Tokyo, 20 June, /AJMEDIA/
Japan’s ruling LDP has highest pre-election support at 27%: poll
TOKYO – The ruling Liberal Democratic Party has the highest support rate prior to the House of Councillors election set for July 10, pulling well ahead of opposition parties, a Kyodo News survey showed Sunday.
In a nationwide telephone survey conducted on Saturday and Sunday, 27.3 percent of respondents said they will vote for the LDP led by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida when casting ballots for the proportional representation seats in the upper house.
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M5.4 quake hits central Japan, 5 injured
TOKYO – An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.4 struck central Japan on Sunday, leaving at least five people injured in Ishikawa Prefecture on the Sea of Japan coast.
The quake occurred at 3:08 p.m., registering lower 6 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7 in Suzu city, at the tip of the Noto Peninsula in the prefecture, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. Its focus was at a depth of about 13 kilometers in the Noto region, according to the agency.
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PM Kishida cautious about Japan acquiring nuclear-powered submarine
TOKYO – Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Sunday took a cautious view about acquiring a nuclear-powered submarine to boost the country’s defense capability, a call made by some opposition parties ahead of next month’s House of Councillors election.
“I’m not so sure if making the leap to a nuclear submarine is a good idea,” Kishida said in an appearance on a Fuji TV program with other party leaders, as the official campaigning will kick off Wednesday for the July 10 election.
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Japan NPO aims to deliver for people suffering under Myanmar junta
TOKYO – A new nonprofit organization headed by cross-party Japanese lawmakers and others aims to raise funds to directly aid people suffering in Myanmar, while also lobbying for a return to democracy in the wake of a February 2021 coup that put the nation under the grip of a military dictatorship.
The Myanmar International Assistance Organization plans to work with local NGOs that have better access to deliver supplies including food and medicine, and intends to work across borders with the Japan-Myanmar Friendship Association, the Thai-Japan Education Development Foundation and other entities.
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Japan eyes hosting 2023 G-7 Hiroshima summit in latter half of May
TOKYO – Japan is considering hosting the 2023 Hiroshima summit of the Group of Seven nations in the latter half of May and aims to announce the plan later this month, government sources said Saturday.
The Japanese government has already sounded out the other G-7 countries about the idea of holding the summit in late May, the sources said.
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Tennis: Former world No. 1 Naomi Osaka to miss Wimbledon with injury
LONDON – Japan’s former women’s No. 1 and four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka will not compete at Wimbledon, citing injury, the tournament’s organizers said Saturday.
The 24-year-old Osaka, a two-time winner at both the U.S. and Australian opens and currently ranked 43rd, said she had an Achilles tendon injury, according to the All England Club.
