Tokyo, 29 September, /AJMEDIA/
Japan to invest 1 tril. yen in talent development over 5 years
TOKYO – Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is set to announce plans to invest 1 trillion yen ($6.9 billion) over five years in human resources development for growth industries in his speech during an extraordinary parliamentary session to be convened next week, government sources said Wednesday.
Kishida is also expected to vow to “sincerely, humbly and respectfully face the severe opinions of the public” in light of the controversy over ties between members of his Liberal Democratic Party and the Unification Church, as well as the state funeral for assassinated former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
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Japan, China mark 50 yrs since normalization of ties amid tensions
TOKYO – Japan and China marked the 50th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations on Thursday with little mood for a grand celebration as tensions remain over a territorial row and a deepening rift between Beijing and Western nations over Taiwan.
Messages of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese President Xi Jinping are scheduled to be read out at an event hosted Thursday afternoon by the Japan Business Federation, the country’s most powerful business lobby better known as Keidanren said.
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U.S. eyes more sanctions over Russia’s annexation of Ukraine regions
WASHINGTON – The United States is preparing to impose “swift and severe economic costs” on Russia when Moscow moves forward with the annexation of regions in Ukraine that have been occupied amid the war, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday.
The remarks follow what the United States and its allies called “sham” referenda in four eastern and southern Ukraine regions asking voters whether they wished to join Russia. As the voting ended Tuesday, Russian media reported that the vast majority favored the idea.
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Japan’s big mobile carriers say roaming needed during network outages
TOKYO – Japan’s major mobile phone carriers agreed at a government panel meeting on Wednesday that they need to introduce roaming capabilities so their customers can use rival networks during service disruptions.
With the carriers warming to the idea following a recent widespread outage affecting one of them, a communications ministry panel of experts will advance discussions on the issue with a view to implementing the proposal from around 2025.
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New U.S. strategy to enhance Pacific ties amid China’s rise in region
WASHINGTON – The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden vowed Wednesday to strengthen ties with Pacific island nations through an enhanced diplomatic presence and climate crisis support as part of its first strategy specifically focused on the region.
The move comes on the opening day of the two-day U.S.-Pacific Island Country Summit in Washington, another effort by the Biden administration to step up regional engagement in the face of China’s expanding influence.
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Vatican to look into magazine report on Belo’s alleged sex abuse
JAKARTA/ROME – The Vatican said Wednesday it will investigate a Dutch magazine report about sexual abuses Nobel Peace Prize laureate Bishop Carlos Felipe Ximenes Belo allegedly committed when he was a bishop in East Timor.
Dutch weekly magazine De Groene Amsterdammer published an investigative report that Belo had sexually abused some boys at his residence in Dili and other places in the 1980s and 1990s.
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Ex-Tokyo Olympic exec, business ally allegedly shared bribe
TOKYO – Haruyuki Takahashi, a former Tokyo Olympic organizing committee executive at the heart of a widening corruption scandal over games sponsor selection, and one of his closest business partners allegedly shared a bribe from an advertising company, a source close to the matter said Wednesday.
Takahashi and Kazumasa Fukami, both former executives of Japan’s largest advertising agency Dentsu Inc., are suspected of using consulting firms that they now head to receive the money.
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Harris calls for Japan chip firms’ cooperation to boost supply chain
TOKYO – U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday called for increased cooperation from Japanese semiconductor companies as chips become more important in ensuring economic growth and security.
“No one country can satisfy the globe’s demand,” Harris told Japanese corporate executives in a meeting held at the U.S. ambassador’s residence in Tokyo. “Japan and the United States share a commitment to work on resilient supply chains and to invest in forward-looking innovation.”
