Tokyo, 2 January, /AJMEDIA/
Japan joins U.N. Security Council as new nonpermanent member
TOKYO – Japan joined the U.N. Security Council as a nonpermanent member Sunday, starting a two-year stint amid growing calls for the world body’s reform following its failure to halt Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.
Tokyo takes a nonpermanent seat of the council, in charge of ensuring international peace and security, for a record 12th time since it became a member of the United Nations in 1956 following its previous 2016-2017 term.
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Kim seeks “exponential increase” of N. Korea’s nuclear arsenal
BEIJING – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called for an “exponential increase” of the country’s nuclear arsenal, highlighting the need to mass-produce tactical nuclear weapons, as well as development of a new intercontinental ballistic missile system, the official Korean Central News Agency said Sunday.
During a six-day meeting of North Korea’s ruling party through Saturday, Kim unveiled a nuclear strategy to counter South Korea, which he called an “undoubted enemy” that is “hell-bent on imprudent and dangerous arms buildup while busying itself with hostile military moves to pose a confrontational challenge,” KCNA said.
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Japan logs record 7,688 COVID-19 deaths for December
TOKYO – A record 7,688 people in Japan died from COVID-19 in December, exceeding the previous monthly high of 7,329 logged in August during the previous wave, a tally has shown.
The death toll has increased sharply since November with the onset of the eighth wave. The daily count hit a record 438 on Tuesday and remained above 400 the following day, though it has since fallen below 200 with fewer people being tested over the year-end holidays, according to the Kyodo News tally.
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N. Korea fires ballistic missile toward Sea of Japan
SEOUL – North Korea fired a ballistic missile toward the Sea of Japan on Sunday, the South Korean military said, a day after Pyongyang fired three short-range ballistic missiles toward the sea.
The North said Sunday it had tested “super-large multiple rocket launchers” on both days, with three shells precisely hitting a target on Saturday to demonstrate their combat performance, according to the official Korean Central News Agency.
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Japan emperor wishes 2023 to be year of hope amid pandemic, war
TOKYO – Japanese Emperor Naruhito wishes for a year where people will be able to lead their lives with hope after one marked by the novel coronavirus pandemic and the Russian war in Ukraine, his New Year address released Sunday showed.
The 62-year-old took note of the many hardships people have gone through amid the continued impact of COVID-19, as well as a rise in commodity and energy prices.
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Japan PM Kishida vows to play leading role in diplomacy in 2023
TOKYO – Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pledged in his New Year’s address Sunday that Japan will play a leading role in diplomacy in 2023 as the host of the Group of Seven summit while serving as a nonpermanent member of the U.N. Security Council.
Kishida described 2022 as a “tumultuous year,” which saw history-making events, citing the spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus, Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
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Football: J-League to step up talks on switch to fall-spring season
TOKYO – The J-League will step up talks on switching to a fall-spring season to have it coincide with the European season, sources familiar with the matter said Saturday.
The J-League and the Japan Football Association will discuss the potential switch as the Asian Champions League is set to introduce its September start from the 2023 season.
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Basketball: Yuta Watanabe logs career-high 5 steals in win for Brooklyn
NEW YORK – Yuta Watanabe contributed 11 points and an NBA career-high five steals to help the Brooklyn Nets beat the Charlotte Hornets 123-106 on Saturday and extend their winning streak to 11 games.
Japanese men’s national basketball team star Watanabe, who currently leads the NBA in three-point accuracy at 51.4 percent, hit 2-of-5 from deep at Charlotte’s Spectrum Center.
