Tokyo, 7 July, /AJMEDIA/
Japan introduces jail time, tougher penalties for online insults
TOKYO – A prison term of up to one year and other tougher penalties for online insults came into effect Thursday as part of Japan’s efforts to tackle cyberbullying.
The revised Penal Code also raised the fine for insults to up to 300,000 yen ($2,200), upping the ante from the current penalty of detention for less than 30 days or a fine of less than 10,000 yen. The statute of limitations for insults has also been extended from one year to three years.
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New COVID-19 cases top 45,000 in Japan, nearly double from last week
TOKYO – Newly confirmed COVID-19 cases nearly doubled from a week earlier to over 45,000 in Japan on Wednesday, exceeding the 40,000 mark for the first time since May 18 as the nation’s coronavirus infections continue to rebound.
Fears over the onset of a seventh wave spread, likely fueled by a new Omicron subvariant, as higher case counts were reported in all of the 47 prefectures, with cases more than doubling in Tokyo, and Osaka and Kanagawa prefectures compared with the week before.
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Russia naval ship spotted near Japan waters off remote Pacific islet
TOKYO – An information-gathering ship of the Russian navy on Wednesday briefly entered a strip of sea just outside territorial waters off the Okinotori Island, Japan’s southernmost island in the Pacific, the Defense Ministry said.
It marked the first time for the ministry to make public information related to the movements of a Russian naval ship within the so-called contiguous waters off the atoll about 1,700 kilometers south of Tokyo.
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90% of Japanese feel prices rising, highest since 2008: survey
TOKYO – Nearly 90 percent of Japanese felt prices rising from a year earlier, the highest in 14 years, a Bank of Japan survey showed Wednesday, as Russia’s war against Ukraine and a sharp drop in the yen have sent energy and food prices higher.
Accelerating inflation should come as a relief to the BOJ, which has been struggling to attain its 2 percent target in a country long stuck in deflationary mindset. But cost-push inflation is seen by the central bank as transitory and households are now feeling pain without strong wage growth, a key issue in Sunday’s House of Councillors election.
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Olympics: IOC’s Bach praises Japan’s coordination behind Sapporo bid
LAUSANNE, Switzerland – International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach on Tuesday said strong cooperation among the Japanese Olympic Committee and the country’s various levels of government stood Sapporo in good stead as a candidate to host the 2030 Winter Games.
The Hokkaido capital, which hosted the 1972 Winter Olympics, has expressed interest in holding the 2030 games and faces rival bids from Salt Lake City and Vancouver, which previously hosted in 2002 and 2010, respectively.
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Korean lawyer in Japan awarded damages over disciplinary requests
NAGOYA – An ethnic Korean lawyer was awarded damages by a Japanese court Wednesday for emotional distress after she faced hundreds of requests for disciplinary action over her support for public subsidies for pro-Pyongyang Korean schools in Japan.
The Nagoya High Court ordered a group of people in Aichi Prefecture and elsewhere pay a total of around 1 million yen ($7,400) in compensation for their repeated requests that the Kanagawa Bar Association discipline her, upholding an earlier ruling by the Nagoya District Court and dismissing appeals from both sides.
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Japan party leaders repeat favored campaign lines as vote nears
TOKYO – As the House of Councillors election looms Sunday with a solid poll lead for Japan’s ruling coalition, the heads of major political parties are making extensive use of a few choice phrases to present their cases to voters across the country.
With squeezed finances amid rising prices a focal issue, ruling Liberal Democratic Party chief and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is telling crowds his government has the competence to handle the problem, while the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan is urging voters to show their anger over the government’s response.
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Charity ballet event held to aid Ukraine’s national dance troupe
TOKYO – Japanese and Ukraine ballet dancers performed in a charity event to raise funds for Ukraine’s national dance troupe amid Russia’s invasion of the Eastern European country.
“Ballet Gala in Tokyo” charity, held Tuesday and produced by Japanese actress and former prima ballerina Tamiyo Kusakari, can be seen online until Monday night as a ticketed event.
