Tokyo, 23 September, /AJMEDIA/
Japan to remove daily entry cap on Oct. 11
NEW YORK – Japan will remove its cap on daily arrivals on Oct. 11 as part of its easing of COVID-19 border controls, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Thursday.
On the same day as the expiration of the daily cap, currently set at 50,000, Japan will also resume visa-free individual trips to the country, Kishida told a press conference in New York.
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Kishida unclear about holding formal summit with S. Korea
NEW YORK – Prime Minister Fumio Kishida indicated Thursday it remains unclear when Japan and South Korea can build on a meeting between their leaders with a formal summit, a symbolic move toward improving bilateral ties long frayed over history and territorial issues.
“Nothing has been decided at the moment,” Kishida said at a press conference in New York of the prospects for a summit with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, a day after the leaders held their first in-person, sit-down meeting.
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Japan, U.S., S. Korea vow “strong” response to any N. Korea nuke test
NEW YORK – The top diplomats of Japan, the United States and South Korea on Thursday warned that a nuclear test by North Korea would be met with a “strong” response, while vowing to oppose any attempts to change the status quo of territories by force amid China’s growing assertiveness in the region.
Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin also emphasized the importance of trilateral cooperation to strengthen what they call the rules-based economic order.
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U.S. understands Japan’s recent forex intervention: official
WASHINGTON – An official of the U.S. Treasury Department said Thursday that Washington understands Japan’s recent intervention in the foreign exchange market amid the yen’s abrupt fall against the U.S. dollar.
But the official denied the United States was involved in the intervention, the first such bid by Tokyo to prop up the yen’s value in 24 years.
Japan conducted a large-scale yen-buying operation Thursday after the dollar rose above the 145-yen line in Tokyo trading, its highest level since 1998.
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U.S., Japan, others meet to seek close ties with Pacific islands
NEW YORK – Foreign ministers from the United States, Japan and other U.S. allies and partners on Thursday gathered to enhance ties with the Pacific island nations amid China’s growing influence in the region.
The meeting was the first among top diplomats from the countries of the Partners in the Blue Pacific initiative, which was launched in June also with the participation of Britain, Australia and New Zealand.
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Japan conducts yen-buying intervention for 1st time in 24 years
TOKYO – Japan on Thursday stepped into the foreign exchange market amid the yen’s abrupt fall, the Finance Ministry said, in its first intervention to prop up the currency in 24 years, as rising import costs have been dragging down the country’s broader economy.
The surprise market operation comes as Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has been urged to take measures to alleviate the negative impact of price hikes hurting the household and corporate sectors, with his Cabinet’s public approval rating decreasing recently.
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Top U.S., Chinese diplomats to meet Fri. amid tension over Taiwan
NEW YORK – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will hold talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Friday, the U.S. government said, a meeting that will take place amid growing tension over the situation around Taiwan.
The meeting, scheduled in New York on the margins of the U.N. General Assembly, is intended to “maintain open lines of communication and manage competition responsibly,” the State Department said in a press release Thursday.
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U.N. expert warns against possible electoral fraud in Myanmar in 2023
GENEVA – A U.N. expert on Myanmar on Thursday cautioned against the potential for fraud in an election that Myanmar’s junta has promised to hold in 2023.
At a press conference at the United Nations in Geneva, Tom Andrews said, “You cannot have a free and fair election when you have arrested, incarcerated and executed those in the opposition,” referring to detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and allies of her democratically elected government that the Myanmar military toppled in a coup in February 2021.
