Tokyo, 20 September, /AJMEDIA/
Japan, South Korea agree to seek early resolution of wartime labor issue
NEW YORK – The foreign ministers of Japan and South Korea agreed Monday that the two nations will continue discussions toward an early resolution of the issue of wartime labor compensation.
Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters that he and his South Korean counterpart Park Jin welcomed working-level talks on the issue when they met in New York on the fringes of the U.N. General Assembly’s annual gathering.
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2 dead, over 70 injured as typhoon slams southwestern Japan
TOKYO – A large and powerful typhoon moved across Japan’s southwestern region of Kyushu on Monday with record-breaking wind and rainfall, leaving at least two people dead, one missing and over 70 injured.
Typhoon Nanmadol, which also disrupted public transportation by grounding more than 800 flights and leaving bullet train services cancelled or reduced in many parts of the country, is expected to travel northeast along the Sea of Japan coast of the main island of Honshu through Tuesday.
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Britain bids last farewell to Queen Elizabeth in state funeral
LONDON – The state funeral for Queen Elizabeth II took place in London on Monday, with some 500 leading figures from around 200 countries and territories reportedly attending, including the Japanese emperor and empress.
After the funeral service, the queen was laid to rest at St. George Chapel of Windsor Castle, a royal residence west of London, with hundreds of thousands of people mourning in the streets and at other locations in the city.
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Japan core consumer prices rise 2.8% in August
TOKYO – Core consumer prices in Japan climbed 2.8 percent in August from a year earlier, government data showed Tuesday, well above the Bank of Japan’s 2 percent inflation target and rising at the fastest pace in nearly eight years.
Excluding volatile fresh food items, the nationwide core consumer price index marked its sharpest gain since 2014 and remained above the central bank’s target for the fifth straight month, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said.
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1 dead, over 160 injured after M6.8 quake hits southeastern Taiwan
TAIPEI – One person has died and more than 160 others were reported injured a day after a magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck southeastern Taiwan on Sunday, according to local officials.
Authorities continued rescue operations Monday after four people were recovered alive after being trapped in a collapsed 7-Eleven convenience store in Yuli Township in Hualien County, Taiwan’s Fire Agency said.
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China, Russia agree to further deepen military cooperation
BEIJING – China and Russia agreed Monday to further deepen military cooperation after their leaders affirmed last week close coordination in countering the United States and its allies amid the Ukraine crisis and heightened tensions across the Taiwan Strait, Russia’s Tass news agency said.
Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, and China’s foreign policy chief Yang Jiechi expressed “mutual interest in maintaining a high level of military-technical cooperation” including conducting joint exercises and patrols during a meeting in Nanping, southeastern China, it said.
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6 in 10 South Koreans approve BTS members’ military service exemption
SEOUL – A recent South Korean public opinion survey has shown 60.9 percent of the public approve of revisions to the law on mandatory military service in a way that would allow celebrities like members of the world-famous K-pop boy band BTS to avoid being drafted.
The results of the survey, commissioned to South Korean polling company Realmeter by the National Assembly’s National Defense Committee, are likely to inject momentum into debate on the issue given calls among both ruling and opposition lawmakers on the committee for changing the law.
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Baseball: Yu Darvish earns 15th win with six impressive innings
PHOENIX, Arizona – Yu Darvish threw six innings of one-hit ball to earn his 15th win of the season Sunday as the San Diego Padres beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-1.
Darvish (15-7), who won his fifth straight start, began with four 1-2-3 innings, moving within a win of his MLB-best 16 from his 2012 Texas Rangers debut. His career high is 18 achieved with the Nippon Ham Fighters of Japan’s Pacific League in 2011.
