Politics
People in situation similar to 'black rain' to get help: gov't
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said Tuesday the government will consider ways to help people in a similar situation to the plaintiffs in a lawsuit who were ruled eligible for health care benefits due to their exposure to radioactive "black rain" in 1945. The prime minister revealed the policy in a… Read
Japan to extend ¥2.2 bil in virus response aid to Pacific nations
Japan will provide about 2.2 billion yen ($20 million) in grant aid to 14 Pacific island countries via U.N. Children's Fund to help them strengthen their medical systems and better fight the coronavirus pandemic, the Foreign Ministry said. The aid is expected to cover expenses for developing cold-chain equipment for… Read
Japan grants health benefits to A-bomb 'black rain' victims
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said Monday he has decided to grant official medical benefits to 84 Hiroshima residents who were exposed to highly radioactive “black rain” after the city's atomic bombing. Suga's decision ends a long legal battle by the central government that delayed medical aid for the “black… Read
Russian PM visits Pacific islands claimed by Japan
Russia's prime minister on Monday visited Pacific islands claimed by Japan, a move that brought a protest from Tokyo, and said the government is considering setting up a special economic zone there. Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin is touring Russia's Far East and Siberia this week, and the Kuril Islands were… Read
Suga, Koike agree Olympics going 'very smoothly'
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and Tokyo Gov Yuriko Koike met Sunday to discuss the Olympics being held in the capital and COVID-19 countermeasures, with Koike saying they agreed the games are going "very smoothly." In a nearly hourlong meeting at the prime minister's official residence, they agreed to continue… Read
Russian PM to visit disputed isle off Hokkaido
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin plans to visit one of the Moscow-controlled, Tokyo-claimed islands within the next two days for the first time after last July's constitutional amendment barring the country from ceding territory to a foreign power, Russian officials said Sunday. The planned visit to Etorofu Island by Mishustin,… Read
Many G20 nations want more urgent climate goals
Many of the climate and energy ministers at a Group of 20 meeting hosted by Italy last week agreed to work toward even more ambitious goals for fighting climate change than those established in the 2015 Paris accords, an Italian official said. Italy’s minister of ecological transition, Roberto Cingolani, also… Read
Japan, France affirm security cooperation
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed Saturday that Japan will pass on its experience of hosting a "safe and secure" Olympics -- being held in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic -- to France, host of the 2024 Summer Games. In a joint statement released after… Read
Emperor's Olympic opening declaration mirrors divided public
The conspicuous absence of the word "celebrating" in the Japanese version of Emperor Naruhito's opening declaration for the Tokyo Olympics reflects a public deeply divided over whether the games should be going ahead amid the coronavirus pandemic. Postponed a year by the global outbreak of COVID-19, the Olympics officially began… Read
Emperor wishes Olympians best in meeting with Jill Biden, Macron
Emperor Naruhito told U.S. first lady Jill Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron and other world leaders Friday that he has the "deepest respect" for all of the athletes who have gathered in Japan for the Olympics despite the challenge posed by the coronavirus pandemic. "It is my hope that the… Read
