Tokyo, 29 August, /AJMEDIA/
Ukraine war caused food crisis: Japan, African leaders
TUNIS – Leaders from Japan and African nations on Sunday said the ongoing Russian war in Ukraine has caused a food crisis on the fast-growing continent, without referring to Moscow by name.
“We underscore with deep concern the negative socio-economic impact of this (Ukraine) crisis, which has created food insecurity in Africa in the challenging context” of the post-COVID era, the leaders said in the Tunis Declaration issued following the Tokyo International Conference on African Development held in the Tunisian capital.
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Japan eyes 2023 G-7 foreign ministers talks in Nagano resort town
TOKYO – Japan is planning to hold a foreign ministerial meeting of the Group of Seven industrialized nations in a resort town of Nagano Prefecture, central Japan, in April next year, ahead of the group’s summit scheduled in Hiroshima in May, sources close to the matter said Sunday.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s government is also arranging to hold a finance ministers’ and central bank governors’ meeting in May in Niigata, a coastal city facing the Sea of Japan northwest of Tokyo, according to the sources.
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U.S. warships transit Taiwan Strait, 1st since Pelosi visit
WASHINGTON – Two U.S. warships passed through the strait between China and Taiwan, the U.S. Navy said Saturday, in the first such operation since U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s trip to the self-ruled island in early August caused tensions to spike.
While the U.S. 7th Fleet said the two guided-missile cruisers had conducted a “routine” transit through the Taiwan Strait on Sunday local time, the move drew ire from Beijing, which claims Taiwan as part of its territory.
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Sumo: July champ Ichinojo rejoins elite in new rankings
TOKYO, Aug. 29 Kyodo – First-time champion Ichinojo was rewarded for his July triumph Monday by earning re-promotion to komusubi in the Japan Sumo Association’s ranking published ahead of the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament from Sept. 11 at Tokyo’s Ryogoku Kokugikan.
The 1.92-meter 211-kilogram Mongolian, a former sekiwake who wrestled as a No. 2 maegashira in Nagoya, will move up two spots as he returns to the three “sanyaku” ranks below yokozuna for the first time since last November.
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Japan PM airs regret, blames Russia for opposition at nuke confab
TOKYO – Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Saturday expressed his disappointment after a review conference on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty ended without an outcome document, saying Russia should take the blame for its opposition.
Kishida said maintaining and strengthening the NPT is “the only realistic approach” to nuclear disarmament, as he is pushing for a world without nuclear weapons as a lawmaker representing a constituency in atomic-bombed Hiroshima.
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Japan mulls letting asymptomatic COVID patients go out if mask worn
TOKYO – Japan is considering allowing asymptomatic COVID-19 patients to leave their homes to buy daily necessities as long as they wear a mask and take other measures against spreading the virus, government sources said Saturday.
The proposal comes as cases have hit record numbers in many regions amid a seventh wave of the pandemic that shows no signs of abating, threatening to disrupt societal functions should many be confined to isolation.
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Baseball icon Ichiro Suzuki inducted into Mariners Hall of Fame
SEATTLE – Former Seattle Mariners superstar Ichiro Suzuki became the 10th player inducted into the club’s Hall of Fame on Saturday, the one-of-a-kind outfielder receiving rapturous applause at T-Mobile Park as he gave a 15-minute speech in English.
The 48-year-old Japanese played 13 and a half of his 19 MLB seasons in Seattle. A 10-time MLB All-Star, Suzuki won 10 Gold Gloves and two batting titles and was the 2001 AL MVP and rookie of the year. He retired in March 2019.
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JAXA, Mitsui Sumitomo to sell insurance for civilian space travelers
TOKYO – The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co. will jointly develop insurance products for space travelers as they bet more civilians will venture beyond the Earth in the future.
The new products will likely cover travelers against damage to possessions just like existing travel insurance as well as bodily damage before and after the adventure, the two organizations said last month.
