Tokyo, 22 September, /AJMEDIA/
Kishida, Biden hail stronger Japan-U.S. ties in farewell meeting
WILMINGTON, Delaware – Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and U.S. President Joe Biden on Saturday celebrated a stronger-than-ever alliance between Tokyo and Washington in what was seen as a farewell meeting between the two outgoing leaders.
Biden, who U.S. officials say feels very close to Kishida, hosted him at his private residence in Wilmington, the president’s hometown in Delaware, and praised the Japanese premier for being a “visionary and courageous” leader over the past three years.
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Heavy rain drags on in quake-hit Noto, emergency warnings intact
TOKYO – Heavy rain continued on Sunday in Noto in Ishikawa Prefecture along the Sea of Japan, a region devastated by a magnitude-7.6 earthquake on New Year’s Day, with the weather agency keeping warnings in place.
In the 24 hours through early Sunday morning, more than 400 millimeters of rainfall was recorded in Wajima and over 300 mm in Suzu, both cities on the Noto Peninsula where heavy rain warnings have been in effect since the previous day.
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Japan can raise renewable energy share to 80% by 2035: study
TOKYO – Japan could boost the share of renewable energy in its electricity production to 80 percent by fiscal 2035 by expanding the use of storage batteries and enhancing regional power grid cooperation, a Japanese think tank said in a recent study.
Japan could achieve a sharp increase in the share of renewables in its power generation from the 22 percent attained in fiscal 2022, all while working to entirely phase out nuclear and coal power, the Renewable Energy Institute said.
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Japan to address issue of foreign trainees quitting in record numbers
TOKYO – Japan will take measures as early as October to enable foreign trainees to transfer jobs more easily, as the number of those who quit without notice due to poor working conditions and other reasons hit a record high of 9,753 in 2023, government sources said.
Under Japan’s technical intern program, workers are prohibited from switching workplaces for the first three years in principle as they are asked to develop their skills in one area, while job transfer is permitted if there are “unavoidable circumstances.”
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N. Korea’s Kim vows to boost friendship with China in anniv. message
BEIJING – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has pledged to continue developing friendly ties with China in a telegram to President Xi Jinping as the two countries mark the 75 anniversary of bilateral relations this year, state-run media reported Sunday.
Kim was responding to Xi’s congratulatory message celebrating the 76th anniversary of North Korea’s founding on Sept. 9, the official Korean Central News Agency said. Pyongyang is also believed to have been seeking to deepen relations with Russia recently.
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Baseball: Ohtani steals 53rd base in Dodgers’ loss
LOS ANGELES – Shohei Ohtani reached base three times, stole his 53rd base and scored his Major League Baseball-leading 126th run in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 6-3 loss to the Colorado Rockies.
Ohtani walked in the third inning at Dodger Stadium and scored on Mookie Betts’ two-run home run. Ohtani is now one run shy of matching Ichiro Suzuki’s career high of 127 from his 2001 American League MVP season.
