Tokyo, 23 August, /AJMEDIA/
LDP code of conduct to demand no ties with Unification Church
TOKYO – A senior official of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party signaled Monday that the party’s code of conduct will demand having no ties with the Unification Church, following a public uproar over its lawmakers’ connections with the group.
“We will include not having relationships at all with groups deemed problematic in society” in the party’s code of conduct, Secretary General Toshimitsu Motegi said during a speech in Sendai in the northeast.
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Nuclear disarmament talks enter final lap, consensus uncertain
NEW YORK – A nuclear disarmament conference entered a final stage of plenary meetings Monday amid growing uncertainty as to whether members can hammer out an agreement by Friday’s conclusion of the nearly monthlong session.
The three panels under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty review conference at U.N. headquarters each submitted an unfinalized draft report to its President Gustavo Zlauvinen, highlighting big gaps among delegates to the first meeting since 2015.
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2 dead, 7 injured after bus overturns on Nagoya expressway
NAGOYA – Two people died and seven others were injured after a bus overturned and caught fire on an expressway in Nagoya in central Japan on Monday, local authorities said.
The bus is believed to have hit a concrete divider as it was going to exit the Nagoya Expressway, with a passenger car also colliding into it, at around 10:15 a.m. near the Toyoyama-Minami interchange.
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Japan envoy speaks with filmmaker held in Myanmar: govt. official
TOKYO – Japan’s ambassador to Myanmar has spoken by phone with a Japanese documentary filmmaker detained in the country and confirmed that he is in good health, a Japanese Foreign Ministry official said Monday.
Toru Kubota was detained in Yangon on July 30 while filming a protest against Myanmar’s ruling military. He has been held in prison over his alleged involvement in the protest and charged with sedition and violating the immigration law.
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China cuts benchmark lending rate amid economic downturn fears
BEIJING – China’s central bank cut its benchmark lending rate Monday for the first time in seven months to shore up the country’s slowing economy amid restrictions under its radical “zero-COVID” policy to stem the novel coronavirus outbreak and a property market slump.
The People’s Bank of China said it had lowered the one-year loan prime rate by 0.05 percentage point to 3.65 percent. The central bank also said it had reduced the five-year loan prime rate — the benchmark mortgage interest rate — by 0.15 point to 4.30 percent, the first cut since May.
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Japan ministry adds female lecturers to online course after backlash
TOKYO – Japan’s land ministry said Monday it has added 15 women to the lineup of lecturers for a planned online course on community development for public servants, after it came under fire for having initially filled all 25 speaker spots with men.
The decision follows numerous complaints that the Japanese government has failed to implement more effective measures to increase female participation in the political and economic arenas.
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Top U.S. medical adviser Fauci to step down in Dec.
WASHINGTON – Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious diseases expert, said Monday he will resign as chief medical adviser to U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration as well as head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Fauci, who has led the country’s response to the spread of the novel coronavirus since Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump was in office, said in a statement that he will leave the posts in December “to pursue the next chapter of my career.”
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Badminton: Kento Momota makes winning start at worlds in Tokyo
TOKYO – Former world No. 1 Kento Momota launched his bid for a third men’s singles world title in front of his home fans Monday with a 21-16, 21-14 win over first-round opponent Lino Munoz of Mexico.
The 27-year-old star headlined a strong field of Japanese players on the opening day of the BWF World Championships, running through Sunday at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.
