Tokyo, 23 November, /AJMEDIA/
Japan gives emergency approval to Shionogi’s oral COVID-19 drug
TOKYO – Japan’s health ministry on Tuesday granted fast-track approval to Shionogi & Co.’s COVID-19 tablet Xocova, making it the country’s first domestically produced oral medicine against the coronavirus.
The medicine for COVID-19 patients aged 12 or older with mild symptoms also became the first drug authorized under the new emergency approval scheme established in May.
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Japan begins to probe Unification Church, eyes depriving tax benefits
TOKYO – The Japanese government began investigating the Unification Church on Tuesday, paving the way for requesting a court to consider depriving the controversial group of its status as a religious corporation with tax benefits.
The Cultural Affairs Agency sent its inquiries to the organization, often labeled as a cult, in what was the first case of the “right to question” being exercised under the Religious Corporations Law.
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Daughter seen with Kim Jong Un believed to be his 2nd child: S. Korea
SEOUL – South Korea’s spy agency has told lawmakers that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s daughter, who was seen recently at a missile launch site with him, is believed to be his second child, a ruling party member said on Tuesday.
The National Intelligence Service has confirmed that they believe the girl, who accompanied the leader at the intercontinental ballistic missile launch site, to be Kim Ju Ae, the ruling People Power Party lawmaker Yoo Sang Beom told reporters.
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Football: Japan must “go with the flow” to beat Germany, Moriyasu says
DOHA – Japan manager Hajime Moriyasu said Tuesday his players will “go with the flow” and be flexible as they attempt to overcome a formidable German team in their first group game of the World Cup.
Japan faces the daunting task of repelling one of the world’s most dangerous attacks in the first World Cup meeting between the nations, and Moriyasu has been preaching to his squad to be “adaptable to the situation.”
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Soccer: Germany star Sane out of World Cup opener against Japan
DOHA – The German Football Association on Tuesday announced star winger Leroy Sane will miss his team’s opening World Cup game against Japan.
In a blow to Die Mannschaft, the Bayern Munich player will not play Wednesday in Qatar due to a “knee problem,” according to a statement posted to the association’s website.
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Indonesia quake death toll rises to over 250, 151 others missing
CIANJUR, Indonesia – The death toll from Monday’s magnitude 5.6 earthquake on Java Island in Indonesia rose to more than 250 with 151 unaccounted for, according to the country’s disaster management agency.
More than 20,000 houses were damaged and over 58,000 people were displaced after the quake struck Sukabumi Regency, West Java Province, at 1:21 p.m. at a depth of 10 kilometers, according to the agency.
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Pentagon chief warns China against destabilizing actions on Taiwan
SIEM REAP, Cambodia – U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin urged China to refrain from further “destabilizing actions” toward Taiwan during talks with his Chinese counterpart Wei Fenghe on Tuesday, while emphasizing the need to maintain open lines of communication between the two countries, according to the U.S. Defense Department.
The meeting took place in Cambodia, about a week after their countries’ leaders held talks on the sidelines of a Group of 20 summit in Indonesia as part of efforts to manage the increasing competition between the world’s two largest economies.
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Japan foreign minister to tour U.S., 4 Latin American nations in Jan.
TOKYO – Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi is considering visiting the United States and four Latin American nations — Mexico, Peru, Brazil and Argentina — in January, government sources said Tuesday.
Hayashi plans to attend a “two-plus-two” ministerial security meeting with the United States in Washington, after holding a public debate session on “the rule of law” at the U.N. Security Council in New York as Japan holds the rotating monthly presidency of the council for that month, according to the sources.