Tokyo, 13 January, /AJMEDIA/
Japan’s daily coronavirus cases top 13,000 for 1st time in 4 months
TOKYO – Japan’s count of reported daily coronavirus cases exceeded 13,000 on Wednesday for the first time in over four months, as a sixth wave of the pandemic spurred by the Omicron variant continues to spread across the country.
The nationwide tally stood at 13,244, with Tokyo accounting for 2,198 of the cases and marking the first time in over four months that the count has surpassed 2,000.
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Toyota tops global auto sales in 2021 for 2nd year in row
LONDON – Toyota Motor Corp. ranked top in global auto sales in 2021, beating Volkswagen AG of Germany for the second consecutive year amid an easing of the parts supply crunch in Southeast Asia, data showed Wednesday.
Volkswagen said the same day its global sales last year fell 4.5 percent to 8.88 million vehicles, lower than the 9.56 million vehicles sold worldwide by Toyota between January and November 2021.
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U.S. sanctions North Koreans aiding weapons programs after missile tests
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday imposed sanctions on five North Koreans based in Russia and China over their alleged ties to Pyongyang’s weapons-development programs, following recent ballistic missile tests by the secretive country.
The actions are part of ongoing U.S. efforts to counter North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs and target its “continued use of overseas representatives to illegally procure goods for weapons,” Brian Nelson, undersecretary of the treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in a press release.
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ASEAN foreign ministers meeting scheduled for next week postponed
PHNOM PENH – Cambodia said Wednesday that an in-person ASEAN foreign ministers meeting scheduled for next week will be postponed, a development that could have been influenced by the regional group’s response to military-ruled Myanmar.
Cambodia, which chairs the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations this year, attributed the postponement to “the fact that it is difficult for many ASEAN foreign ministers to travel to Cambodia” for the Jan. 18-19 meeting.
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Japan, Singapore vow to keep TPP free trade pact’s high standards
TOKYO – Trade ministers of Japan and Singapore on Wednesday pledged to maintain the high standards of market access and rules of the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade deal, which China and Taiwan made a bid to join last year, Japan’s government said.
In a joint statement, Japanese trade minister Koichi Hagiuda and his Singaporean counterpart Gan Kim Yong confirmed their countries’ commitment to “building a free and fair rules-based trading system including through maintaining” the high standards of the deal, according to Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
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Man convicted over forged signatures for Aichi governor recall
NAGOYA – A central Japan court on Wednesday convicted a former company president for recruiting people in 2020 to forge the signatures required for a recall referendum of Aichi Gov. Hideaki Omura, saying the accused “made light of democracy.”
The Nagoya District Court sentenced Akira Yamaguchi, 39, the former head of an advertising company in Nagoya, to 16 months in prison, suspended for four years. The ruling said he committed “a vicious crime that diminishes the basis of a direct democratic system and local autonomy.”
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HK “patriots only” legislature to draw up national security crimes
HONG KONG – The Hong Kong government will seek to enact legislation that would define a host of new national security crimes, leader Carrie Lam told the first plenary meeting of the new “patriots only” legislature on Wednesday.
With pro-Beijing members filling nearly all 90 seats in the Legislative Council following last month’s election, held without candidates from the city’s major pro-democracy parties, such legislation is all but certain to be enacted.
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Nippon Steel appeals South Korean court order over asset sale
SEOUL – Nippon Steel Corp. on Wednesday appealed a South Korean court order over the sale of company assets South Korean plaintiffs have seized in connection with wartime labor issues.
The appeal came after a district court branch in the southeastern city of Daegu issued an order on Dec. 30 to sell 194,000 shares worth about 94 million yen ($815,000) in a joint venture involving Nippon Steel and South Korean steelmaker POSCO.