Tag: Tokyo

Japan’s Abe in Russia to warm ties with Putin

by Maria PANINA TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is set to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Russia’s far east on Friday as the countries step up efforts to boost trade ties and resolve a lingering territorial dispute. Tokyo-Moscow relations are hamstrung by a row dating back to the end of World War II when Soviet troops seized the southernmost islands in the Pacific Kuril chain, known as the Northern Territories […]

Japan and China in talks on improving relations

BEIJING, China (Reuters) — Shotaro Yachi, head of Japan’s National Security Council, met with Chinese state councilor Yang Jiechi on Thursday (August 25) for talks in Beijing. The two shook hands at the Diaoyutai state guesthouse before sitting down to talks in which they discussed improving relations between the two countries. Yachi is expected to meet Premier Li Keqiang later on Thursday afternoon. Sino-Japanese relations, coloured by Japan’s occupation of parts of China before and […]

Olympic flag arrives in Tokyo for 2020 Games

by Quentin TYBERGHIEN TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — The Olympic flag arrived in Tokyo on Wednesday as Japan’s capital gears up to host the 2020 Games, with officials promising smooth sailing after Rio’s sometimes shaky 2016 instalment. Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike carried the flag during a ceremony at Haneda airport after stepping off a plane from the Brazilian host city, accompanied by a delegation who picked up a record 41 medals in Rio. “I feel the […]

Typhoon Mindulle dumps heavy rain on northern Japan

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A strong typhoon dumped heavy rain that caused flooding on Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido on Tuesday after killing one person near Tokyo and injuring dozens. Typhoon Mindulle, which made landfall near Japan’s capital on Monday, flooded rivers, submerged roads and damaged farms in Hokkaido, TV footage showed. A woman in Sagamihara city outside Tokyo died on Monday as a result of the storm, according to the Kanagawa prefecture government. Neither […]

Japan protests to Russia over man detained on disputed island

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan on Monday lodged a diplomatic protest with Russia over the detention of a Japanese citizen visiting an island disputed by the two countries. Tokyo and Moscow are working to resolve decades of tensions over four islands occupied by the Soviet Union in the closing days of World War II and now controlled by Russia. The man, who has not been identified, was detained following baggage checks conducted ahead of his […]

Hundreds of flights grounded as typhoon nears Japan

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A powerful typhoon was on course for a direct hit on Tokyo Monday, with nearly 400 flights grounded due to heavy rain and strong winds. Strong typhoon Mindulle was expected to make landfall around noon, moving upwards from the Japanese capital to the northern Tohoku region, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. Packing gusts up to 180 kilometers (110 miles) per hour, the storm was heading north at a speed of 25 […]

Japan approves huge stimulus for sluggish economy

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) – by Daniel LEUSSINK Japan’s cabinet Tuesday approved a mammoth 28-trillion yen ($273 billion) package in its latest attempt to stimulate lacklustre growth, including cash to improve infrastructure and raise the birthrate in the ageing nation. The stimulus plan announced last week is the latest in a series in recent years designed to fire up the world’s number three economy. “We have been able to put together a strong package that includes bold […]

Japan warns China over territorial aggression

  TOKYO, Japan (AFP) – Beijing risks triggering unintended conflict with Asian rivals through its aggressive stance in maritime disputes, Japan warned Tuesday in an annual security assessment. China’s sweeping claims over the strategic South China Sea, where it has built a series of artificial islands capable of supporting military operations despite overlapping claims from other nations, have stoked international alarm. The region’s superpower “continues to act in an assertive manner” and its actions “include dangerous […]

New Tokyo governor says defying party secured win

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Tokyo’s new governor Yuriko Koike on Monday credited her landslide victory to having stood up to the powers that be in Japan’s ruling party who didn’t want her to run. Koike, 64, was elected Tokyo’s first female governor in the Sunday vote, winning more than 2.9 million votes, far outpacing the nearly 1.8 million ballots cast for closest challenger Hiroya Masuda. Masuda, a former governor of Iwate prefecture in northern Japan, […]

Tokyo stocks open lower after BoJ underwhelms

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Tokyo stocks opened sharply lower Monday as the yen soared on weak US growth data and after the Bank of Japan disappointed markets with underwhelming tweaks to its stimulus programme. On Wall Street, US equities ended mostly in the black on Friday following strong earnings from major technology companies, despite weaker-than-expected quarterly growth figures from the world’s top economy. Official US data estimated second quarter growth at an annual rate of […]

Hawaiian Airlines makes another emergency landing in Japan

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A Hawaiian Airlines flight made an emergency landing in Tokyo, its second such incident in Japan this month, an official said Thursday. Flight HA 442, which departed the northern Japanese city of Sapporo for Honolulu, made an emergency landing at Narita airport just outside the Japanese capital at 10:53 pm Wednesday (1353 GMT). The pilot cited an abnormality with the Boeing 767’s hydraulics system, said an official at Narita International Airport […]