Tokyo, 2 May, /AJMEDIA/
Japan still divided on revising war-renouncing Constitution: survey
TOKYO – Half the respondents in a Kyodo News survey released Monday believe Japan needs to amend the war-renouncing Article 9 of the Constitution to clarify the legal status of the Self-Defense Forces, with the level of support almost unchanged from a year ago despite growing concerns over regional security.
Against a backdrop of increasing calls for an amendment among lawmakers of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and some other parties following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, 50 percent said it is necessary to revise Article 9 while 48 percent said it was not.
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Japan mulls programs to develop talent in semiconductors, batteries
TOKYO – Japan is considering establishing talent development programs involving industry, academia and government sectors across the country to boost domestic development in semiconductors and batteries, government sources said Sunday.
The programs, which will be based on a framework established in the Kyushu region in March, aim to secure human resources for industries becoming increasingly important in an era of digitalization and decarbonization, as demand for such professionals around the world grows, according to an official of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
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Japan, Vietnam affirm respect for sovereignty amid Ukraine war
HANOI – Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Minh Chinh on Sunday affirmed respect for the sovereignty of states and warned against the use of weapons of mass destruction as the war in Ukraine continues.
Kishida and Chinh, however, did not single out Russia’s military aggression in Ukraine in a joint press conference after their meeting in Hanoi, apparently taking into account Vietnam’s traditional ties with Russia since the Soviet era.
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Japan urges Mongolia to join int’l pressure on Russia over Ukraine
TOKYO – Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi on Sunday indirectly urged his Mongolian counterpart Batmunkh Battsetseg to join international pressure on Russia in response to its aggression in Ukraine.
In a meeting in Ulaanbaatar, Hayashi told Battsetseg that Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine violates international law and shakes the foundation of international order also in Asia, and therefore global solidarity is strongly required, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry.
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Russia’s betrayal of security assurance overshadowing NPT regime
TOKYO – Russia’s betrayal of its nuclear security assurance to Ukraine will overshadow the future of the international order underpinned by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, a senior U.S. official suggested during a recent interview with Kyodo News.
“Russia’s action in Ukraine will no doubt impact the atmosphere of the NPT Review Conference, so we certainly cannot ignore the invasion by a nuclear weapon state of any nonnuclear weapon state, betraying the security assurances given when a nuclear weapon country joined the NPT,” Eliot Kang, assistant secretary of state in charge of international security and nonproliferation, said.
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Japanese live-streaming platform giving Ukrainian streamers new life
TOKYO – A Japanese live-streaming platform is going beyond providing a way for youths to earn money — it is changing the lives of Ukrainians hit by the war.
Tetiana Dozhuk is one of two streamers that “Omusubi Channel” has already helped to evacuate to Japan since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began in late February, with the platform also devising ways to support other Ukrainians who have fled to neighboring countries like Poland.
