TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A powerful tropical storm lashed Japan on Thursday, bringing strong winds and torrential rain that claimed at least one life, prompted warnings of landslides and flooding, and sparked evacuation advisories and travel chaos at a peak holiday period. Severe Tropical Storm Krosa — one notch below a typhoon — slammed into the southern Hiroshima region, packing wind gusts of up to 126 kilometers (78 miles) per hour. Dramatic television footage showed […]
Tag: Japan
Powerful storm lashes Japan, snarls holiday travel
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A powerful tropical storm lashed Japan Thursday, bringing strong winds and torrential rain that prompted warnings of landslides and flooding, and sparked evacuation advisories and travel chaos at a peak holiday period. Severe Tropical Storm Krosa — one notch below a typhoon — was churning slowly just off the southwestern coast of Japan, packing wind gusts of up to 160 kilometers per hour. Authorities issued a voluntary evacuation advisory to around […]
Tokyo stocks open higher on Wall St gains
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Tokyo stocks opened higher on Wednesday, following rises on Wall Street, as concerns over the US-China trade row eased after President Donald Trump delayed tariffs on key Chinese goods. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index climbed 0.98 percent or 200.21 points to 20,655.65 in early trade while the broader Topix index was up 0.90 percent or 13.36 points at 1,499.93. “Japanese shares will be bought following the gains in US shares prompted […]
WWII Pacific battlegrounds now site of US-China tug of war
by Giff Johnson Agence France Presse MAJURO, Marshall Islands (AFP) — Pacific islands that were key World War II battlegrounds but largely neglected for the past 30 years are now back in the spotlight as China challenges traditional US supremacy in the region. Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands, whose territories stretch thousands of kilometres across the Pacific, have been the recipients of largesse by Washington, Tokyo and other allied powers, […]
S. Korea tightens export controls on Japan in trade row
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea on Monday put Japan into its own new export category, intensifying a trade war between the two neighbours and US allies. The move came after Seoul announced earlier this month it would remove Tokyo from its list of trusted trading partners, reciprocating an identical move by Japan. That followed Tokyo’s imposition of tough restrictions on exports crucial to tech titans such as Samsung following a series of […]
Volcano near Tokyo erupts, prompting warnings
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A volcano near Tokyo has erupted for the first time in four years, throwing ash and smoke nearly two kilometers into the sky and sparking warnings not to approach the mountain. Mount Asama, some 140 kilometers (90 miles) northwest of the Japanese capital, exploded overnight and prompted the national meteorological agency to raise its alert level to three out of five, meaning people should avoid the crater. The agency warned that […]
Japan urged to sign UN nuke ban on Hiroshima anniversary
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — The mayor of Hiroshima urged Japan to sign a landmark UN treaty banning nuclear weapons as the city Tuesday marked 74 years since being targeted in the world’s first atomic attack. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe led commemorations at the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima as residents offered silent prayers, lit candles, and placed wreaths to remember those killed in the August 6, 1945 bombing. And mayor Kazumi Matsui used the occasion […]
Japan-S. Korea row escalates as relations hit new low
by Miwa SUZUKI Agence France Presse TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan and South Korea Friday rescinded each other’s favoured export partner status in an escalating row as relations between the US allies hit a new low. The two countries — both of them democracies and market economies — are mired in long-running disputes over the use of forced labour during World War II. But Tokyo, which made the first move despite US calls for […]
S. Korea to remove Japan from export ‘white list’: finance minister
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea will remove Japan from its “white list” of trusted trading partners, Seoul’s finance minister said Friday, reciprocating just hours after a similar move by Tokyo. The Japanese government’s decision “fundamentally destroys the relations of trust and cooperation that the two countries established” in the past, said Hong Nam-ki. “For this, we express our strong protest and deep regret, and urge Tokyo to immediately withdraw its vengeful trade measures.” […]
Japan hangs two for murder, first executions in 2019
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan on Friday hanged two men convicted of murder, the justice ministry said, the first executions this year after 15 death row inmates were executed in 2018. With more than 100 inmates on death row, Japan is one of the few developed nations to retain the death penalty, and public support for it remains high despite international criticism, including from rights groups. “I ordered the executions after very careful consideration,” Justice […]
S. Korea’s Moon condemns Japan’s ‘reckless’ trade decision
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Friday condemned Japan’s decision to remove his country from a “white list” of favored trading partners, calling it a “reckless” move and threatening unspecified countermeasures. Tokyo’s “selfish act will inflict tremendous damage on the world economy by disrupting global supply chains”, he said in remarks to a cabinet meeting called at short notice and televised live. “Japan should withdraw its unilateral and unfair measures as […]
Japan to remove Seoul from favored export partner ‘white list’
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan on Friday said it will remove South Korea from a “white list” of favored export partners, a move that Seoul has warned will have “grave consequences” for security ties between the US allies. “The government at a cabinet meeting today approved a revision to the export control law… South Korea, the only Asian nation on the list, will be removed,” Japan’s Trade Minister Hiroshige Seko told reporters. The measure, which […]





