by Kyoko HASEGAWA / Sara HUSSEIN TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Yoshihide Suga, the man expected to become Japan’s next prime minister, is a farmer’s son with a reputation for inscrutability, who has become a key government adviser, spokesman and policy enforcer. The 71-year-old is widely expected to win the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s leadership race, which kicked off Tuesday, and be endorsed by parliament to replace outgoing premier Shinzo Abe. If he succeeds, the election […]
Tag: Japan
Japan’s economy shrank more than estimated in Q2
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s economy shrank slightly more than initially thought in the April-June quarter, official data released Tuesday showed, deepening a contraction that was already the worst in the nation’s modern history. The world’s third-largest economy shrank 7.9 percent in the second quarter of this year from the previous quarter, more than the initial 7.8 percent in the preliminary data, the Cabinet Office said. The downward revision comes with corporate investment weaker than […]
Typhoon hits South Korea after sparking landslides in Japan
by Sunghee HWANG with Charly TRIBALLEAU in Kagoshima, JAPAN SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — A powerful typhoon lashed South Korea on Monday after smashing into southern Japan with record winds and heavy rains that left four people missing in a landslide. Half a million people were without power after Typhoon Haishen roared past Japan’s southern-most main island of Kyushu, ripping off roofs and dumping half a metre (20 inches) of water in just a day. […]
Typhoon Haishen heads to South Korea after slamming Japan
KAGOSHIMA, Japan (AFP) — Powerful Typhoon Haishen approached South Korea on Monday after slamming southern Japan with record winds and heavy rains that prompted evacuation warnings for millions. On Monday morning, initial assessments suggested the storm had done less damage than feared, though hundreds of thousands of homes were left without power across much of Japan’s southern Kyushu island. At 7 am, the typhoon was 30 kilometres (around 20 miles) north of Tsushima island and […]
Powerful typhoon slams Japan with violent winds, heavy rain
by Charly Triballeau, with Hiroshi Hiyama in Tokyo Agence France Presse KAGOSHIMA, Japan (AFP) — A powerful typhoon that officials warned could bring record rains and gusts strong enough to flip cars slammed into southern Japan on Sunday, prompting authorities to urge millions to seek shelter. Typhoon Haishen has weakened somewhat as it neared Japan’s mainland, and shifted further west out to sea, but it remained a “large” and “extremely strong” storm. After lashing […]
Typhoon Haishen exits PHL, fails to provide much needed water in dams
(Eagle News) — Typhoon Haishen, with local name “Kristine” exited the country 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 5, and is now approaching Japan, but did not dump much rain to replenish dams needing water. Officials in Japan warned that the typhoon could bring with it a record rainfall and winds strong enough to snap power poles and flip vehicles, It is forecast to move north-northwestward and will pass close to Amami Islands and Tokara Islands […]
Powerful typhoon approaches Japan with violent winds, heavy rain
KAGOSHIMA, Japan (AFP) — A powerful typhoon headed toward southern Japan Sunday, bringing violent winds and heavy rains with officials warning it could be strong enough to snap power poles and flip vehicles. Typhoon Haishen, categorised as “large” and “extremely strong”, was expected to move through the Amami region of small islands near Kyushu that separate the Pacific Ocean and the East China Sea in the afternoon. At 8:00 am (2300 GMT Saturday), Haishen […]
Typhoon Haishen slightly weakens as it moves northwestward, to exit PHL Saturday night
(Eagle News) — Typhoon Haishen, with local name “Kristine,” slightly weakened as it continues to move northwestward on Saturday, Sept. 5, the country’s weather bureau said. The Philippine Atmospheric and Geophysical Services Administration (PAGASA) said that Haisen will continue “moving northwestward until it exits the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) tonight.” “It is then expected to turn north-northwestward beginning tonight and pass close to Northern Amami Islands and Tokara Islands in the Ryukyu Archipelago (Japan) […]
Man found unresponsive after ship sank in typhoon off Japan
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s coast guard said Friday they found a man floating face-down and unresponsive at sea as they searched for survivors from a ship that sank during a typhoon with 43 crew on board. One survivor has so far been rescued from the ship, and early Friday morning, a coast guard vessel “discovered a man face-down adrift at sea,” a statement said. It was unclear if the man, described as “unconscious”, was […]
Desperate search for crew of ship sunk in typhoon off Japan
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japanese coast guard rescuers searched Thursday for the remaining 42 crew of a ship believed to have sunk in a typhoon, after a lone survivor was found bobbing in a lifejacket. The Gulf Livestock 1, which was carrying a cargo of nearly 6,000 cows, issued a distress call in the early hours of Wednesday from a position 185 kilometers (115 miles) west of Japan’s Amami Oshima island. Japan’s coast guard dispatched […]
Cargo ship with Pinoy crew and 6,000 cows sank off Japan in typhoon: survivor
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A cargo ship carrying 43 crew and about 6,000 cows sank at sea after transmitting a distress signal during a typhoon off Japan, according to a survivor rescued by the country’s coast guard. The Gulf Livestock 1 issued a distress call in the early hours of Wednesday from a position 185 kilometers (115 miles) west of Japan’s Amami Oshima island. Late Wednesday, coast guard rescuers located one survivor, a man identified […]
Japan ruling party sets Sept 14 vote on PM Abe’s successor
by Kyoko Hasegawa with Katie Forster in Hong Kong TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s ruling party will vote on September 14 on Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s replacement, an official confirmed Wednesday, as powerful chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga consolidated his frontrunner status in the race. A vote in parliament — expected to endorse the Liberal Democratic Party’s new leader — is likely to follow on September 16. The new prime minister will face a raft […]





