Tokyo, 10 August, /AJMEDIA/
Japan PM to reshuffle Cabinet, LDP leadership as public support slips
TOKYO – Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will reshuffle his Cabinet and ruling party executives on Wednesday, seeking to stem a decline in public support and stay clear of dubious ties with a religious group under the spotlight following the killing of former premier Shinzo Abe.
Kishida hopes the personnel changes will pave the way for a long-term, stable administration to tackle what he has described as “the biggest challenges of the postwar era,” ranging from COVID-19 and inflation to Russia’s war in Ukraine and heightened tensions across the Taiwan Strait.
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Japanese fashion designer Issey Miyake dies at 84
TOKYO – World-renowned Japanese fashion designer Issey Miyake, known for his designs incorporating cutting-edge silhouettes and heavily pleated fabrics, died last Friday of liver cancer, his office said Tuesday. He was 84.
Born in the western city of Hiroshima, he was honored with Japan’s Order of Culture in 2010 for his contributions to the fashion industry.
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Biden signs $52.7 bil. bill for chip production to counter China
WASHINGTON – U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday signed into law a bill that invests $52.7 billion in semiconductor production and development in a bid to secure a technological edge amid intensifying competition with China.
The enactment of the law, which includes $39 billion in manufacturing incentives, also comes as the United States is accelerating cooperation with Japan, a key security ally, to build resilient semiconductor supply chains that rely less on potential adversaries.
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Japan’s population falls by record 726,342 to 125.93 mil. in 2021
TOKYO – Japan’s population declined to 125.93 million as of Jan. 1, down by 726,342 in its biggest drop since comparable data became available in 2013, as deaths again outnumbered births and COVID-19 border restrictions kept foreign resident numbers low, government data showed Tuesday.
The population came to 125,927,902, including resident foreigners, down 0.57 percent from the previous year, according to data released by the internal affairs ministry. The figure was also the largest fall by percentage.
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Japan’s MSDF, Solomon Islands hold 1st drill amid China tension
TOKYO – Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force said Tuesday it has conducted its first joint drill with Solomon Islands maritime police, amid concerns over China’s growing military clout on the South Pacific island nation following a controversial security pact between them.
The MSDF said its destroyer Kirisame engaged in a maritime security exercise on Monday in the South Pacific with the patrol boat Taro from Solomon Islands’ Police Maritime. They were also joined by the U.S. Navy’s littoral combat ship Oakland.
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China seeks S. Korea’s support amid rift with U.S. over Taiwan
BEIJING – China on Tuesday called on South Korea to “maintain independence and self-reliance,” Yonhap News Agency said, in an apparent gesture to seek Seoul’s support amid Beijing’s growing rift with Washington over tensions in the Taiwan Strait.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his South Korean counterpart Park Jin during their meeting in the eastern port city of Qingdao that the two sides should not interfere with each other’s domestic affairs and not be affected by “external obstacles,” the agency said.
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Taiwan warns Chinese military drills signal expanded ambition
TAIPEI – Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu on Tuesday condemned China’s military exercises around the self-ruled island, saying Beijing’s ambitions go beyond Taiwan while calling for international support to resist what he called its expanded authoritarianism.
The exercises, which came in response to U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan last week, were “a serious provocation” and a “gross violation of Taiwan’s rights under international law,” Wu told a press conference.
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Japan recognizes Turkish Kurd as refugee
SAPPORO – Japan has recognized a Turkish Kurd as a refugee for the first time, according to the secretariat of the Japan Lawyers Network for Refugees.
The Sapporo Regional Immigration Services Bureau granted the 30-year-old man the status on July 28 after an appeals court ruled in May that he would be at risk of persecution if he returned to Turkey.
