Tokyo, 8 October, /AJMEDIA/
Belarus, Ukraine, Russia rights activists win Nobel Peace Prize
OSLO – This year’s Nobel Peace Prize was awarded Friday to jailed Belarusian activist Ales Bialiatski as well as two human rights groups — the Center for Civil Liberties from Ukraine and Memorial from Russia.
The Nobel committee said the three winners have made “an outstanding effort to document war crimes, human rights abuses and the abuse of power.”
———-
No imminent signs of Russia nuke use after Biden warns of Armageddon
WASHINGTON – The United States has not seen any indications that Russia is preparing to imminently use nuclear weapons, government officials said Friday, after President Joe Biden warned of the potential risk of “Armageddon” as Moscow continues its nuclear-saber rattling amid its war in Ukraine.
Asked if new intelligence had prompted the president to deliver the stark warning, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters, “No.”
———-
FOCUS: Japan PM Kishida’s apparent nepotism may shake Cabinet further
TOKYO – Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has been facing another setback as he gave a key government post to his oldest son in his early 30s, with the opposition bloc lambasting the appointment as nepotism.
The Kishida administration has already been shaken by several controversies, such as his Liberal Democratic Party’s suspicious ties with the dubious Unification Church and a contentious state funeral for former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was fatally shot in July.
———-
U.N. rights body agrees to nominate expert to scrutinize Russia
GENEVA – The U.N. Human Rights Council on Friday voted to appoint an expert on the human rights situation in Russia, making it the first time that the rights record of a permanent member of the Security Council will come under scrutiny at the body in its 16-year existence.
Of the 47-member body, 17 mainly Western countries, including the United States and Japan, backed the initiative. Six countries, including China, Kazakhstan and Eritrea rejected it and 24 abstained.
———-
U.S. pressures N. Korea with sanctions after missile flies over Japan
WASHINGTON – The United States on Friday imposed sanctions on some individuals and companies allegedly involved in illicit ship-to-ship oil transfers to North Korea, following a spate of recent missile tests by Pyongyang including one that flew over Japan.
“By designating these entities and individuals, the United States is sending a clear message that we will continue to take actions against those who support the development and sustainment of the DPRK’s military and weapons arsenal,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement, referring to the acronym of North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
———-
U.N. expert urges Japan to aid the voluntarily displaced in Fukushima
TOKYO – The Japanese government should scrap distinctions between “mandatory” and “voluntary” evacuees from the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster and take a rights-based approach to ongoing support for those still displaced by its effects, a U.N. human rights expert said Friday.
Cecilia Jimenez-Damary, the U.N. special rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons, made the calls as the government and Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc., the operator of the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant, have been exposed to numerous lawsuits from voluntary evacuees and those who returned to their former communities.
———-
Taiwan’s Tsai urges cooperation to resist authoritarian expansion
TAIPEI – Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen called on the international community to work together to resist the threat caused by the expansion of authoritarianism in the Info-Pacific region, in an apparent reference to China.
Speaking at a forum in Taipei, Tsai stressed the importance of ensuring the peace, stability and prosperity of the region and said, “We need a new regional framework that advances collaboration between like-minded democratic partners.”
———-
Toyota truck arm Hino execs resign over data fraud
TOKYO – Toyota Motor Corp.’s truck-making subsidiary Hino Motors Ltd. on Friday announced the resignations of four executives over a fraudulent emission data reporting scandal that goes back some 20 years, saying it will also ask former executives to return part of their compensations.
The four — three board members, including one in charge of production, as well as an executive who leads the company’s technological development division — resigned Friday.
