Tokyo, 4 June, /AJMEDIA/
Japan amends document to show economic cooperation with Russia halted
TOKYO – The Japanese government said Friday it has deleted sentences on promoting economic cooperation with Russia in one of Tokyo’s key documents in yet another show of staunch opposition to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
In updating its document on Japan’s strategy to expand infrastructure exports, the government completely removed sentences regarding an eight-point plan for economic cooperation with Russia, which was proposed in May 2016 by then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe when he held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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China tightens security on 33rd anniversary of Tiananmen protest
BEIJING – China on Saturday marked the 33rd anniversary of the crackdown on the Tiananmen Square democracy protests with tight security, months before the ruling Communist Party’s twice-a-decade congress in the fall.
Uniformed police officers were keeping a close watch in and around the square with the aim of containing any potential commemorative demonstrations, at a time when many people in Beijing have become fed up with strict regulations under the country’s radical “zero-COVID” policy.
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Japanese man, 83, becomes oldest to sail nonstop solo across Pacific
KOBE – An 83-year-old Japanese ocean adventurer on Saturday became the world’s oldest person to make a solo, nonstop voyage across the Pacific on a yacht.
Kenichi Horie reached the Kii Channel, which separates Wakayama and Tokushima prefectures in western Japan, on the Suntory Mermaid III, his 6-meter-long one-ton boat, on early Saturday, after setting sail from San Francisco, California, on March 27, according to people familiar with the project.
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Japan eyes reform of outdated labor systems based on gender “roles”
TOKYO – The Japanese government on Friday called for a revamp of old-fashioned labor practices, taxation and social security systems that have left the nation’s gender gap largely intact for years, taking issue with the stereotypical notion of the roles expected of men and women.
A policy blueprint to promote women’s economic empowerment states that the once deep-rooted belief that marriage guarantees women economic stability for the rest of their life is “a thing of the past” as more women choose to get divorced and live longer than before.
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China, East Timor ink development assistance deals
DILI – China inked agreements with East Timor on Friday to provide developmental assistance to the youngest country in Asia, in Beijing’s latest effort to expand its influence in the Asia-Pacific region.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his East Timor counterpart Adaljiza Magno signed the deals including one for digitalizing broadcasting in the tiny nation, as Wang visited it on the final leg of his eight-country tour in the region.
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Myanmar military OKs executions of ex-NLD lawmaker, activist
YANGON – Myanmar’s military government has approved the executions of a former lawmaker from the ousted ruling National League for Democracy party and a prominent pro-democracy activist, a military spokesman said Friday.
Phyo Zeya Thaw from the NLD and Kyaw Min Yu, also known as Ko Jimmy, an activist since the democracy movement began in the late 1980s, were sentenced to death by a military court in January for engaging in “terrorism.”
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Tokyo to allow foreigners to work as beauticians, 1st in Japan
TOKYO – The Tokyo metropolitan government said Friday it will allow foreigners to work as beauticians from October using a national regulation scheme, marking the first time the country’s beauty industry has been opened up to them.
Foreign citizens on student visas who have demonstrated skills to be beauticians and stylists at beauty schools in Japan will be allowed to work in the field for up to five years to gain experience.
