Tokyo, 31 May, /AJMEDIA/
Japan launches new strategy team for longer-term China diplomacy
TOKYO – Japan’s Foreign Ministry has established a new strategy team to coordinate diplomatic policies on China and analyze Beijing’s movements from a mid- to long-term perspective as Chinese President Xi Jinping seeks a controversial third term as leader, according to ministry sources.
The creation of the new team within the First China and Mongolia Division of the ministry’s Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau in April comes as Xi is believed to maintain his helm of the ruling Communist Party, and tensions between the United States and China continue to intensify.
———-
G-7 deeply regrets U.N. failure to adopt new sanctions on North Korea
TOKYO – Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven major developed nations said Monday they “deeply regret” failure by the U.N. Security Council to impose tougher sanctions on North Korea following its latest missile test, indirectly rebuking China and Russia, two of the five permanent members, for vetoing a draft resolution.
In a statement, the ministers from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States plus the European Union “condemn in the strongest terms” Pyongyang’s test-firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile last Wednesday, an act they say “undermines international peace and security.”
———-
Japan’s April jobless rate falls to 2.5%
TOKYO – Japan’s unemployment rate fell to 2.5 percent in April from 2.6 percent in March, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said Tuesday.
The job availability ratio improved to 1.23 from 1.22 in the previous month, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said separately. The ratio means there were 123 job openings for every 100 job seekers.
———-
Japan, South Korea business leaders vow to expand cooperation
TOKYO – Japanese and South Korean business leaders agreed Monday to expand economic cooperation as the two sides welcomed signs of the improvement of soured bilateral ties after President Yoon Suk Yeol took office earlier this month.
They expressed hope that the two governments will promote dialogue despite wartime history-linked issues between the neighboring countries, according to a joint statement issued after an online meeting.
———-
Japan looks to enhance economic security through marine development
TOKYO – The ruling Liberal Democratic Party plans to call on the government to promote the commercial production of marine resources for future energy in a bid to improve Japan’s economic security, a draft proposal showed Monday.
The party’s subcommittee on ocean policy will seek a road map for industrialization of extracting methane hydrate, an ice-like substance that consists of methane and water and is seen as a potent alternative source of energy for countries depending on oil and gas imports.
———-
China fails to persuade Pacific island nations to sign security pact
BEIJING/SYDNEY – China has failed to persuade Pacific island countries to sign an agreement covering a wide spectrum of issues from trade, security and police cooperation to fisheries, Australian media reported Monday, while Beijing has been stepping up efforts to boost its influence in the region.
Foreign ministers from China and 10 Pacific island nations, including Papua New Guinea, Tonga and Samoa, held a meeting in Fiji on the same day, but they did not sign such a far-reaching deal as some countries expressed concern about the move, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corp.
———-
Shanghai authorities to lift 2-month-long lockdown from June 1
SHANGHAI – Shanghai will lift its two-month-long lockdown from midnight on Wednesday, the municipal government said Monday, allowing most of the city’s citizens to leave home and ensuring public transportation such as buses and trains resume basic operations.
China’s financial and commercial hub with a population of around 25 million has been locked down in a phased manner since March 28 amid the spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
———-
21 bodies recovered from wreckage of crashed Nepal plane
KATHMANDU – The bodies of 21 of the 22 passengers and crew aboard a light plane that went missing in central Nepal have been recovered from the wreckage, aviation authorities said Monday.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal said in a statement that 10 of the bodies have been carried to a temporary base for aerial transport. Rescuers battled bad weather to bring down other bodies from the crash site in Sanosware, Mustang district, located at an altitude of some 4,420 meters, while the search for the last person continued.
