Tokyo, 5 July, /AJMEDIA/
Japan confirms China set up buoy over its southern continental shelf
TOKYO – The Japanese government said Friday it has confirmed China has installed a buoy in the high seas over Japan’s southern continental shelf in the Pacific Ocean, in a move that could further strain bilateral relations.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told a news conference it was “regrettable” that China has set up a small buoy in the waters off Japan’s western main island of Shikoku and north of the southernmost Okinotori Island “without explaining its purpose and other details.”
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Japan’s household spending falls 1.8% in May on higher prices
TOKYO – Japan’s household spending in May dropped a real 1.8 percent from a year earlier, the first decline in two months, as rising prices prompted people to cut back on food outlays and a weak yen discouraged travel abroad, government data showed Friday.
Average spending by households with two or more people stood at 290,328 yen ($1,800), the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said. The drop followed a 0.5 percent rise in April, which was the first increase in 14 months.
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Britain’s Labour Party wins general election, ushers change of gov’t
LONDON – Britain’s opposition Labour Party won the general election with the party projected Friday to eventually win a majority of at least more than 160 seats, paving the way for a change of government after 14 years.
With over half of the votes in Thursday’s polls declared so far, Labour is predicted to secure more than 400 seats while the ruling Conservatives are on course to get over 130 seats in the 650-member House of Commons legislature.
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Japan court orders gov’t to admit gay man as refugee over persecution
OSAKA – A Japanese court ordered Thursday that the government grant refugee status to a gay man from a North African country, ruling against immigration authorities as he could be prosecuted in his home nation.
The man in his 30s came to Japan in December 2019, leaving his Islamic home country where having a relationship with a same-sex partner is banned by law, with violators facing arrest and prosecution.
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Air taxi firm cites safety issues in dropping Osaka Expo flights
TOKYO – SkyDrive Inc., a Japanese air taxi startup, on Thursday cited persistent challenges in addressing safety and other technological development issues as the reason for abandoning its plan to offer commercial flights at next year’s World Exposition in Osaka.
SkyDrive sought to develop a flying taxi that can carry up to three people to showcase its technology at the expo as one of the event’s main attractions, but it decided last month to withdraw the plan and only perform demo flights without passengers.
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Japan envoy meets with Japanese executive detained in Myanmar
YANGON – The Japanese ambassador to Myanmar on Thursday met with a Japanese executive of a local supermarket joint venture who has been detained for allegedly violating rules on the selling price of rice, the Japanese Embassy in Yangon said.
Ambassador Ichiro Maruyama found Hiroshi Kasamatsu, 53, the merchandise division chief of Aeon Orange Co., in good health when they met. Kasamatsu has been under interrogation at a police station in Myanmar’s largest city since Sunday.
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Basketball: Japan women’s team routs New Zealand in Olympic warm-up
TOKYO – Mai Yamamoto scored a team-high 20 points as Japan’s Paris Olympics-bound women’s basketball team rolled to a 125-57 victory over New Zealand in a warm-up game Thursday.
Yamamoto made six of 10 three-point attempts and had seven assists in front of 11,624 fans at Tokyo’s Ariake Arena, the largest crowd ever for a Japan national women’s basketball game.
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Tennis: Yoshihito Nishioka loses in straight sets in Wimbledon 2nd round
LONDON – Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka crashed out in the men’s singles second round at Wimbledon on Thursday, falling to French big server Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in straight sets.
The 203-centimeter Mpetshi Perricard fired 27 aces and won five of seven break points on his way to a 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 victory. Nishioka’s loss left no Japanese in the men’s or women’s singles draw.
