Tokyo, 9 January, /AJMEDIA/
Japan’s COVID quasi-emergency takes effect in 3 areas as cases spike
TOKYO – The Japanese government placed three prefectures under a quasi-state of emergency on Sunday in response to a surge in COVID-19 infections that local governors say are linked to the spread of the Omicron variant at U.S. military bases.
The quasi-emergency measures will be effective until Jan. 31 in Okinawa and parts of Yamaguchi and Hiroshima, allowing prefectural governments to strengthen their anti-coronavirus steps and request that dining establishments shorten their business hours and stop serving alcohol.
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Tokyo’s daily coronavirus cases rise to 1,224, grow 15-fold in 1 week
TOKYO – Tokyo’s daily coronavirus cases climbed to 1,224, growing 15-fold in one week, the metropolitan government said Saturday, while some other regions reported record daily numbers, in yet another sign that the country is entering a sixth wave of the pandemic with the Omicron variant continuing to spread.
The capital’s daily count increased from the previous day’s 922 cases and just 79 a week ago, reflecting its quickly evolving pandemic situation after the community spread of the Omicron strain was first confirmed in the metropolis about two weeks ago. Tokyo’s daily numbers last exceeded 1,000 in September last year.
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Japan overturns decision to cancel U.S. drone acquisition
TOKYO – Japan overturned in 2020 its decision to cancel acquisition of U.S.-made reconnaissance drones due to their massive costs out of consideration to then U.S. President Donald Trump, who was promoting U.S. weapons exports, according to sources close to the matter.
The government of then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had told Washington in the spring of 2020 that it would not purchase the Global Hawk drones, but revoked the decision in the summer after Tokyo scrapped in June that year its planned deployment of U.S.-developed land-based Aegis Ashore ballistic missile defense systems, they said.
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Hun Sen’s meeting with Myanmar junta chief may split ASEAN: officials
SINGAPORE – Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s meeting with Myanmar’s junta chief on Friday and their joint statement issued after that may cause friction among ASEAN member states ahead of the group’s first meeting of foreign ministers this year, some officials concerned with ASEAN said Saturday.
In the joint statement with the prime minister of Cambodia, this year’s ASEAN chair, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing said he had extended a ceasefire with all armed ethnic minority groups in Myanmar that was originally set to expire at the end of February through the end of this year.
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Global tax reform deal to require U.S. participation to be effective
TOKYO – A global deal to ensure major international firms including IT giants pay their fair share of tax no matter where they are located will stipulate the participation of the United States as a requirement to become effective, Japanese government sources said Saturday.
Since the tech giants known as GAFA including Google LLC and Apple Inc. are all based in the United States, the requirement is aimed at preventing the country’s withdrawal from the deal before implementation, they said.
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Japanese prosecutors conduct remote questioning amid pandemic
TOKYO – Japanese prosecutors have remotely questioned people in connection with criminal cases in order to prevent coronavirus infection, according to sources familiar with the matter.
There have been several instances of people of interest being summoned to their nearest prosecutorial facilities for questioning via an online system initially intended for interpreters, the sources said.
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Tennis: Osaka out of Melbourne Summer Set 1 with abdominal injury
TOKYO – Japanese first seed Naomi Osaka pulled out of the Melbourne Summer Set 1 ahead of her semifinal on Saturday citing an abdominal injury.
The Australian Open warm-up event was the world No. 13’s first tournament since she took a break following her third-round exit at the U.S. Open in September.