Tokyo, 10 September, /AJMEDIA/
Indo-Pacific ministers agree to launch new economic initiative talks
LOS ANGELES – Ministers from 14 member states of a U.S.-led Indo-Pacific initiative agreed Friday to launch formal negotiations for codifying a rules-based economic order in the fast-growing region where China is expanding its clout.
Negotiations for the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework involve four policy pillars — fair trade, supply chain resilience, clean energy with decarbonization and infrastructure, as well as proper taxation and anti-corruption.
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FOCUS: China’s Senkaku passages a decade-long friction point with Japan
BEIJING – Tensions remain high over the Japan-controlled, China-claimed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea as Beijing continues to regularly send vessels into nearby waters, with Sunday marking 10 years since Tokyo brought most of the islets under state control.
The Senkakus, which China calls Diaoyu, have been a thorny and long-running issue in bilateral relations. Despite repeated protests from Tokyo, Beijing, which has also aggressively asserted territorial claims in the South China Sea, continues to send vessels to waters around the islands in a bid to shift the status quo.
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U.N. panel urges Japan to end segregated education of disabled kids
GENEVA – A U.N. panel dealing with the rights of people with disabilities urged Japan on Friday to end special education that segregates children with disabilities from those without, as part of its recommendations for the country over its policies for the disabled.
The U.N. Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities expressed concerns over how an increasing number of disabled children cannot attend regular schools and called on the Japanese government to adopt a national action plan on quality inclusive education.
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Japan unveils inflation-relief steps, broader package eyed for Oct.
TOKYO – The Japanese government decided Friday on a new relief package to cope with accelerating inflation, featuring a 50,000 yen ($350) cash handout program for about 16 million low-income households and steps to keep gasoline and imported wheat prices at current levels.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida also instructed officials to draw up a more comprehensive economic package next month, as economists expect slower growth for the world’s third-largest economy due to higher import prices, largely blamed on Russia’s war in Ukraine and a relentless drop in the yen.
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Japan’s total COVID cases top 20 mil. since start of pandemic
TOKYO – Japan’s cumulative total of coronavirus cases since the beginning of the pandemic topped 20 million on Friday, official data showed, doubling in less than two months as the country battles its seventh wave of infections.
Although cases appear to be on the decline, 99,491 new infections were confirmed Friday, according to local government reports, while an additional 211 deaths were also reported, surpassing 200 for the 26th consecutive day.
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Japan mourns Queen Elizabeth, lauds her major role in bilateral ties
TOKYO – Japan’s imperial family, politicians and public mourned Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II on Friday, a day after she died at the age of 96, with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida lauding how she “contributed significantly” to strengthening bilateral relations, including through her 1975 visit to the country.
A statement from Emperor Naruhito conveyed by the Imperial Household Agency exalted the queen’s life of service, saying, “I express my heartfelt sorrow and deep sadness. From my heart, I declare my gratitude and esteem for her many achievements and contributions.”
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Queen Elizabeth “preoccupied with computers” in 1975 chat in Tokyo
TOKYO – Britain’s Queen Elizabeth seemed to be “preoccupied with computers” when she chatted with Japanese celebrity Tetsuko Kuroyanagi at the British Embassy in Tokyo in 1975, the veteran actress said Friday, a day after the monarch’s passing.
The queen and Kuroyanagi, 89, also a famous TV personality, talked about the BBC and NHK, the public broadcasters of the two countries, with the queen repeatedly referencing the lack of computers at the BBC when the two held a personal conversation filled with laughter during a reception at the embassy, according to her post on Instagram.
