Tokyo, 21 February, /AJMEDIA/
Biden makes surprise visit to Ukraine ahead of Russia war anniv.
KYIV – U.S. President Joe Biden made a surprise visit to Kyiv ahead of the one-year anniversary of Russia’s war on Ukraine to demonstrate “unwavering” commitment to the Eastern European country.
It was the first time that Biden visited Ukraine since the invasion began on Feb. 24 last year. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted a photo to an official social media channel of him shaking hands with Biden.
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North Korea fires 2 missiles into Sea of Japan after Sat.’s ICBM launch
TOKYO – North Korea fired two ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan on Monday, the Japanese Defense Ministry said, following its weekend launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile and a day after the United States held joint exercises with East Asian allies.
The two missiles appear to have fallen outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone and there were no reports of damage to aircraft or ships, the ministry said.
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“Galaxy Express 999” manga artist Leiji Matsumoto dies at 85
TOKYO – Leiji Matsumoto, a famed Japanese cartoonist known for his works “Galaxy Express 999” and “Space Battleship Yamato,” has died of acute heart failure, his production studio said Monday. He was 85.
The manga artist, who also created “Space Pirate Captain Harlock,” died at a Tokyo hospital on Feb. 13, Studio Leijisha said. Many of his works were adapted into anime television series that became popular at home and abroad.
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Japan to invite Ukraine president to G-7 online summit Feb. 24: PM
TOKYO – Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Monday that he will invite Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to a Group of Seven online summit on the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of the country later this week.
Kishida said at a meeting of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party that Japan will on Friday hold the G-7 video summit, in which the leaders are expected to reaffirm their unity in tackling Russia’s aggression against its neighbor.
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Japan postmortems of COVID-infected patients finds virus stays in half
TOKYO – Postmortems of 11 patients who died in Japan after contracting COVID-19 in 2021 found that an infectious viral load remained in the nasopharynx and lungs of over half, with one having been dead for 13 days, a health ministry study showed Monday.
The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare eased restrictions on handling coronavirus-infected corpses in a revision to funeral guidelines in January, but Hisako Saito, an associate professor of legal medicine at Chiba University and principal researcher of the study team, stressed the importance of educating and equipping personnel to “handle bodies on the assumption they are infectious.”
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China brushes off U.S. allegation it might supply weapons to Russia
BEIJING – China on Monday brushed off a U.S. allegation that Beijing is considering providing weapons to Russia to support its Ukraine war effort, saying Washington is “not qualified” to give orders to the Asian country.
“It is the United States, not China, that continuously supplies weapons to the battlefield,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a press conference. “We never accept that the U.S. dictates China-Russia relations, or even coerces and pressures them.”
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Japan, Britain, Italy eye defense chiefs meeting in Tokyo in March
TOKYO – Japan, Britain and Italy are planning to hold a defense ministerial meeting in Tokyo next month, sources close to the matter said Monday, in which their joint development plan of a next-generation fighter jet is expected to be discussed.
Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada and his British and Italian counterparts, Ben Wallace and Guido Crosetto, are also likely to discuss cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region, where China has been intensifying military activities, the sources said.
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Fans flock to Tokyo zoo for panda’s last day before China return
TOKYO – Visitors flocked to Ueno Zoological Gardens in Tokyo on Sunday to bid goodbye to a hugely popular female giant panda on her last day with the public before her return to China.
Xiang Xiang’s final appearance before she leaves Japan on Tuesday was subject to enormous demand, with many taking photos of her on the landmark day and some reduced to tears as their one-to-two minute time with the panda came to an end.
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Speed skating: Momoka Horikawa wins mass start, Takagi 3rd in 1,000m
TOMASZOW MAZOWIECKI, Poland – Japanese speed skater Momoka Horikawa surprised the field — and herself — by winning the women’s mass start at a World Cup meet for the first time in her career Sunday.
Also in the finale of the 2022-23 World Cup tour in the Polish city of Tomaszow Mazowiecki, Japanese compatriot Miho Takagi came in third in the women’s 1,000 meters, leaving her atop the season standings for the distance.
