Tokyo, 16 June, /AJMEDIA/
U.S. Fed resorts to largest rate hike since 1994 to tackle inflation
WASHINGTON – The Federal Reserve on Wednesday decided on its largest interest-rate hike since November 1994, moving ahead with a 0.75 percentage point increase while signaling further aggressive tightening as the United States grapples with its highest inflation in decades.
Upon concluding a two-day meeting of the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee, the central bank said it will lift its target range for the federal funds rate to 1.50 to 1.75 percent, following a 0.5-point increase in May and a 0.25-point rise in March.
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Japan to launch entity for infections akin to U.S. CDC: PM Kishida
TOKYO – Japan will create an entity for infectious disease experts similar to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and bolster its crisis response, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Wednesday.
In a press conference after the end of this year’s 150-day regular Diet session, Kishida said the government will formalize the plan aimed at removing sectionalism at a task force meeting on Friday.
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Japan gov’t to skip 1st U.N. nuclear ban meeting next week
TOKYO – Japan will not join the first meeting of parties to a U.N. treaty banning nuclear weapons to be held in Vienna next week, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Wednesday, despite high expectations for its attendance as the only nation that has suffered atomic bombings.
Japan, which has not signed the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, did not complete the procedures for taking part in the three-day meeting, including as an observer, by the Tuesday deadline.
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Fumio Kishida to be 1st Japan leader to attend NATO summit
TOKYO – Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Wednesday he will attend a summit meeting of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization this month as the first Japanese leader to attend the gathering of the Western security alliance.
At a press conference, Kishida also said he will attend a three-day summit of the Group of Seven industrialized nations, to be held from June 26 in Schloss Elmau, Germany, just before the NATO gathering in the Spanish capital of Madrid.
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Japan gears up for July 10 election with end of parliamentary session
TOKYO – Japan wrapped up its 150-day regular parliamentary session Wednesday, with the ruling and opposition parties swinging into high gear for the House of Councillors election set for July 10.
The Cabinet of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida decided on the date of the election and the start of official campaigning on June 22. The triennial election is likely to focus on measures to ease the impact of rising prices and revive the economy hit by the coronavirus pandemic.
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Xi, Putin agree to work together to counter U.S.-led global order
BEIJING – Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin have agreed to work together to counter the international order dominated by the United States and democratic European nations, the Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.
During his telephone talks with Putin, Xi said Beijing and Moscow should join hands to promote the development of a “fair and just” international order, according to the Chinese ministry.
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Japanese airline ditches “Z” logo to avoid misunderstanding
TOKYO – Low-cost carrier Zipair Tokyo Inc. said Wednesday it will ditch its logo featuring the letter Z, a pro-war symbol often seen on Russian military vehicles, to avoid misunderstanding.
The president of the wholly owned subsidiary of Japan Airlines Co. told a press conference at Narita airport near Tokyo that some people might see the current logo as indicating the company approves of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
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Japanese man arrested over Putin straw doll nailed to shrine tree
CHIBA, Japan – A 72-year-old man was arrested Wednesday for allegedly nailing a straw doll bearing the face of Russian President Vladimir Putin to a sacred tree at a Shinto shrine near Tokyo, police said.
Mitsunobu Hino is suspected of property damage and trespassing, the police in Matsudo, Chiba Prefecture, said. The doll features a picture of Putin’s face and came with a note in its breast wishing death to the Russian leader.
