Tokyo, 31 July, /AJMEDIA/
Japan Cabinet support sags to record low 51% after Abe funeral plan
TOKYO – The approval rating for Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s Cabinet has dropped to a worst-ever 51.0 percent from a record high of 63.2 percent just weeks ago, following his government’s decision to hold a state funeral for slain former leader Shinzo Abe, a Kyodo News survey showed Sunday.
The survey found 53.3 percent of respondents expressed opposition to the state funeral, while 61.9% said a parliamentary debate on holding the event is necessary.
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U.S. House Speaker Pelosi to visit Asia, no mention of Taiwan
WASHINGTON – U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she will travel to Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Malaysia from Sunday but made no mention of Taiwan after reports of her potential trip to the island sparked an outcry from China.
Pelosi said the congressional delegation she is leading will discuss security, trade, the COVID-19 pandemic, the climate crisis, human rights and democratic governance during the tour.
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Japanese man detained by Myanmar police at anti-coup protest: reports
YANGON – Myanmar police on Saturday detained a Japanese man who was taking part in an anti-coup protest in Yangon, local media reported.
The Japanese Embassy in Myanmar said it has requested the release of the man in his 20s, reported to be documentary filmmaker Toru Kubota. He is being held for questioning at a police station in Yangon, the embassy said without confirming his identity.
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Japan mulls change COVID-19 measures amid hospital strain
TOKYO – Japan is considering altering COVID-19 measures, including a potential change in the collection of infection numbers, in a bid to lessen the burden on hospitals as they strain under a resurgence of the coronavirus across the country, government sources said Saturday.
Medical facilities and public health centers currently cooperate to report the total COVID-19 cases to the government, but the change may limit reporting of cases from designated establishments, they said.
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Japan, China to hold in-person foreign ministerial talks on Aug. 4
TOKYO – Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi are planning to hold in-person talks on Thursday on the sidelines of a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations meetings in Cambodia, government sources said Saturday.
The top Japanese diplomat is expected to air concerns over repeated intrusions by Chinese coast guard ships into Japanese waters around the Tokyo-controlled, Beijing-claimed Senkaku Islands, as well as China’s intensifying military activities near Japanese waters.
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Biden tests positive for COVID-19 again, shows no symptoms
WASHINGTON – U.S. President Joe Biden tested positive for COVID-19 again on Saturday in what his doctor described as a “rebound” case after taking antiviral medication, the White House said.
Biden “has experienced no re-emergence of symptoms and continues to feel quite well,” the White House physician Kevin O’Connor said in a letter released by the White House.
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Expo 2025 in Osaka gains momentum with 130 nations on guest list so far
TOKYO – The Expo 2025 in Osaka, western Japan, is picking up momentum as 130 countries and regions have confirmed their participation in the global event so far after marking 1,000 days to go until the opening.
Hungary, Fiji, Mauritius and Mauritania on Friday joined 126 countries and regions as well as eight international organizations, such as the United Nations, that have already confirmed their participation in the event.
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Japan diving shop sorry after customers pose on sunken U.S. warship
NAHA, Japan – A diving shop in the southern Japan prefecture of Okinawa apologized after a photograph online that showed its customers posing on the shipwreck of a U.S. warship from World War II sparked a protest from a member of an organization comprised of family members and friends of former crew, it became known Saturday.
The customers who dived off the coast of Okinawa had been seen posing on the remains of the Emmons, a destroyer sunk in a Japanese kamikaze attack during the war. The move was seen as discourteous and incited disapproval from the member of the group residing in Okinawa.
