Tokyo, 18 June, /AJMEDIA/
Japan’s top court rules state not liable for Fukushima disaster
TOKYO – Japan’s top court on Friday dismissed claims that the government should pay damages in cases involving around 3,700 people whose lives were seriously affected by the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, absolving the state of responsibility for the crisis that led to mass evacuations.
The decision by the Supreme Court’s Second Petty Bench was the first for the top court and covered four lawsuits filed in Fukushima, Gunma, Chiba and Ehime prefectures. Around 30 such lawsuits have been filed across Japan by people who had to evacuate from their homes or whose lives were greatly impacted by the earthquake- and tsunami-triggered disaster.
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Bank of Japan maintains ultralow rate policy, diverges further from peers
TOKYO – The Bank of Japan on Friday maintained its ultraeasy monetary policy in defiance of growing market pressure to tweak it, unfazed by the prospect of further yen weakness as it lags far behind major peers forging ahead with rate hikes to fight inflation.
Still, Governor Haruhiko Kuroda warned that the recent sharp depreciation of the Japanese currency is “negative” for the economy and the central bank will closely watch foreign exchange moves, after the no-change decision at a two-day policy meeting sent the yen sharply lower against the U.S. dollar.
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Japan gov’t to allocate up to 476 bil. yen for TSMC chip plant
TOKYO – The Japanese government will allocate up to 476 billion yen ($3.6 billion) for a Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. subsidiary to use in funding the ongoing construction of a plant in southwestern Japan, the industry minister said Friday.
In a bid to secure a stable supply of chips, the government backed the plan by Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing Inc., a joint venture of TSMC, Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corp. and Denso Corp., to set up the factory in Kumamoto Prefecture, industry minister Koichi Hagiuda said
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U.S., EU, Japan eye curbing methane emissions in oil, gas sector
WASHINGTON – The United States, the European Union and countries such as Japan on Friday agreed to enhance efforts to achieve a goal of reducing global methane emissions by at least 30 percent by 2030, targeting emissions in the oil and gas sector.
Under the Global Methane Pledge Energy Pathway launched the same day, nations are encouraged to eliminate “as soon as possible, and no later than 2030” routine flaring, a process of burning off excess gas during the production of crude oil and natural gas.
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Charges dropped against Japan officials over Sri Lankan woman’s death
NAGOYA – Prosecutors on Friday dropped charges against 13 then senior officials of an immigration center in central Japan over the death of a Sri Lankan woman while in detention at the facility.
The Nagoya District Public Prosecutors Office told the family of Ratnayake Liyanage Wishma Sandamali that they could not say that the officials failed to provide her with appropriate medical care.
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U.S. regulators OK use of COVID vaccines in kids as young as 6 months
WASHINGTON – U.S. regulators on Friday authorized the emergency use of coronavirus vaccines developed by Pfizer Inc. and Moderna Inc. to include children as young as 6 months old.
“We are the first country to protect our youngest children with COVID-19 vaccines,” President Joe Biden said in a statement, emphasizing the effectiveness and safety of the inoculations.
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Japan confirms again Chinese development work in contested sea
TOKYO – Japan on Friday confirmed new construction work by China that is suspected to be for gas field exploration, in a contested area of the East China Sea for the second time in about a month.
The Foreign Ministry said it has lodged a protest with the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo, after the Maritime Self-Defense Force found Chinese ships transporting what would be the “foundation” of a new structure on the west side of a Tokyo-proposed median line separating the countries’ exclusive economic zones in the sea.
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1,300 apply for Japan entry since tours reopen as COVID fears ease
TOKYO – More than 1,300 people have applied to travel to Japan on guided tours since the country restarted visa procedures to accept some leisure visitors from abroad a week ago as worries about the COVID-19 pandemic wane, a government agency said Friday.
Koichi Wada, who heads the Japan Tourism Agency, said at a press conference that over 300 applications have been received for June, with around 1,000 from July onward.
