Tokyo, 12 May, /AJMEDIA/
U.S. to convey to ASEAN importance of Taiwan stability: official
WASHINGTON – The United States expects to convey to Southeast Asian countries during their upcoming summit meeting in Washington the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, White House Indo-Pacific coordinator Kurt Campbell said Wednesday.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has drawn renewed attention to the situation of Taiwan, a self-ruled democratic island which Beijing views as a renegade province to be reunified with the mainland, by force if necessary.
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Yoon tells Japan lawmakers he opposes politicizing historical issues
SEOUL – South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol told Japanese lawmakers on Wednesday he has no intention of using wartime history issues with Japan for domestic political gains, in yet another sign the new leader will seek to repair frayed bilateral ties.
“The future matters for the relationship between nations. I am opposed to bringing historical issues into domestic politics,” Yoon said at a meeting with a cross-party group of lawmakers from Japan, according to one of the participants.
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Japan logs 2.55 tril. yen current account surplus in March
TOKYO – Japan posted a current account surplus of 2.55 trillion yen ($19.6 billion) in March, marking the second consecutive month of black ink, the Finance Ministry said Thursday.
Among key components, the country had a goods trade deficit of 166.1 billion yen and a services trade deficit of 127.7 billion yen, according to the ministry’s preliminary report.
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Marcos Jr. declares victory, vows to rev up Philippine economy
MANILA – Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the son and namesake of the late Philippine dictator, on Wednesday declared victory in this week’s presidential election, expressing his resolve to promote economic growth and improve education.
Marcos, popularly known as “Bongbong,” said in his press conference that 31 million Filipinos had “voted for unity.” He also said in a televised speech he will tap Sara Duterte-Carpio, his vice presidential running mate and daughter of the country’s incumbent leader Rodrigo Duterte, as education minister.
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Japan freezes assets of Russia’s Sberbank, Alfa Bank over Ukraine
TOKYO – The Japanese government on Thursday froze assets of Russia’s largest financial institution, Sberbank, and its largest private bank, Alfa Bank, as Japan ramps up pressure against Moscow’s Ukraine invasion.
In line with the United States and European countries, the measure will force Japanese companies to seek alternative ways to settle payments to continue business in Russia.
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Biden mulls visit to space-related facility during Japan trip
TOKYO – U.S. President Joe Biden is considering visiting a space-related facility in Tokyo when he makes a trip to Japan later this month, in a move to bolster bilateral cooperation in economic security, diplomatic sources said Wednesday.
Biden’s envisaged visit to the facility will come at a time when the United States has intensified its competition with China and Russia in the fields of space and high technology, which are becoming increasingly important for the economy and military.
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Japan to monitor Russia with “grave concern”: defense report draft
TOKYO – Japan will “monitor with grave concern” Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as it shakes the foundation of international order and has repercussions for U.S.-China relations, a draft of its annual defense report showed Wednesday.
The draft of the so-called white paper, which discusses Russia’s aggression in a new chapter, is accompanied by a supplementary document that highlights the importance of deterrence, stressing the need to strengthen Japan’s defense to discourage other countries from attacking.
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China raps WHO chief’s remarks on zero-COVID policy as irresponsible
BEIJING – China on Wednesday urged the head of the World Health Organization not to make “irresponsible” remarks, a day after he cast doubt on the sustainability of the country’s radical “zero-COVID” policy.
On Tuesday, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters, “When we talk about the zero-COVID strategy, we don’t think that it’s sustainable, considering the behavior of the virus now and what we anticipate in the future.”