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TOKYO, Japan (AFP) – Japan’s central bank on Wednesday conducted an operation often seen as a precursor to currency intervention, local media said, as the yen continues to crater against a strengthening dollar. The financial daily Nikkei and other local media said the Bank of Japan (BoJ) carried out a “rate check”. A Bank spokesman contacted by AFP declined to comment. A rate check involves asking market participants about their foreign exchange trading, said Toshikazu […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako will attend Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral, the Japanese government said Wednesday, in their first overseas trip since assuming the throne in 2019. Top government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters that the royal couple would be present but Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and other government officials would not attend. Queen Elizabeth met three generations of Japanese royals and had invited Emperor Naruhito and his wife to […]
BUSAN, South Korea (AFP) — Typhoon Hinnamnor made landfall in South Korea early Tuesday, causing power outages and leaving one person missing, but with few early reports of major damage as it headed back to sea. The typhoon, one of the most powerful to bear down on the country in decades, hit the country’s southern island of Jeju overnight before making landfall near the port city of Busan, which was battered by huge waves and […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) – Toyota said Wednesday it will ramp up the production of batteries for electric vehicles in Japan and the United States through an investment of up to 730 billion yen ($5.3 billion). Part of the cash is included in a huge two-trillion budget for the development and production of auto batteries that was announced by the Japanese giant in December, a spokesman told AFP. Automakers are speeding up the transition to electric […]
Tokyo, Japan (AFP) Tourists will be able to visit Japan from next week on package tours without a guide, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Wednesday, as the country moves to ease strict Covid-19 controls. From September 7, Japan will also raise its daily cap on the number of people allowed to enter the country to 50,000, Kishida told reporters. Japan has kept strict border restrictions in place longer than many other major economies, and only […]
Tokyo, Japan (AFP) by Kyoko HASEGAWA A female former Japanese soldier on Wednesday submitted a petition to the defence ministry that was signed by more than 100,000 people demanding an independent probe into her alleged sexual assault by colleagues. The case is a rare example of a public allegation of sexual assault in a country where government data shows just four percent of rape victims report the crime to police. Rina Gonoi, 22, alleges that […]
Tokyo, Japan (AFP) Japanese auto giant Honda and South Korean battery maker LG Energy Solution announced a joint venture Monday to invest $4.4 billion in a new US electric car battery plant. The move comes after California last week ruled that all new cars sold in America’s most populous state must be zero-emission from 2035, with other US states expected to follow suit. In a joint statement, the firms said they expected construction of the […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — The head of Japan’s National Police Agency announced his resignation on Thursday after an investigation into security for former prime minister Shinzo Abe, who was assassinated last month. “We have decided to shake up our personnel and start afresh with our security duties, and that’s why I tendered my resignation to the National Public Safety Commission today,” Itaru Nakamura told reporters. He made the announcement at a press conference detailing the […]
Tokyo, Japan (AFP) by Etienne BALMER / Tomohiro OSAKI Japan’s prime minister on Wednesday called for a push to revive the country’s nuclear power industry in a bid to tackle soaring imported energy costs linked to the war in Ukraine. Such a move could prove controversial, after the 2011 Fukushima disaster led to the suspension of many nuclear reactors over safety fears. Like many countries, Japan — which is aiming to become carbon neutral by […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan is considering the deployment of more than 1,000 long-range cruise missiles to increase its ability to counter growing regional threats from China, local newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun reported on Sunday. The country plans to upgrade its existing surface-to-ship missiles to extend their range from 100 kilometres (62 miles) to about 1,000 kilometres (620 miles), which would be enough to reach Chinese coastal areas as well as North Korea, the newspaper […]
Tokyo, Japan | AFP | A board member for the Tokyo Olympics was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of taking bribes, prosecutors said, along with three other men connected to the scandal. Haruyuki Takahashi allegedly received $380,000 from high-street business suit retailer Aoki Holdings, an official partner of last year’s pandemic-delayed 2020 Games. The 78-year-old was arrested along with Aoki chairman Hironori Aoki, 83, and two other executives from the retailer, according to Tokyo Prosecutors Office documents […]
by Hiroshi HIYAMA Agence France Presse TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s economy expanded in the three months to June, official data showed Monday, after the government lifted Covid-19 curbs on businesses. The world’s third-largest economy grew 0.5 percent quarter-on-quarter due to stronger consumption and capital investment, but the rise was below market expectations of 0.7 percent. While the country never imposed strict stay-at-home orders during the pandemic, the government in March removed virus restrictions […]
