OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — Canada and the United States announced Tuesday they will host a summit of foreign ministers in Vancouver on January 16, including envoys from Japan and South Korea, to seek progress on the North Korean nuclear crisis. “We believe a diplomatic solution to the crisis is essential and possible,” Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland told a joint press conference with visiting US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. © Agence France-Presse
Tag: Japan
Japan trade surplus drops sharply on higher oil imports
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s trade surplus fell sharply in November, the government said Monday, as the rising cost of oil and smartphone imports outweighed strong exports of cars and steel. The world’s third-largest economy logged a surplus of 113.4 billion yen ($1.0 billion), a 22-percent drop from a 146.5-billion-yen surplus a year earlier, according to finance ministry data. Exports rose for the 12th consecutive month on sound exports of chip-making equipment, cars and steel. […]
Japan eyes $46bn defense budget to counter N. Korea: report
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan plans a record $46 billion defence budget for the next fiscal year to strengthen its missile defence against the threat posed by North Korea, a report said Saturday. The government is expected to set aside 5.19 trillion yen for defence in the country’s initial budget proposal for the fiscal year starting April 2018, the Nikkei daily said. It will mark the sixth straight year of increases in defence outlays, topping the 5.12 trillion yen […]
Japan firm says it will pay part of salaries in Bitcoin
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A Japanese company will start paying part of its employees’ salaries in Bitcoin, as it aims to get better understanding of the virtual currency, a spokeswoman said on Friday. GMO Internet, which operates a range of web-related businesses including finance, online advertising and internet infrastructure, will start paying up to 100,000 yen ($890) monthly by Bitcoin to its employees in Japan from February next year. “Employees can receive salaries by Bitcoin […]
Japan expands sanctions aimed at N. Korea
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan said Friday it had added 19 more entities to its list of organizations and individuals targeted by asset-freeze sanctions on North Korea. The sanctions list now comprises 103 entities and 108 individuals in total, including seven Chinese entities, five Chinese individuals, one Singaporean entity and two Namibian entities, it said. They include organizations involved in financial services, coal and minerals trading, transportation and sending North Korean laborers abroad, the foreign […]
Japanese business confidence hits 11-year high: survey
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Confidence among Japan’s biggest manufacturers is at an 11-year high, a key central bank survey showed Friday, as the world’s number-three economy picks up pace. The Bank of Japan’s Tankan report — a quarterly survey of more than 10,000 companies — showed a reading of 25 among major manufacturers in its December survey, the highest since its December 2006 poll. The report, the broadest indicator of how Japan Inc is faring, […]
First ‘serious incident’ for Japan bullet train as crack found
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A crack has been found in a Japanese “bullet train” that could have caused a derailment, officials said Wednesday, in the first-ever “serious incident” for the iconic mode of transport. Crew aboard a “shinkansen” bullet train reported a burning smell and strange noises when it pulled out of a station in southern Japan on Monday. The train stopped for checks at Nagoya station in central Japan and inspectors discovered a crack […]
Japan plans long-range missiles amid N. Korea threat: minister
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan plans to purchase offensive air-to-surface missiles to counter North Korea’s rising military threat, its defense minister said Friday, a move likely to stir debate over its decades-long pacifist policy. Itsunori Onodera said the ministry intends to request a special budget for the fiscal year starting April 2018 to purchase long-range cruise missiles deployed on fighter jets. According to local media, the ministry plans to buy JASSM and LRASM long-range, air-to-ground […]
Japan revises up Q3 quarterly growth to 0.6%
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan posted an economic growth of 0.6 percent in the three months to September from the previous quarter, according to new data published Friday that showed the world’s third-largest economy expanding twice as fast as previously estimated. Robust capital spending boosted the new quarterly figure sharply higher than the preliminary 0.3 percent and beat market expectations that growth would be revised up only slightly. The data confirmed the economy grew for the […]
Japan emperor to abdicate in April 2019
by Richard Carter Agence France Presse TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s Emperor Akihito will step down on April 30, 2019, the prime minister announced Friday, the first retirement in more than two centuries in the world’s oldest imperial family. Shinzo Abe said he was “deeply moved” at the “smooth decision” taken at a special meeting of the Imperial Council to decide on the date for the popular 83-year-old to step down for health […]
Toyota’s humanoid robot helper mirrors its controller
TOKYO, Japan (Reuters) — Japanese car maker Toyota unveiled a new humanoid robot that mirrors the movements of its remote operator in Tokyo on Wednesday (November 29). The company says T-HR3 is designed to explore how a robot can help the elderly in a country whose population is ageing faster than the rest of the world as the birthrate decreases. “Humanoid robots are very popular among Japanese people. That’s why we continued to work on […]
‘Hapi Ang Buhay’ screens in Japan
TOKYO, Japan (Eagle News) – More than 400 guests attended in the special screening of ‘Hapi Ang Buhay’ Season 2 in Itabashi Culture Hall, Tokyo, Japan on Nov. 26. The screening was part of ‘Hapi Ang Buhay’’s Asian tour. A number of screenings have been held in Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Macau, and Japan. It will be followed by more screenings in other Asian cities and in the Middle East. The purpose of the screening […]





