Tokyo, 25 April, /AJMEDIA
10 confirmed dead after tour boat with 26 goes missing off Hokkaido
SAPPORO – Ten people were confirmed dead Sunday after a tourist boat with a total of 26 passengers and crew aboard went missing in rough waters the previous day off a World Heritage site on Japan’s northernmost main island of Hokkaido, the country’s coast guard said.
Aircraft and vessels dispatched by the Japan Coast Guard and the Self-Defense Forces continue to search for the remaining 16 people and the 19-ton boat, Kazu I, which lost contact after reporting it was taking on water around 1:15 p.m. Saturday.
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Delegation sent by next S. Korean leader in Japan for policy talks
TOKYO – A delegation sent by South Korean President-elect Yoon Suk Yeol arrived in Japan on Sunday for talks with Japanese officials ahead of his inauguration next month, amid expectations he will work to improve bilateral ties that have soured over wartime issues.
During the delegation’s five-day visit through Thursday, its members are expected to convey to Japanese political and business leaders, including Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, that the incoming leader will put an emphasis on Seoul-Tokyo ties.
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55% of Okinawans unhappy with 50 yrs since reversion to Japan: poll
NAHA, Japan – Fifty-five percent of people in Okinawa Prefecture have been dissatisfied with the course of history after its return to Japan from the United States half a century ago, a Kyodo News survey showed Saturday, highlighting its burden of hosting the bulk of U.S. forces in the country.
The mail survey, held ahead of the 50th anniversary of Okinawa’s reversion to Japanese administration on May 15, found that 94 percent have welcomed the reversion itself.
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Over 50% in Japan feel public safety worsened in last 10 yrs: survey
TOKYO – More than 50 percent of respondents to a government survey said they feel public safety in Japan has worsened over the past 10 years, with many raising concerns about online fraud and cybercrimes, according to the results released in March.
While 85.1 percent of respondents said they felt Japan was a safe and peaceful place to live, 10.1 percent said they believed public security had “worsened” over the last decade and 44.5 percent believed it had “somewhat worsened,” the Cabinet Office survey showed.
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IMF says yen’s rapid slide may hamper Japan’s post-pandemic recovery
WASHINGTON – The chief of the International Monetary Fund’s Japan mission believes the yen’s rapid recent slide could hamper the pandemic-stricken Japanese economy from returning to a steady growth pathway by raising import costs and hurting consumer spending.
The yen’s drop to a 20-year low against the dollar last week is a reflection of the Bank of Japan’s decision to persist with its loose monetary easing settings when central banks in other major economies are tightening, Ranil Salgado said in a recent written interview with Kyodo News.
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Candidate of Kishida’s LDP wins upper house by-election in Ishikawa
KANAZAWA – The candidate from Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s Liberal Democratic Party won a House of Councillors by-election Sunday in the conservative stronghold of Ishikawa Prefecture, central Japan, projections by Kyodo News show.
The result could give momentum to the ruling bloc in the run-up to this summer’s upper house election. But Kishida is also expected to continue facing challenges including the Russian war on Ukraine, which has impacted the nascent recovery of the Japanese economy from the coronavirus pandemic.
