Tokyo, 24 April, /AJMEDIA
Japan’s Hayashi, U.S. envoy Emanuel show off alliance on carrier
TOKYO – Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel on Saturday demonstrated the two nations’ solid alliance, as they embarked together on a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier after its military drill in waters near Japan earlier this month.
At a press conference held in the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln, Hayashi said that the vessel’s activities in the region “embody a resolution of the United States to realize a free and open Indo-Pacific” region, where security concerns have been growing over activities by China and North Korea
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4 people found after tour boat lost contact off Hokkaido
SAPPORO – The Japan Coast guard said four people were found unconscious early Sunday in the area around Hokkaido’s Shiretoko Peninsula where a tourist boat with 26 people aboard went missing a day earlier.
The boat Kazu I reported to the coast guard it was taking on water around 1:15 p.m. Saturday, and then told its operator that it was tilting 30 degrees around 3 p.m. before losing contact off Japan’s northernmost main island, the JCG said.
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U.S. highlights need for stable exchange rates in talks with Japan
WASHINGTON – U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and her Japanese counterpart Shunichi Suzuki have affirmed the importance of stable foreign exchange rates amid the yen’s recent rapid decline against the U.S. dollar, the Treasury Department said Friday.
The announcement was apparently meant to showcase that the United States and Japan are aligned on the issue, which has become a major concern for Tokyo on the back of the diverging monetary policies of the U.S. and Japanese central banks.
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U.S. warns Solomon Islands against allowing China military presence
WASHINGTON – The United States said Friday it has warned the Solomon Islands against any possible moves toward inviting a Chinese military presence following the recent signing of a security agreement between the Pacific nation and the Asian economic powerhouse.
“If steps are taken to establish a de facto permanent military presence, power-projection capabilities, or a military installation, the delegation noted that the United States would then have significant concerns and respond accordingly,” the White House said following a trip by senior U.S. officials to the island country.
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Japan, Russia strike deal on salmon, trout fishing despite sanctions
TOKYO – Japan and Russia have clinched a deal on Tokyo’s fishing quota for salmon and trout spawned in Russian rivers, Japan’s Fisheries Agency said Saturday, reaching an agreement on the issue despite Japan’s economic sanctions against Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.
The two countries agreed on Japan’s quota of 2,050 tons within its exclusive economic zone for 2022, the same level as last year, and the payment to Russia of a fee between 200 million yen ($1.5 million) and 300 million yen, depending on the actual catch.
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Romania vows to boost defense, condemns Russian aggression in Ukraine
TOKYO – Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca has pledged to strengthen his country’s deterrence and defense posture on the eastern flank of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, saying the country stands on the “front line” of the war in Ukraine.
In a written interview with Kyodo News, Ciuca thanked Japan for a total of $200 million in emergency humanitarian aid for displaced people in Ukraine as well as Romania, Moldova, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic following “Russia’s brutal, unjustified and unlawful invasion of Ukraine.”
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U.S. envoy to Japan highlights acceptance of LGBTQ people
TOKYO – U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel has said it is important to accept people of different sexual orientation and will attend Sunday’s Rainbow Parade in Tokyo to drive home the point.
The ambassador, who has also worked to promote marriage equality in his own country, said that gays and lesbians should be acknowledged as part of an inclusive society.
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X Games: Yosozumi leads Japan women’s skateboard park podium sweep
CHIBA, Japan – Tokyo Olympic champion Sakura Yosozumi led a Japan medal sweep in women’s skateboard park on Saturday in the X Games Chiba 2022, in the X Games’ Japan debut.
The 20-year-old Yosozumi added the X Games title to the gold medal she claimed at the Olympics last summer, where she went in ranked world No. 2. After the eight-woman final at Zozo Marine Stadium east of Tokyo, she said she dedicated the win to her mother.
