Tokyo, 1 July, /AJMEDIA/
Japan in energy-saving period for 1st time in 7 yrs amid heat wave
TOKYO – Japanese households and businesses on Friday entered a three-month period to conserve electricity to prevent a power crunch amid a record-breaking heat wave, marking the first time in seven years that the government has made such a request.
Unusually hot weather in June has kept power demand extremely high, with supply expected to remain tight throughout the summer due to persistent heat and infrastructure issues.
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Big manufacturers’ sentiment falls to 9 from 14 in June in Japan: survey
TOKYO – Business confidence among major Japanese manufacturers worsened to 9 in June from 14 three months earlier, the Bank of Japan’s Tankan survey showed Friday.
The reading of the key index measuring confidence among companies such as automakers and electronics makers compares with an average market forecast of 13 in a Kyodo News survey.
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John Lee to be sworn in as Hong Kong’s new chief executive
HONG KONG – John Lee, a former No. 2 official of Hong Kong, will be sworn in as the territory’s chief executive Friday as the city transitions into a new era of security-driven leadership under Beijing’s tightened grip on the former British colony.
Lee will begin his five-year term on the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover from Britain to China and the halfway point of Beijing’s “one country, two systems” policy which was put in place in 1997 and was set to last for 50 years until 2047.
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3 Chinese navy ships circumnavigate Japan as Tokyo remains on alert
TOKYO – Three Chinese navy ships have circumnavigated the Japanese archipelago over the past weeks, as Tokyo stays on alert for increasing military activity by Beijing and Moscow in nearby waters, Japan’s Defense Ministry said Thursday.
Two guided-missile destroyers and a supply ship sailed through waters between Okinawa’s main island and Miyako Island in southwest Japan and entered the East China Sea Thursday after circling around the country for about 20 days, and the ministry is analyzing China’s intentions, according to the ministry’s Joint Staff.
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Tokyo raises alert level amid resurgence in COVID-19 cases
TOKYO – The Tokyo metropolitan government raised its COVID-19 alert to the second-highest of four levels Thursday amid a continuous rise in coronavirus infections for two consecutive weeks.
Experts attending a monitoring meeting of the metropolitan government made the decision and warned that the virus is spreading again, stressing the importance of promoting vaccination among young people.
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Japan, Philippines vow to maintain rules-based maritime order
TOKYO – Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and new Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. agreed Thursday the two nations will closely cooperate to maintain and reinforce the rules-based maritime order amid China’s rise in the Indo-Pacific.
Hayashi told an online press conference after a meeting in Manila with Marcos, who took office the same day, that the two countries will also bolster bilateral ties and aim to resume active people-to-people exchanges toward economic recovery in a post-coronavirus pandemic era.
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Russia’s war also prompting countries to defend against China: Biden
MADRID – U.S. President Joe Biden said Thursday that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is prompting allies and partners around the world to stand up to what they view as challenges to the rules-based order, including from China.
“As I indicated to (Russian President Vladimir) Putin…his action would cause worldwide response,” Biden told a press conference in Madrid, after attending a NATO summit meeting dominated by discussion of the Ukraine crisis.
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U.N. chief Guterres to attend Hiroshima peace memorial for 1st time
HIROSHIMA – U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres will attend for the first time the annual peace memorial ceremony in Hiroshima in August marking the U.S. atomic bombing of the Japanese city in World War II, city officials said Thursday.
It will be the first attendance by a head of the United Nations since Ban Ki Moon did so in 2010. He was also the first U.N. chief to join the event.