Tokyo, 12 September, /AJMEDIA/
Anti-U.S. base incumbent Tamaki secures 2nd term as Okinawa governor
NAHA, Japan – Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki won a second four-year-term following Sunday’s gubernatorial election, obtaining a renewed mandate for his efforts to discontinue a plan to relocate a U.S. base within the island prefecture.
Opposition-backed Tamaki defeated former Ginowan Mayor Atsushi Sakima, 58, who was supported by the ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito. Sakima ran on a platform of pressing ahead with moving U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma from the densely populated city of Ginowan to the Henoko coastal area of Nago.
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Japan to remove entry cap in “not-so-distant future,” official says
TOKYO – Japan is reviewing its border control policy of keeping daily entries below 50,000 and will remove it in the “not so distant future,” a government spokesman said Sunday.
The government will simultaneously relax other restrictions including a visa requirement and the requirement to travel on a package tour when it completely lifts the daily cap on overseas arrivals, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiji Kihara said in a Fuji Television program.
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Biden vows efforts to defend U.S. on 21st anniversary of 9/11 attacks
WASHINGTON – The United States on Sunday marked the 21st anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, with President Biden expressing his resolve to continue to defend the country against terrorism following the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan last year.
“And 20 years after Afghanistan is over but our commitment to preventing another attack on the United States is without end,” Biden said at a memorial ceremony held at the Pentagon amid the rain. Events to honor the victims were also held in New York and elsewhere.
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10-yr. anniv. of China-Japan Senkaku dispute comes amid high tensions
TOKYO – Sunday marked 10 years since Japan’s move to put the China-claimed Senkaku Islands under state control, and comes at a time when Tokyo says it is “extremely concerned” over Beijing’s ongoing activities around the contested islets.
The Senkakus, called Diaoyu by China, have been problematic for bilateral ties since the Japanese government purchased three of the islets a decade ago, including the biggest island Uotsuri, from a Japanese individual.
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FOCUS: Japan’s nationalization of Senkakus stirs caution on China’s threats
TOKYO – Japan’s nationalization of the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea has sparked security tensions in the region for the past 10 years, prompting Tokyo, known for its pacifist Constitution, to be acutely wary of military threats from Beijing.
Japan has administered the Senkakus, but China has claimed the uninhabited islets since the early 1970s, calling them Diaoyu, after studies by the United Nations indicated there may be potentially lucrative gas reserves around them.
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Golf: 19-year-old Haruka Kawasaki becomes youngest winner of Japanese major
JOYO, Japan – Nineteen-year-old Haruka Kawasaki stormed to a three-shot victory at the JLPGA Championship Konica Minolta Cup with an 8-under 64 on Sunday, becoming the youngest winner of the major golf tournament.
Claiming her first career win on the Japan LPGA Tour, Kawasaki climbed up the leaderboard with an eagle and six birdies in a bogey-free final round for a 16-under 272 total at Joyo Country Club in Joyo, Kyoto Prefecture.
