Tokyo, 3 December, /AJMEDIA/
Japan ruling bloc agrees on acquiring “counterstrike capability”
TOKYO – Japan’s ruling parties agreed Friday that the country should pledge to acquire a “counterstrike capability” to address the rapid deterioration of the regional security environment, heralding a major shift in the nation’s security policy.
The Liberal Democratic Party had advocated obtaining an enemy base strike capability, while its junior coalition partner Komeito, known as a pacifist party, had been wary that such a move would constitute a change in Japan’s exclusively self-defense-oriented policy.
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China signals easing of “zero-COVID” policy following protests
BEIJING – China has signaled its readiness to ease its radical “zero-COVID” policy following recent, rare nationwide protests against lockdowns and other strict anti-virus measures, with authorities highlighting weak virulence of the Omicron variant and calling for optimized measures.
Chinese Vice Premier Sun Chunlan, who is in charge of anti-virus measures, said Thursday the pathogenicity of the Omicron virus is weakening and that conditions have been created “for tweaking the epidemic response measures,” according to the official Xinhua News Agency.
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G-7 to set $60 per barrel oil price cap to hit Russia’s war chest
WASHINGTON – The Group of Seven nations, the European Union and Australia plan to cap the price of Russian oil at $60 per barrel, the U.S. government said Friday, just days ahead of the rollout of the new mechanism intended to add pressure on Moscow over its war in Ukraine.
The price cap on seaborne Russian oil, to take effect on Monday, will help restrict the Kremlin’s primary source of revenue for the war, while addressing global supply disruptions by encouraging the flow of discounted Russian oil into global markets, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement.
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Japan enacts 29 tril. yen extra budget to blunt inflation impact
TOKYO – Japan’s parliament on Friday enacted a 28.92 trillion yen ($214 billion) extra budget for the current fiscal year to help struggling households cope with accelerating inflation and support an economy facing downward pressure.
The House of Councillors approved the second supplementary budget of the year through March 2023 on Friday after the House of Representatives passed it earlier this week.
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Manila prison buries bodies of 70 inmates, including Japanese man
MANILA – The bodies of 70 inmates at the Philippines’ largest and overly congested prison were buried on Friday, several weeks after justice authorities discovered decomposing bodies.
The bodies, including one of a Japanese man convicted of drug smuggling, interred in a mass burial, were among more than 170 corpses found to have been kept at a morgue in the capital Manila.
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Malaysia’s Anwar unveils Cabinet, picks scandal-hit ally as deputy
KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia’s new Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim unveiled his Cabinet Friday, naming himself finance minister and rewarding politicians who helped him secure power, including a scandal-tainted close ally.
Expectations for a reformist government had been high for Anwar, who had campaigned on a platform of fighting corruption in a recent general election that resulted in a hung parliament.
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U.S. economy adds stronger-than-expected 263,000 jobs in Nov.
WASHINGTON – The U.S. economy created 263,000 nonfarm jobs in November, while the unemployment rate remained unchanged from the previous month at 3.7 percent, the Labor Department said Friday.
Growth in nonfarm payrolls exceeded the market consensus of an increase of 200,000.
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Football: Croatia standing between Japan and World Cup history
DOHA – After emerging as unlikely winners of a bruising World Cup group, Japan have a battle-tested Croatia team with a world-class midfield led by superstar Luka Modric between them and a first-ever quarterfinal berth.
Compared to the Samurai Blue, Croatia’s path to the round of 16 was relatively straightforward. A 0-0 draw with Group F winners Morocco, a 4-1 victory over Canada and a goalless, if nervy, encounter with Belgium were enough to put them through.
