Tokyo, 5 January, /AJMEDIA/
Tuna fetches 36 mil. yen at New Year auction in Tokyo
TOKYO – A bluefin tuna fetched 36.04 million yen ($273,000) on Thursday at the New Year’s auction at Tokyo’s Toyosu fish market, more than double the top price last year, as the restaurant and food industries look to recover from the coronavirus pandemic.
The price paid for the 212-kilogram fish caught by a vessel operating out of a port in Oma, Aomori Prefecture, northeastern Japan, exceeded last year’s top price for a tuna of 16.88 million yen and is the sixth highest since comparable data became available in 1999.
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China, Philippines to manage South China Sea differences peacefully
BEIJING – The leaders of China and the Philippines have agreed to “appropriately manage differences” over the situation in the South China Sea “through peaceful means,” emphasizing that maritime issues “do not comprise the sum total” of bilateral relations, their joint statement showed Thursday.
During their summit talks Wednesday in Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Philippine counterpart Ferdinand Marcos Jr. agreed to resume discussions on joint oil and gas development in the South China Sea at an early date and reaffirmed the importance of freedom of navigation and overflight in the area, it said.
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Japan lifts coupon rate for 10-yr gov’t bond to 0.5%, highest in 8 yrs
TOKYO – The Japanese government on Thursday more than doubled the coupon rate for new 10-year government bonds to 0.5 percent, the highest in more than eight years, reflecting a rise in long-term interest rates following the Bank of Japan’s monetary policy tweak.
The Finance Ministry hiked the coupon rate — the interest rate stated on bonds at their issuance — for benchmark bonds issued in January from 0.2 percent to the highest level since December 2014, marking the first increase since April last year.
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Japan sets up 134-day countdown board for G-7 Hiroshima summit
TOKYO – The Japanese government on Thursday set up a board at the prime minister’s office in Tokyo to mark the countdown to the Group of Seven summit in May in Hiroshima with 134 days to go.
A kickoff ceremony for the countdown was attended by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who aims to build momentum for the May 19-20 summit as a lawmaker representing a constituency in the western Japan city, devastated by the 1945 U.S. atomic bombing.
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U.S. looks to work with Japan to boost women’s tech job opportunities
WASHINGTON – The United States is seeking to step up cooperation with Japan to encourage women to pursue science and technology, a State Department official leading gender equality efforts said Wednesday, noting that female economic empowerment will be a topic when the two countries’ leaders meet next week.
Katrina Fotovat, acting ambassador-at-large for global women’s issues, also underscored the importance of Japan, which holds the rotating presidency of the Group of Seven this year, to address its own gender inequalities, with the country ranked the lowest among the G-7 industrialized nations in a report by a Switzerland-based think tank.
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Toyota plans to test liquid hydrogen car in 2023 endurance races
NAGOYA – Japanese auto giant Toyota Motor Corp. plans to enter an in-development car using liquid hydrogen into 2023 endurance race events as part of efforts to make vehicles powered by the environmentally friendly fuel commercially viable.
While many major automakers are focusing on electric vehicles to achieve carbon neutral targets, Toyota has also invested in developing a range of technologies, including hydrogen-powered automobiles, which produce almost no carbon dioxide when operating.
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Philippine leader Marcos eyes Japan visit in mid-February
BEIJING – Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Thursday in Beijing that he may visit Japan in the second week of February to discuss economic and regional security, among other topics, with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
Marcos told a press conference before wrapping up his three-day state visit to China that the Philippines is “seen as an important part of maintaining” regional security “in partnership with friends” like Japan and other countries in the Indo-Pacific region.
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PM Kishida urges wage growth to revive Japan economy
ISE, Japan – Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pledged Wednesday to prop up the country’s stagnant economy, saying wage growth will become a “driver” for economic recovery with prices rising at home following the Ukraine crisis.
Kishida also said at a press conference after visiting the Ise Jingu shrine in Mie Prefecture that his government will implement measures to invite overseas universities to Japan in a bid to promote investment in the Asian nation from abroad.
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Japan female politicians face headwinds as gender bias still rampant
TSU, Japan – Female politicians and leaders in Japan are more likely to face gender biases and sexual harassment than their male counterparts, with their competence often questioned regardless of past experience, a recent survey by Kyodo News found.
“Some voters said to me, ‘What can a woman do?’ and (called me a) ’39-year-old little girl,'” said Noriko Suematsu, the mayor of Suzuka, Mie Prefecture, reflecting back on her time in the prefectural assembly.
