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TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s central bank chief said on Friday the country will likely reach its key two-percent inflation target as oil rates surge, but the bank will continue monetary easing policies because the price rises are caused by external factors. The Bank of Japan has struggled to lift inflation for nearly a decade with the world’s third-largest economy swinging between periods of sluggish inflation and deflation, both considered bad for growth. “Unlike in […]
by Harumi OZAWA / Charly TRIBALLEAU Agence France Presse SOMA, Japan (AFP) — People in northeast Japan were cleaning up and surveying the damage on Thursday after a powerful 7.4-magnitude quake derailed a bullet train, opened cracks in highways and initially cut power to over two million homes. At least one death was directly caused by the overnight quake, government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno said, but the toll is still being finalised after two suspected […]
by Harumi OZAWA / Charly TRIBALLEAU Agence France-Presse Four people were reported dead and more than 100 injured in Japan on Thursday after a powerful overnight earthquake rattled large parts of the east coast and prompted a tsunami warning, authorities said. The 7.4-magnitude quake off the coast of Fukushima derailed a bullet train, opened cracks in highways and threw products from shelves in shops. A tsunami warning for waves of up to a metre (three […]
A powerful 7.3-magnitude quake jolted east Japan on Wednesday night, rattling the capital Tokyo and prompting a tsunami advisory for parts of the northeast coast, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. The quake was centred off the coast of the Fukushima region at a depth of 60 kilometres (37 miles). Shortly after it hit at 11:36 pm (1436 GMT) an advisory for tsunami waves of one metre was issued for parts of the coast. There were […]
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australia said Friday it is buying extra vaccines to fight the potentially deadly, mosquito-borne Japanese encephalitis virus, which has spread down the flood-hit east coast for the first time. Previously confined to the tropical north, Japanese encephalitis has traveled as far south as South Australia since late February — infecting 17 people and leading to two confirmed deaths, according to state health authorities. More extreme rainfall events have brought greater numbers […]
by Etienne BALMER and Harumi OZAWA Agence France-Presse NAMIE, Japan (AFP) – Solar farms along tsunami-ravaged coastlines, green energy “micro-grids” and the experimental production of non-polluting hydrogen: 11 years after its nuclear nightmare, Japan’s Fukushima region is investing in a renewable future. On March 11, 2011, an earthquake unleashed a deadly tsunami on northeastern Japan, triggering a meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant and forcing mass evacuations over radiation fears. One year later, Fukushima’s regional […]
Toyota and Volkswagen, the world’s two biggest auto manufacturers, said Thursday they would suspend operations at their production facilities in Russia, following the invasion of Ukraine. Toyota said it would halt work at its only factory in Russia and stop shipping vehicles to the country, citing “supply chain disruptions” linked to Moscow’s assault on Ukraine and Western sanctions. The world’s top-selling carmaker said its plant in Saint Petersburg produced around 80,000 vehicles last year, mainly […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan will accept Ukrainian refugees fleeing Russia’s ongoing invasion, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Wednesday, in a break with the country’s usual reticence to accept humanitarian arrivals. Japan typically accepts just a few dozen refugees a year out of thousands of applicants, and its borders are currently closed to virtually all foreign visitors to prevent Covid-19 infections. But Kishida said the country would now “proceed with a plan to welcome people […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Tokyo lodged a diplomatic protest with Moscow after scrambling fighter jets on Wednesday as a suspected Russian helicopter entered Japan’s northern airspace at a time of heightened tensions over Ukraine. Japan, which has volatile ties and border disputes with key neighbours China, Russia and South Korea, routinely sends jets to defend its territorial airspace. The country scrambled military jets 49 times in January, 142 times in December and 127 times in […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s government said Tuesday that a cyberattack was behind disruption at a Toyota supplier that forced the top-selling automaker to halt operations at domestic plants for a day. Local media reported the attack on parts supplier Kojima Industries was a possible ransomware attack, with the firm saying it detected a “threat message” on Saturday night before discovering its server was “infected with a virus”. Its statement had to be forwarded by […]
Japan will join Western nations in removing selected Russian banks from the SWIFT messaging system, the country’s prime minister said Sunday, piling further pressure on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine. “In what was released this morning by the Western nations, steps are taken to isolate Russia from the international financial system and the world economy including exclusion of specific Russian banks from SWIFT,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said. “Western nations have requested Japan participate. […]
Japan will impose sanctions on Russia targeting semiconductor exports and financial institutions, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Friday after G7 leaders agreed to punish Moscow economically for invading Ukraine. The announcement came after Russian President Vladimir Putin unleashed a full-scale ground invasion and air assault on Thursday, with deadly battles reaching the outskirts of Kyiv. Kishida said the world’s third-largest economy planned “asset freezes and the suspension of visa issuance for Russian individuals and organisations” as […]
