Tokyo, 19 March, /AJMEDIA
Biden warns Xi of “consequences” if China supports Russia on Ukraine
BEIJING/WASHINGTON – U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday warned his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping of the “consequences” Beijing will face if it steps in to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, while Xi expressed hope for an early cease-fire but apparently avoided characterizing Russia as the aggressor.
The video call, the first talks between the two leaders since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, took place amid growing concerns in Washington that Beijing is considering directly assisting Moscow with military equipment to use in the conflict.
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Ukraine’s Zelenskyy to virtually address Japan parliament next week
TOKYO – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will deliver a virtual address to Japan’s parliament on Wednesday, ruling party sources said Friday, as he has been trying to rally global support against Russia’s invasion of his country.
Zelenskyy’s speech, slated to begin at 6 p.m., is expected to last around 10 minutes, the sources said, with the president intending to speak live if the situation at that time in Ukraine permits.
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M5.6 quake hits off Japan’s northeast, no tsunami threat
TOKYO – An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.6 struck off the northeastern Japan prefecture of Iwate late Friday, with no threat of a tsunami and no immediate reports of major property damage, the weather agency and local authorities said.
The quake occurred at around 11:25 p.m., logging upper 5 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7 in Noda in the prefecture, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
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G-7 leaders to meet in Brussels on March 24 to discuss Ukraine crisis
BERLIN/TOKYO – Leaders of the Group of Seven industrialized nations will hold a meeting in Brussels next Thursday alongside an emergency summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to discuss measures against Russia for its continued aggression in Ukraine, the German government said Friday.
Japan is the only country in the G-7 — comprising also Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and the United States — which is not a member of NATO. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is expected to travel to the Belgian capital, according to diplomatic sources.
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Nissan sues ex-exec Kelly seeking damages over Ghosn’s pay
YOKOHAMA – Nissan Motor Co. has filed a lawsuit against its former executive Greg Kelly seeking about 1.4 billion yen ($11.7 million) in damages, accusing him of helping former CEO Carlos Ghosn underreport his remuneration, people familiar with the matter said Friday.
The case was lodged with the Yokohama District Court on Jan. 19 before Kelly, an American lawyer who was Ghosn’s right-hand man as a Nissan representative director, was given a six-month suspended jail sentence for falsifying the automaker’s financial report for fiscal 2017. The first hearing is scheduled on May 12.
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China’s trade with North Korea recovers to 50% of pre-pandemic levels
BEIJING – China’s trade with North Korea recovered to about 50 percent of pre-coronavirus pandemic levels in January and February, government data showed Friday.
The comparison with the same months in 2019 shows the impact of resumption in railway freight between the two countries in late January after around two years of hiatus and points to further recovery in bilateral trade in the coming months.
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Soccer: Japan World Cup q’fier vs Vietnam to have no crowd limit
TOKYO – Japan will allow a capacity crowd at their final World Cup Asian qualifying match against Vietnam at Saitama Stadium on March 29 after the Japan Football Association put 40,000 additional tickets on sale on Friday.
The move came after the government decided Thursday to lift Japan’s COVID-19 quasi-state of emergency restrictions on Monday as scheduled with new infections decreasing.
