Tokyo, 17 October, /AJMEDIA/
Kishida instructs minister to launch probe into Unification Church
TOKYO – Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Monday instructed his culture minister to launch an investigation into the Unification Church, a religious group that has come under the spotlight in Japan for its links with the ruling party and the huge donations it has encouraged followers to make.
With the probe, the church, which drew renewed public attention after former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was killed in July, could face losing its status as a religious corporation, depriving it of tax benefits although it could still operate as a religious entity.
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Japan PM Kishida sends ritual offering to war-linked Yasukuni shrine
TOKYO – Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Monday sent a ritual offering to the war-linked Yasukuni shrine in Tokyo, a source of diplomatic friction with some of Japan’s Asian neighbors who view it as a symbol of Japan’s past militarism.
Kishida sent the “masakaki” offering on the occasion of the Shinto shrine’s autumn festival, but he is expected to refrain from paying a visit, people close to him said.
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China’s Xi touts 10-yr achievements, renews resolve for Taiwan
BEIJING – Chinese leader Xi Jinping hailed Sunday what he views as the Communist Party’s achievements during his 10 years at the helm and reiterated Beijing’s commitment to reunification with Taiwan, as he gave the opening speech at the party’s twice-a-decade congress.
Xi, who is set to secure an unprecedented third five-year term as general secretary at the nation’s most important political event, lauded the party’s “historic achievements” such as poverty reduction and stressed that it will “unswervingly advance the cause of national reunification” with Taiwan.
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Ex-Tokyo Olympic executive to be probed over fresh bribery case
TOKYO – Japanese prosecutors are set to build yet another corruption case against a former Tokyo Olympic executive for allegedly accepting bribes from a company that sold officially licensed stuffed dolls of the games’ mascots, investigative sources said Sunday.
Haruyuki Takahashi, 78, who has been at the center of the widening bribery scandal, is believed to have received a total of 8 million yen ($54,000) in cash from stuffed toy maker Sun Arrow Inc., the sources said.
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Taiwan rejects reunification after China’s Xi reiterates wish
TAIPEI – Taiwan expressed its firm opposition to China’s reiterated commitment to reunification with the self-ruled island after Chinese leader Xi Jinping said his country will take all measures necessary, including the use of force, to fulfill the goal at the Chinese Communist Party’s twice-a-decade congress on Sunday.
Responding to Xi’s speech at the opening session of the weeklong congress, Presidential Office spokesman Xavier Chang stressed in a statement President Tsai Ing-wen’s uncompromising stance of protecting sovereignty, democracy and freedom in Taiwan, explaining the view is the broad consensus among the people and political parties in the island.
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Japan, Australia PMs to issue security document amid China concerns
TOKYO – The leaders of Japan and Australia are planning to release a new declaration on security cooperation when they meet next weekend, amid China’s growing military power and maritime assertiveness, government sources said Sunday.
The declaration highlighting the importance of a “free and open Indo-Pacific” will likely be announced by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese, who are scheduled to hold talks on Saturday in Perth, according to the sources.
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Football: Former Japan, Celtic star Nakamura to retire at end of season
TOKYO – Former Japan and Celtic star Shunsuke Nakamura, currently at Yokohama FC in the J-League second division, is set to retire at the end of the season, Kyodo News learned Monday.
The 44-year-old midfielder, known for his deadly set-piece deliveries with his left foot, played 98 games for Japan, scoring 24 goals, and was part of the 2006 and 2010 World Cup squads.
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Group of 100 in fistfight at Tokyo skyscraper restaurant
TOKYO – Police were called to a restaurant in a Tokyo skyscraper Sunday after a mass brawl broke out among a group of some 100 customers who had booked out the venue.
Most of the people had left when officers arrived at the modern French restaurant on the 58th floor of the landmark Sunshine 60 tower in the Ikebukuro district, with just a man who had suffered a minor head injury and some others still there, the police said.
