscow, calling the construction work “deplorable” and “without legal basis.” Ties between Japan and Russia have been strained for decades over the four islands, which were occupied by the Soviet Union in the closing days of World War II but are claimed by Tokyo. They are known in Japan as the Northern […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A US F15 fighter jet crashed off the southern coast of Japan on Monday but the pilot ejected and was rescued by Japanese forces, Tokyo’s defense minister said. The Japanese military “received information that a crew member of the F15 jet, which belongs to the Kadena Air Base, ejected above the sea some 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of” Naha, the regional capital of Japan’s southern Okinawa island, Itsunori Onodera told […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s economy slid into negative territory for the first time in two years at the beginning of the year, official data showed Friday, confirming preliminary figures issued last month. The world’s third-largest economy contracted by 0.2 percent quarter-on-quarter in the January-March period, unchanged from the preliminary figure, the Cabinet Office said. The new data also revises upwards the figure for the last quarter of 2017, to 0.3 percent from 0.1. The […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s economy slid into negative territory for the first time in two years at the beginning of the year, official data showed Friday, confirming preliminary figures issued last month. The world’s third-largest economy contracted by 0.2 percent quarter-on-quarter in the January-March period, unchanged from the preliminary figure, the Cabinet Office said. The new data also revises upwards the figure for the last quarter of 2017, to 0.3 percent from 0.1. The contraction […]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQFuTJEj4KI&feature=youtu.be If you are a wanderlust, try to embark on a Wisteria adventure for a tranquil experience. Ashikaga flower park in Tochigi, about three hours north of Tokyo by local train showcases the beauty of mainly wisteria (commonly known as “fuji” among locals) as well as azaleas, and many other flowers. Fuji is native to China, Japan and the eastern United States. It plays a vital role in Japanese culture. The kanji for fuji […]
