Tokyo, 5 December, /AJMEDIA/
QAnon’s Japan arm searched over obstructing COVID vaccinations
TOKYO – Police searched the head office of a group claiming to be the Japanese arm of U.S. conspiracy cult QAnon in Shizuoka Prefecture on Monday after its members were arrested last week for forcing their way into a local mass coronavirus vaccination site earlier this year.
Eight members of the YamatoQ group, including one of its leaders, were arrested Thursday on suspicion of trespassing after they intruded into the vaccination site in Yaizu in the central Japanese prefecture in March.
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G-7, Australia price cap takes effect to hit Russian oil revenue
WASHINGTON – A price cap on Russian crude oil agreed by the Group of Seven nations and Australia took effect Monday, in the latest effort to squeeze Moscow’s key source of revenue for its ongoing war in Ukraine.
The price cap was set at $60 per barrel by the G-7 members — Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States, plus the European Union — and Australia as they seek to punish Russia while not triggering major supply disruptions. But Moscow could retaliate by reducing supplies, possibly destabilizing markets.
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Japan upper house expresses concern over human rights in China regions
TOKYO – Japan’s upper house adopted a resolution Monday expressing concern over the human rights situations in Xinjiang, Hong Kong and other regions of China.
Without naming China, the House of Councillors urged “the government of the country concerned” to fulfill its responsibility so that the international community can determine the truth of allegations regarding human rights abuses.
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334 prefectural assembly members had ties with Unification Church
TOKYO – At least 334 out of 2,570 prefectural assembly members in Japan have had dealings with the Unification Church or its affiliates, with over 80 percent of them belonging to the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, a Kyodo News survey showed Sunday.
The November survey shows that the influence of the religious group — under increased scrutiny for questionable practices such as soliciting financially ruinous donations from members and for its links with the LDP — is also widespread among regional politicians.
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Japan nursery school teachers arrested over abuse of toddlers
SHIZUOKA, Japan – Three women who used to work as teachers at a nursery school in the central Japan city of Susono near Mt. Fuji were arrested Sunday on suspicion of repeatedly abusing toddlers in their care.
The former teachers were apprehended hours after police searched the private school following the city’s disclosure Wednesday that they were involved in 15 cases of child abuse between June and August, such as holding toddlers upside down by their feet and slapping their faces.
Football: Captain Yoshida says time for Japan to raise World Cup bar higher
DOHA – Japan captain Maya Yoshida said Sunday his team must not be satisfied with what they have achieved so far at the Qatar World Cup and instead should be aiming to raise the bar higher.
“For Japanese soccer to go one level higher, we must become a team that consistently gets past the group stage,” he said at the Japan training base in Doha a day ahead of their sudden death round of 16 game against Croatia.
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Japan to put off tax hike to cover increased defense spending
TOKYO – Japan plans to put off for now a tax hike intended to finance a planned increase in the country’s defense spending, a government source said Sunday.
The government will continue to study measures to secure a stable source of revenue as Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has called for raising defense spending to 2 percent of gross domestic product in fiscal 2027 from the current 1 percent.
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Indonesia puts erupting volcano on top alert status
JAKARTA/TOKYO – Indonesian authorities declared a top alert status Sunday after a volcano on the main island of Java erupted, spewing a thick column of ash 1.5 kilometers into the sky.
Japan’s weather agency had warned a tsunami could arrive at the islands of Miyako and Yaeyama in Okinawa Prefecture following the eruption, which took place at around 11:18 a.m. Japan time. But it later said no tsunami occurred in Japan.
