Tokyo, 26 September, /AJMEDIA/
Genki Kawamura becomes 1st Japanese to win best director at San Sebastian
SAN SEBASTIAN, Spain – Genki Kawamura won best director for his movie “A Hundred Flowers” at the 70th San Sebastian International Film Festival on Saturday, becoming the first Japanese recipient of the award at the prestigious Spanish event.
The first feature film directed by Kawamura tells the story of a son who looks after his mother affected by dementia and recalls old memories of her.
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FOCUS: “Abenomics” lives on after ex-PM’s death, but economy still fragile
TOKYO – Nearly a decade after the launch of “Abenomics,” Japan cannot still do without massive monetary and fiscal stimulus — the two features of the economy booster program pushed by the late former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
A weaker yen, a byproduct of the Bank of Japan’s monetary easing and welcomed as beneficial for the export-reliant economy, has reached a point where the current leader Fumio Kishida had to say its rapid weakening pace is one of the “crises” facing the country.
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North Korea fires short-range ballistic missile toward Sea of Japan
TOKYO/SEOUL – North Korea on Sunday fired a short-range ballistic missile toward the Sea of Japan, according to Japanese and South Korean authorities, two days after a U.S. aircraft carrier arrived in South Korea for joint drills.
The projectile appears to have landed outside of Japan’s exclusive economic zone after flying on an irregular trajectory, Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada told reporters.
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Japan’s junior ruling party Komeito approves 8th term for leader
TOKYO – Komeito, the junior coalition partner of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, on Sunday endorsed an eighth term for its leader Natsuo Yamaguchi ahead of a spate of local assembly elections next spring.
After being formally approved at the party’s convention in Tokyo to lead for another two years, Yamaguchi, 70, said Komeito “will do (its) utmost to support the Kishida administration.”
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Former Emperor Akihito undergoes surgery for cataracts in right eye
TOKYO – Japan’s former Emperor Akihito on Sunday successfully underwent surgery for cataracts and glaucoma in his right eye, the Imperial Household Agency said.
The 88-year-old underwent surgery for cataracts in his left eye Monday after a medical examination confirmed a clouding of the lens in both eyes, according to the agency.
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Japan eyes upping defense spending to 40 trillion yen over 5 years
TOKYO – Japan is considering sharply increasing its defense spending to more than 40 trillion yen ($279 billion) over the next five years, government officials said Saturday.
The amount compares with the 27.47 trillion yen in total specified as defense costs for five years through fiscal 2023 in the country’s Medium Term Defense Program.
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Baseball: Yakult wins 2nd straight Central League pennant in walk-off
TOKYO – The Yakult Swallows earned their second consecutive and ninth overall Central League championship with a 1-0 walk-off win over the second-place DeNA BayStars on Sunday.
The Swallows clinched the title with six games left for them to play in the regular season and go to the final stage of the Climax Series league playoffs, against the winning team of the first stage.
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Sumo: Tamawashi secures 2nd championship with win over Takayasu
TOKYO – Tamawashi clinched his second Emperor’s Cup at the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament on Sunday, beating fellow title contender and regular training partner Takayasu in a thrilling final-day battle.
Veteran No. 3 maegashira Tamawashi (13-2) came in with a one-win lead over No. 4 Takayasu (11-4), who needed to force a playoff bout to preserve his bid for a maiden top-division championship at Ryogoku Kokugikan.
