Tokyo, 2 December, /AJMEDIA/
Football: Japan rise from dead again to beat Spain and reach last 16
DOHA – Japan pulled their Qatar World Cup campaign out of the fire with another come-from-behind win over a soccer superpower, beating Spain 2-1 on Thursday to earn a place in the round of 16.
After another first half in which his team were completely outplayed, Hajime Moriyasu called on super sub Ritsu Doan to again save the day at the Khalifa International Stadium.
Olympic scandals may cloud Sapporo 2030 bid: Tokyo Games official
TOKYO – The former chief of the Tokyo Olympics organizing committee expressed concern Thursday that a widening corruption scandal related to last year’s major sporting event may negatively affect Sapporo’s bid to host the 2030 Winter Games.
“It seems very severe,” Seiko Hashimoto, an Olympic medalist-turned-lawmaker, told reporters when asked how a series of revelations of suspected wrongdoing regarding test events for the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics could affect efforts by the northern Japan city to host a Winter Games.
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FOCUS: Skepticism remains as China veers from assertive diplomacy
TOKYO – The world witnessed China veering from its assertive “wolf warrior” diplomacy at recent international forums including the Group of 20 summit, but diplomats and political experts are looking at the country’s change of course through cautious eyes.
Many of them see the more moderate diplomatic approach taken by Beijing as an attempt to improve its aggressive image and recalibrate the deeper relations it has developed with Russia, which has recently been on the back foot in the war in Ukraine.
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Japan’s largest labor union to call for 5% pay hike, highest in 28 yrs
TOKYO – Japan’s largest labor union decided on Thursday to demand a pay hike of around 5 percent in annual wage negotiations starting next spring, the highest in 28 years, to catch up with rising inflation.
The Japanese Trade Union Confederation agreed to ask for the 5 percent pay rise, including a base-pay increase of around 3 percent, and call for a minimum hourly wage of at least 1,150 yen ($8), the same level as 2022 annual negotiations.
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Biden, Macron affirm importance of maintaining peace over Taiwan
WASHINGTON – U.S. President Joe Biden and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on Thursday agreed to continue to support Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s aggression, while affirming the importance of maintaining peace over Taiwan, a self-ruled democratic island facing pressure from an increasingly assertive China.
In a joint statement issued after their meeting in Washington, the two leaders also strongly condemned North Korea’s barrage of missile tests, saying they pose a “threat” to the region.
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China seeks political settlement of Ukraine crisis in summit with EU
BEIJING – Chinese President Xi Jinping called for the Ukraine crisis to be resolved politically in his talks in Beijing on Thursday with European Union chief Charles Michel, who urged China to use its influence to prod Russia to respect Ukrainian sovereignty.
Xi said a political settlement of the crisis “best serves Europe’s interests and the common interests of all countries in Eurasia” and showed support for the European Union to step up mediation efforts, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.
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Xi’s visit to Japan “invaluable” for bilateral ties: Chinese envoy
TOKYO – China’s ambassador to Tokyo said Thursday that President Xi Jinping’s official visit to Japan as a state guest, if realized, would be “invaluable” for bilateral relations that have often been strained over issues that include a territorial row.
In an interview with Kyodo News, Kong Xuanyou also stressed that China must continue to emphasize “leader-level” exchanges with Japan, weeks after the two Asian powers held their first summit in almost three years.
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Yakult Swallows slugger “Murakami-sama” tops Japan 2022 buzzword list
TOKYO – The nickname for Yakult Swallows record-breaking hitter Munetaka Murakami, “Murakami-sama,” was selected as Japan’s top buzzword for 2022, the award’s organizer said Thursday.
After the 22-year-old became Nippon Professional Baseball’s youngest batting Triple Crown winner in October, fans coined the word “Murakami-sama” in a play with words over his name and the kanji Chinese character “kami,” which means god in Japanese, and further added the honorific suffix “-sama.”
