Tokyo, 2 October, /AJMEDIA/
North Korea conducts 4th round of missile tests in 1 week, its most ever
TOKYO/SEOUL – North Korea on Saturday conducted a fourth round of ballistic missile tests in one week, the country’s most ever, launching two of them toward the sea off its east coast, the Japanese government said, in an apparent protest against joint naval drills held this week involving the United States and South Korea.
North Korea had already fired ballistic missiles toward the Sea of Japan on three occasions since last Sunday, in defiance of U.N. Security Council resolutions, driving a record-breaking pace of such testing this year.
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Pro-wrestling icon, ex-lawmaker Inoki dies at 79
TOKYO – Antonio Inoki, a distinguished professional wrestler who took on world boxing champion Muhammad Ali in 1976 and made numerous trips to North Korea as a lawmaker, died of heart failure Saturday, his management agency said. He was 79.
Inoki, whose real name was Kanji Inoki, was also a pioneer in mixed martial arts, staging audacious battles between top wrestlers and champions from other combat sports such as judo and karate before he entered the international spotlight with his fight against Ali.
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Russia annexation pushes Ukraine’s NATO accession bid as war rages on
TOKYO – Russia’s unilateral declaration to annex four occupied Ukrainian regions has pushed Ukraine to formally apply to join the trans-Atlantic military alliance, as Moscow’s seven-month-old war against Kyiv rages on, with fatalities reported Saturday in one of the newly annexed territories.
In the latest escalation of the conflict, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday declared the annexation of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic in Ukraine’s east and the controlled parts of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.
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Japan to extend oil subsidy program to next spring to curb price hike
TOKYO – Japan is considering extending its subsidy program for oil wholesales to lower retail gasoline prices beyond its current year-end deadline to next spring, intending to prevent a sharp hike in fuel costs amid persistent supply concerns triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, sources familiar with the situation said Saturday.
The government plans to set aside more than 1 trillion yen from the envisaged fiscal 2022 second supplementary budget that will finance an economic stimulus package to be finalized in October, the sources said.
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Picturesque Japan railway line fully reopens after 11 years
FUKUSHIMA, Japan – A local railway line straddling Fukushima and Niigata prefectures, renowned for its breathtaking natural views, fully reopened Saturday, more than 11 years after a 27.6-kilometer section of the track was rendered unusable by torrential rain.
Many gathered to ride or witness the packed trains on the picturesque JR Tadami Line, which has been using replacement bus services between Aizu-Kawaguchi and Tadami stations since three metal bridges that cross the Tadami River were washed away in the July 2011 downpour.
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Baseball: Shohei Ohtani extends hit streak to 15 games in win over Rangers
ANAHEIM, California – Shohei Ohtani extended his hitting streak to an MLB career-high 15 games in a 2-for-4 outing for the Los Angeles Angels, who beat the Texas Rangers 4-1 on Friday.
A day after taking a no-hitter into the eighth inning and earning his 15th win on the mound, the two-way star preserved his streak at the plate with a first-inning single to right off Glenn Otto (6-10).
