Tokyo, 31 March, /AJMEDIA
Putin was “misinformed” by advisers about Ukraine war: White House
WASHINGTON – Russian President Vladimir Putin is believed to have been “misinformed” by his advisers about the poor performance of his country’s troops in the war in Ukraine and the crippling impact of the economic sanctions imposed by the West, a White House official said Wednesday.
“We have information that Putin felt misled by the Russian military, which has resulted in persistent tension between Putin and his military leadership,” Kate Bedingfield, White House communications director, told a press conference.
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Japan to see higher prices for food, daily goods from April
TOKYO – Japanese consumers are expected to face more challenges amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, as a wave of price hikes will hit essential items such as food and daily goods in the new fiscal year beginning Friday due to the rising cost of raw materials.
Since there will be changes in fiscal 2022 in some social systems closely related to people’s day-to-day living, such as the lowering of the amount of public pension benefits, the rising prices are likely to squeeze socially vulnerable people like pensioners particularly hard.
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Japan’s Feb. industrial output rises 0.1% on month+
TOKYO, March 31 Kyodo – Japan’s industrial output rose 0.1 percent in February from the previous month, government data showed Thursday.
The seasonally adjusted index of production at factories and mines stood at 95.8 against the 2015 base of 100, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said in a preliminary report. The result followed an upwardly revised 0.8 percent drop in January.
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Japan eyes spending 1 tril. yen on fresh stimulus amid price surge
TOKYO – Japan is considering spending over 1 trillion yen ($8.1 billion) on a new stimulus package to cushion the impact of surging energy, commodity and grain prices stemming from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, government sources said Wednesday.
The package will mainly see increased support for sectors that rely on fuel or grain, such as transportation as well as the agriculture, forestry and fishery industries, the sources said. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida instructed ministers a day before to start crafting the package by late April.
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Japan to toughen crypto rules to make sanctions on Russia effective
TOKYO – Japan will toughen regulations on cryptocurrency exchanges, requiring them to check whether recipients of transactions are subject to financial sanctions imposed following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, government sources said Wednesday.
The move, which will be part of the envisaged amendment of the foreign exchange and trade law, is aimed at preventing cryptocurrencies from being a loophole to sidestep such sanctions, the sources said.
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Japan minister holds talks with Polish envoy over Ukrainian evacuees
TOKYO – Japanese Justice Minister Yoshihisa Furukawa on Wednesday held talks with Polish Ambassador to Japan Pawel Milewski ahead of his scheduled visit to Poland as part of preparations to accept more people fleeing Ukraine due to the Russian invasion.
“We hope to see how the evacuees are handled there firsthand and hear the views of the country’s leaders,” Furukawa said in the meeting at the Justice Ministry. “Then we want to consider the details of the type of support that matches the actual needs.”
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China asks Russia to resolve conflict with Ukraine through dialogue
BEIJING – Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday asked his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov to resolve the conflict with Ukraine through dialogue, according to his ministry.
The two ministers also agreed Beijing and Moscow will strengthen their strategic partnership, as Western countries have imposed punitive sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
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Man arrested after crashing car into Japan Foreign Ministry building
TOKYO – A 45-year-old man was arrested Wednesday after crashing his car into the Foreign Ministry building in Tokyo, police said.
The car hit a pillar near the front entrance of the ministry at around 6:30 p.m. The police arrested the man at the scene on suspicion of trespassing and damaging a structure.
