Tag: Japan
Fujifilm to cut 10,000 jobs at subsidiary amid Xerox takeover
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japanese technology firm Fujifilm on Wednesday announced 10,000 job cuts by March 2020 at its Fuji Xerox subsidiary, which it said was facing an “increasingly severe” market environment. In a major shake-up, Fujifilm also announced it would be combining Fuji Xerox with US giant Xerox, bringing both companies under its umbrella to create what it said was the world’s largest “document solutions company” by revenue. As part of a cost-cutting package […]
Popular Line messaging app starts crypto trading spinoff
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s biggest messaging app Line said Wednesday it was launching a financial services spinoff to allow users to exchange and trade virtual currencies. Line said its new business would “provide a variety of financial services, including a place to exchange and transact virtual currencies, loans, and insurance.” The transactions will be made inside the messaging app, which already incorporates a mobile payment system. Line has a relatively small presence in the US and Europe, […]
Nintendo ups profit forecast on strong Switch sales
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Nintendo hiked its annual net profit forecast by more than 40 percent Wednesday after its popular Switch console flew off shelves during the holiday season, fuelled by a cheaper yen. The Kyoto-based video game giant said it now expects annual net profit of 120 billion yen ($1.1 billion), a 41.2-percent rise from the previous forecast issued in October, while also raising its annual sales and operating profit projections. Nintendo now expects to sell 15 […]
Volcanos, earthquakes: Is the ‘Ring of Fire’ alight?
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A volcanic eruption in the Philippines forces mass evacuations, while another in Japan kills one person. Across the Pacific, a 7.9 magnitude earthquake hits off Alaska. So what’s the link? The spate of activity around the so-called Ring of Fire has raised concerns that a major and potentially deadly volcanic eruption or earthquake could be on the way. Here is what the experts say: Where are these events happening? The recent […]
One dead as volcano erupts near Japan ski resort
by Natsuko Fukue Agence France Presse TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A Japanese soldier was killed Tuesday and several other people injured after a volcano erupted near a popular ski resort, sparking an avalanche and leaving scores stranded — including tourists from Britain and Taiwan. Footage broadcast on Japanese television showed thick black smoke interspersed with falling rocks rolling down the snow-covered side of the volcano towards a ski slope. Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera told reporters […]
Fukushima operator releases fresh images of reactor wreckage
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — The operator of Fukushima’s crippled nuclear power plant has released fresh images of the wreckage inside a damaged reactor, showing broken metal parts and debris that could be melted fuel. Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) inserted a special camera into one of the plant’s three melted-down reactors on Friday, a company spokesman said, as part of its efforts to dismantle the disaster-hit facility in northeastern Japan. Images captured by the camera […]
Japan forecasting breakthrough could improve weather warnings
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A new project harnessing data from a Japanese satellite could improve weather forecasting and allow officials to issue life-saving warnings before natural disasters, researchers say. The project is the first time that “infrared radiation luminance data” has been used to model weather patterns in areas under heavy cloud cover that would usually stymie such modelling. The breakthrough is the result of pairing data collected by Japan’s Himawari-8 weather satellite with a […]
Eight bodies found as ‘North Korean’ boat washes up in Japan
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Eight bodies have been recovered from a wrecked boat that washed ashore in central Japan, authorities said Tuesday, suspecting the vessel is the latest in a series of North Korean “ghost ships.” Coastguard rescuers found the corpses of seven men inside the wreckage of the boat that washed up in Kanazawa, central Japan, last week, senior police official Hiroshi Abe told AFP. The badly decomposed remains of another man were […]
Japan’s Abe seeks to drum up EU pressure on North Korea
SOFIA, Bulgaria (AFP) — Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sought to drum up EU pressure on North Korea on Sunday in Sofia, while pledging to boost economic cooperation with Bulgaria and the Balkans. “During today’s talks we discussed the constantly worsening security situation in Eastern Asia and we were unanimous with Premier Boyko Borisov about the importance of close cooperation on the North Korea issue,” Abe said. He met with his Bulgarian counterpart Borisov as […]
Japan PM beefs up European ties amid N. Korea tensions
by Polina Kalantar © Agence France-Presse TALLINN, Estonia (AFP) — Japan’s prime minister on Friday landed in Estonia, his first stop on a tour of the Baltic states and other European nations as he seeks to drum up support for his hawkish stance on North Korea. Despite a recent cooling of tensions in the run-up to the Winter Olympics in South Korea, Shinzo Abe has insisted on “maximising pressure” on Pyongyang over its nuclear and missile […]
Roque: “Comfort woman” statue in Manila won’t be diplomatic issue for PHL, Japan
Our ties with Japan “remain very strong,” assures Roque (Eagle News) — The Palace on Thursday expressed confidence the installation of a Filipino “comfort woman” statue in Manila would not become a diplomatic issue for the country and Japan. In a press conference on Thursday, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said the country’s ties with Japan “remain very strong” even after Japanese Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Seiko Noda supposedly expressed regret over the statue during a […]
