Tokyo, 23 June, /AJMEDIA/
Defense chief raps China, Russia warships’ “show of force” near Japan
PHNOM PENH – Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi on Wednesday criticized Chinese and Russian warships recently sailing near Japan for their “show of force,” warning against such actions as saber-rattling tactics against his nation.
Kishi said at a press conference in Phnom Penh that Japan confirmed five Russian naval vessels have been sailing southward off Hokkaido in the Pacific Ocean and then passing through the Tsushima Strait in southwestern Japan before moving to the Sea of Japan since mid-June.
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Fed notes “possibility” of rate hikes pushing U.S. into recession
WASHINGTON – Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Wednesday acknowledged that an aggressive course of interest-rate hikes to tamp down inflation could tip the U.S. economy into a recession, although doing so is not the central bank’s intention.
“It’s not our intended outcome at all, but it’s certainly a possibility,” Powell told a congressional hearing that took place a week after the Fed moved ahead with its largest interest-rate hike since 1994 to address the highest inflation in decades.
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Over 1,000 killed in eastern Afghanistan after powerful earthquake
KABUL – A powerful earthquake rocked eastern Afghanistan early Wednesday, killing more than 1,000 people and injuring some 1,500 others, official media said.
The quake of magnitude 5.9, registered at a depth of 10 kilometers, struck some 50 km southwest of the city of Khost, which is located near the country’s border with Pakistan, according to the United States Geological Survey.
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Japan defense chief tells ASEAN rules-based order key to Indo-Pacific
PHNOM PENH – Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said Wednesday during talks with his ASEAN counterparts that maintaining a rules-based international order in the Indo-Pacific region is important, apparently with China’s growing maritime assertiveness in mind.
In pushing for Japan’s vision of a “free and open” Indo-Pacific, Kishi called for a regional code of conduct in the South China Sea to be “effective, substantial and consistent with international law,” his ministry said in a press release.
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Half of western Japan member makers say weak yen bad impact: lobby
OSAKA – Half of the member manufacturers that responded to a recent survey said the yen’s rapid weakening has had a negative impact on their businesses, according to a major business lobby in the Kansai area in western Japan.
The Osaka-based Kansai Economic Federation questionnaire to member companies in May showed 48.9 percent of manufacturers see the Japanese unit’s slip against the U.S. dollar as negatively affecting them, while 42.6 percent of nonmanufacturers do so.
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S. Korea confirms 1st case of monkeypox infection
SEOUL – South Korea confirmed Wednesday its first case of monkeypox infection, prompting health authorities to raise the alert level for the virus, as the country has just started to resume accepting foreign tourists following the coronavirus pandemic.
A South Korean, who arrived from Germany on Tuesday, tested positive for monkeypox, showing symptoms like mild fever, sore throat and skin lesions, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said.
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Japan halts aid for coal-fired plants in Indonesia, Bangladesh
TOKYO – Japan will stop providing yen loans for the construction of coal-fired electricity plants in Indonesia and Bangladesh, the government said Wednesday.
The policy reversal regarding the construction of the Indramayu plant in Indonesia and the Matarbari plant in Bangladesh came in response to international criticism of coal-fired power, a major source of greenhouse gas emissions blamed for global warming.
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Pfizer applies for Japan gov’t approval of booster shots for kids
TOKYO – U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. on Wednesday applied to Japan’s health ministry for approval of its COVID-19 booster shots for children aged 5 to 11.
While third vaccine shots are widely administered to adults in Japan, children in that age group are currently only allowed to receive up to two shots.
