Tokyo, 03 March, /AJMEDIA/
Quad ministers vow to address challenges in South, East China seas
NEW DELHI – The foreign ministers of India, Japan, the United States and Australia pledged Friday to address maritime challenges in the South and East China seas, in a display of solidarity against Beijing’s military assertiveness in the region.
The four Indo-Pacific democracies, collectively known as the Quad, also voiced their concern about “the militarization of disputed features” and “the dangerous use of coast guard vessels and maritime militia” in the area, according to a joint statement issued after their gathering in New Delhi.
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Japan to introduce GPS trackers to prevent int’l bail jumping
TOKYO – Japan’s government decided on Friday to enable courts to order the use of GPS trackers to prevent international bail jumping in the wake of the case of former Nissan Motor Co. CEO Carlos Ghosn and other incidents of criminal defendants escaping the country.
While some have voiced concerns about a potential invasion of privacy through utilizing GPS devices in such a way, others are hopeful that it may allow for an increase in the number of people granted bail and curb excessive detentions, something for which Japan is notorious.
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Japan’s PM considering expressing solidarity with Korean residents
TOKYO – Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Friday he is considering expressing his solidarity with Korean residents in the Utoro district in Kyoto Prefecture, western Japan, which became a target of hate crime in 2021.
“I want to look into when would be the appropriate time to express my solidarity with people in the Utoro district and other related communities,” Kishida told a Diet committee in response to a question by a member of the Komeito party, the junior partner in Kishida’s coalition government.
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Teenage boy slashes classmate with knife at Hiroshima school
HIROSHIMA – A 13-year-old boy slashed a classmate with a kitchen knife at a junior high school in Hiroshima on Friday, causing minor injuries to the victim, the local education board said.
The boy told a teacher that the attack, which took place around 8:15 a.m. in one of the school’s restrooms, was indiscriminate, according to the education board in the western Japanese city. He likely brought the knife with him from home.
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Ex-PM Suga to head cross-party group promoting Japan-S. Korea ties
TOKYO – Former Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will become the next head of a cross-party group of lawmakers promoting friendly ties between Japan and South Korea, the group decided Friday.
The appointment of a former premier is aimed at facilitating lawmaker-level exchanges at a time when Tokyo and Seoul are stepping up efforts to resolve disputes over wartime labor by Koreans that have strained ties. Suga will replace former Finance Minister Fukushiro Nukaga.
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Japan minister vows to quit if document on broadcasters proven real
TOKYO – Former Japanese internal affairs minister Sanae Takaichi pledged Friday to quit as a lawmaker if a document indicating political pressure on broadcasters, made public by an opposition Diet member, is proven to be authentic.
Her remarks came a day after Hiroyuki Konishi, a lawmaker of the leading opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, revealed the document suggesting the administration of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was eager to intervene in the freedom of broadcasting.
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Japan eyes maiden flight for H3 rocket on Monday after aborted attempt
TOKYO – Japan will seek to launch its new flagship H3 rocket for the first time on Monday after a technical glitch forced it to abort a planned launch in mid-February moments before lift-off, the country’s space agency said Friday.
The rocket is a successor to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s reliable H2A launch vehicle. It is scheduled to lift off from the Tanegashima Space Center on Tanegashima Island in the southwestern prefecture of Kagoshima.
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Cambodian opposition leader slapped 27 yrs in prison for treason
PHNOM PENH – Cambodian opposition figure Kem Sokha was sentenced to 27 years in prison Friday for treason in a case criticized by the United States as a miscarriage of justice.
The Phnom Penh Municipal Court banned the 69-year-old head of the now-dissolved Cambodia National Rescue Party from conducting political activities, including voting and traveling overseas, allowing him to stay under house arrest until legal procedures are over, including a possible appeal through the Supreme Court.
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Japan to bestow People’s Honor Award on wheelchair tennis ace Kunieda
TOKYO – The Japanese government will confer the People’s Honor Award on Shingo Kunieda, one of the greatest wheelchair tennis players of all time, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said Friday.
The presentation ceremony is scheduled to be held on March 17 at the office of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, the top government spokesman said at a regular press conference.
