Tokyo, 21 July, /AJMEDIA/
Tokyo Olympic organizing exec likely paid 45 mil. yen by sponsor
TOKYO – A member of the now-defunct Tokyo Olympic organizing committee’s executive board is believed to have received around 45 million yen ($326,000) from a sponsor of last year’s global sports event, sources close to the matter said Wednesday.
Haruyuki Takahashi told Kyodo News his sports consulting firm signed a consulting contract with major business suit retailer Aoki Holdings Inc. worth 1 million yen per month in September 2017 before the events were held, but it does not constitute a conflict of interest.
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Japan’s daily COVID cases top 150,000, new record high
TOKYO – Japan’s daily COVID-19 cases on Wednesday topped 150,000, setting a new record high, according to a Kyodo News tally, as the country grapples with its seventh wave of coronavirus infections spurred by the highly transmissible BA.5 Omicron subvariant.
A record number of daily cases were reported in around 30 of Japan’s 47 prefectures, including Kanagawa, Aichi, Osaka, Hyogo and Okinawa. Tokyo confirmed 20,401 new cases, the first time the capital has seen cases top 20,000 since early February.
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Japan postpones decision to approve 1st domestic oral COVID-19 drug
TOKYO – A Japanese health ministry panel on Wednesday postponed a decision to approve the use of the oral COVID-19 drug “Xocova” developed by Shionogi & Co., the second time for the decision to be delayed following a meeting last month.
The deferral by members of the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry panel and their decision to continue discussions came amid concerns the Japanese pharmaceutical firm was unable to demonstrate the drug’s efficacy in its clinical trials.
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U.S. military against House speaker’s possible visit to Taiwan: Biden
WASHINGTON – U.S. President Joe Biden said Wednesday that the military believes a possible visit by House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan is “not a good idea right now,” after a recent media report that she is planning a trip irked China.
Biden also told reporters that he is expecting to speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the next 10 days.
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U.S.-Japan economic “two-plus-two” ministerial talks set for July 29
WASHINGTON – The United States and Japan will hold their first economic “two-plus-two” dialogue involving their foreign and industry ministers on July 29 in Washington, a U.S. Commerce Department official said Wednesday.
The launch of the framework was agreed upon by U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida when they held a virtual meeting in January. Its focus will be on enhancing economic security, such as through developing resilient supply chains for key items like semiconductors, amid China’s growing economic clout.
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Yuzuru Hanyu eager to continue pursuit of figure skating perfection
TOKYO – Yuzuru Hanyu may have finally departed the competitive figure skating arena after winning every major accolade in a glittering career, but the 27-year-old supernova has promised no let-up in his pursuit of perfection.
Keen to avoid the word “retire,” Hanyu announced Tuesday at a packed news conference that he had decided to no longer compete, the two-time Olympic and world champion saying he was now looking forward to a new beginning.
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Sri Lanka’s PM elected new president amid economic crisis
COLOMBO – Sri Lanka’s parliament on Wednesday picked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as president as the country reels from an ongoing political and economic crisis.
Wickremesinghe, a six-time prime minister, will succeed Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled the country and stepped down by email last week after demonstrators, furious about skyrocketing inflation and shortages of essentials such as fuel and medicine, stormed his official residence and key government buildings.
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China arrests detained Japanese man, Japan demands early release
TOKYO – Chinese authorities have arrested a Japanese man in his 50s who was detained in December in Shanghai for violating the law, a Japanese government spokeswoman said Wednesday, while calling for his early release.
“We have been strongly calling on the Chinese side for his early release at different levels and through various opportunities and will continue our efforts,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hikariko Ono told a press conference, saying the man was arrested in June.