Tokyo, 25 June, /AJMEDIA/
G-7 agrees Russia is responsible for global food crisis
TOKYO – Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven industrialized nations agreed Friday that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a breadbasket of the world, has triggered the current global food crisis.
The G-7 “made clear that Russia’s war against Ukraine is exacerbating food insecurity, including by blocking the Black Sea, bombing grain silos and ports, and damaging Ukraine’s agricultural infrastructure,” the ministers said in a chair’s statement issued after a meeting in Germany.
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U.S. Supreme Court eliminates constitutional right to abortion
WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court ruled to eliminate the constitutional right to abortion Friday, overturning a landmark 1973 decision in a highly divisive move that could become a key issue in the November midterm elections.
“The Constitution does not confer a right to abortion,” Justice Samuel Alito wrote in the 6-3 ruling on a case regarding the constitutionality of a Mississippi law that bans abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. “The authority to regulate abortion is returned to the people and their elected representatives.”
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SMBC Nikko’s investigation panel calls trading scandal “unjust act”
TOKYO – SMBC Nikko Securities Inc. said Friday an investigation panel looking into the major Japanese brokerage’s trading scandal has called it an “inappropriate and unjust act,” adding the incident was not prevented because of a failure in its corporate governance system.
In a report submitted to the brokerage the same day, the panel of three lawyers also stated that both management and employees had lacked norms that could have averted the alleged market manipulation, which led to the arrests and indictments of the company’s former deputy president and five others.
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Japan’s top court orders Twitter to delete posts on man’s past arrest
TOKYO – Japan’s top court on Friday overturned a lower court ruling that dismissed a man’s demand that Twitter Inc. delete posts showing his arrest history, ordering the U.S. social networking service to remove 14 tweets.
In the first finalized ruling concerning the deletion of tweets in Japan, four judges on the Supreme Court’s Second Petty Bench unanimously ruled that the continued existence of the posts constituted an invasion of the man’s privacy, overturning a Tokyo High Court ruling in 2020 and endorsing a district court’s order the previous year to delete the tweets.
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Power-saving reward points worth 2,000 yen to be given to households
TOKYO – The Japanese government said Friday it will provide power-saving points worth 2,000 yen ($15) to households if they take part in a power-saving program.
In the run-up to a House of Councillors election next month, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida revealed earlier this week the government will introduce the reward points system to reduce the burden on households of rising electricity prices propelled by Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
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S. Korea readying public-private body to discuss wartime labor
SEOUL – South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin said Friday that the government is preparing a public-private body for officials and experts to discuss ways to resolve wartime labor issues that have soured ties with Japan, according to local media.
Plaintiffs who were awarded damages by South Korean courts over the wartime work they rendered for Japanese companies are taking steps to sell off the firms’ seized assets, to the consternation of the Japanese government, which sees the issues as settled decades ago.
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Taiwan confirms 1st case of monkeypox infection
TAIPEI – Taiwan confirmed Friday its first case of monkeypox infection in a man in his 20s who flew back from Germany on June 16.
The Taiwan Centers for Disease Control said the man, who lives in the southern part of the island, is being treated at an isolation ward after complaining of fever, sore throat and skin lesions. He had been studying in Germany since January.
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Baseball: Nakamura, Murakami demolish Giants as Swallows stretch lead
TOKYO – Yuhei Nakamura and Munetaka Murakami each homered twice and drove in five runs as the Yakult Swallows stretched their Central League lead to 11 games with a 16-6 whipping of the second-place Yomiuri Giants on Friday.
With the Swallows leading 1-0 in the bottom of the first at Jingu Stadium, the veteran Swallows catcher hit his first home run of the year with two on off Tomoyuki Sugano (6-5).
