Tokyo, 26 June, /AJMEDIA/
Japan PM Kishida hopes to show G-7 unity amid Ukraine war, inflation
TOKYO – Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Saturday he will seek to confirm unity with his fellow Group of Seven leaders in responding to Russia’s war against Ukraine, inflation and other global challenges.
Speaking to reporters at his residence before embarking on a five-day trip to Germany and Spain for G-7 and North Atlantic Treaty Organization gatherings, Kishida also expressed hope for boosting cooperation between Japan and NATO “to a new stage.”
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Campaigning heats up for Japan’s July 10 upper house election
TOKYO – Campaigning was heating up for Japan’s July 10 upper house election on Saturday, with ruling and opposition party leaders pointing to rising prices of daily needs as a major issue.
Entering the first weekend after the election’s official campaigning kicked off Wednesday, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his rivals delivered stump speeches mainly in closely contested voting districts across Japan.
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Mercury climbs to 40.2 C in Japan, national record for June
TOKYO – Temperatures climbed in Tokyo and surrounding areas on Saturday, with the city of Isesaki in Gunma Prefecture registering 40.2 C, a national record high for June, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
The previous record in the month of June was 39.8 C logged in 2011 in Saitama Prefecture, bordering Tokyo to the north.
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Soccer: Leo leads way as 1st-place Marinos hammer Reysol 4-0
TOKYO – Leo Ceara bagged two goals and two assists Saturday as J-League first-division leaders Yokohama F Marinos maintained their grip on the top spot by thrashing Kashiwa Reysol 4-0.
The Brazilian striker doubled his J1 goal tally after netting for Kevin Muscat’s side in each half at Nissan Stadium.
He set up Takuma Nishimura’s 17th-minute opener with a clever back heel, then scored his first goal two minutes later, tapping in after compatriot Elber intercepted the ball and laid it off inside the area.
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Baseball: Buffaloes’ Yamamoto follows no-hitter with 8 shutout innings
CHIBA, Japan – Yoshinobu Yamamoto battled the wind but hung on to strike out nine over eight scoreless innings as the defending Pacific League champion Orix Buffaloes shut out the Lotte Marines for the second straight day Saturday in a 4-0 win.
Yamamoto (8-3), who threw the season’s fourth no-hitter last Saturday, retired the first three batters he faced at Zozo Marine Stadium.
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Alleged mastermind behind 2008 Mumbai attacks in Pakistan custody
ISLAMABAD/NEW DELHI – Pakistan authorities have taken into custody Sajid Mir, one of the alleged masterminds behind terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India, in 2008, and who authorities had once said was dead.
The senior official of the Lashkar-e-Taiba militant group was convicted of terrorism financing and sentenced to 15 years and six months in prison in June, a lawyer dealing with terror financing cases said Friday.
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Rugby: Japan lineout on song again in 43-7 2nd test win over Uruguay
TOKYO – Japan continued tuning up for the 2023 Rugby World Cup with a 43-7 win over Uruguay in Saturday’s second test, scoring six tries to one in a lopsided contest.
Experimenting with potential lineups for next year’s tournament in France, Brave Blossoms coach Jamie Joseph made wholesale changes to the side that beat fellow World Cup qualifiers Uruguay 34-15 in last Saturday’s first test.
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China’s Xi to attend ceremony on 25th anniv. of Hong Kong handover
BEIJING – President Xi Jinping will attend a ceremony marking the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong’s transfer from British to Chinese rule, official news agency Xinhua said Saturday.
The anniversary will be commemorated on Friday as Hong Kong’s rights and freedoms, guaranteed at the 1997 handover, continue to diminish with Beijing tightening its grip on the semiautonomous Chinese city.
