Politics
LDP calls for major green investment in draft plan
Japan's ruling party will call on the government to promote environmental investment with a major decade-long spending program for the country, whose Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has made a green society a key policy priority. The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) said in the draft proposal, which was seen by Reuters,… Read
Cabinet to approve Aegis ships as alternative to ashore system
The cabinet is set to approve a plan to build two new Aegis ships as a platform for missile interceptor systems among three options to replace the scrapped project to introduce a land-based system, government sources said. The plan designed to counter the North Korean missile threat is expected to… Read
Company donations to LDP down for 1st time since 2012
Political donations to Japan's biggest ruling party by companies and industry groups fell last year on a year-on-year basis for the first time since its return to power in 2012, government data showed Friday. But the data released by the internal affairs ministry showed that the Liberal Democratic Party received… Read
Japan rejects China's proposal for easing tensions over isle sovereignty
Japan will not accept China's proposal to ease bilateral tensions over the sovereignty of the Senkaku Islands, the government's top spokesman said Thursday, dismissing it as part of an attempt to advance Beijing's claims to Tokyo's territory. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi had suggested fishing boats from both countries be… Read
Japan's new ambassador to China to be quarantined for 2 weeks
Japan's new ambassador to China, Hideo Tarumi, will be quarantined for two weeks in his residence in Beijing as ordered by the Chinese government, Japanese Embassy officials said. Tarumi arrived in China's eastern port city of Qingdao by a civil aircraft on Wednesday. After being tested for the coronavirus, he… Read
Suga under pressure over Abe scandal
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga was grilled by opposition lawmakers on Wednesday over whether he made inaccurate claims in parliament last year about a potential breach of laws on gift-giving by his predecessor. Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is under fire after sources told local media his office helped cover the… Read
Japan, China agree on economic ties, split over islands
China's top diplomat told Japan's leader on Wednesday that Beijing wants the two Asian powers to have good relations and cooperate in fighting the coronavirus and reviving their pandemic-hit economies, but the two sides remained at odds over an island dispute. Foreign Minister Wang Yi delivered a message from Chinese… Read
China, Japan to cooperate in reviving virus-hit economies
The foreign ministers of Japan and China agreed Tuesday to cooperate in fighting the coronavirus and reviving their pandemic-hit economies, while trying to avoid actions that provoke tensions over disputed islands in the East China Sea. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who arrived in Tokyo on Tuesday, and his Japanese… Read
Japan pledges $720 mil for Afghan reconstruction at int'l conference
Japan pledged some $720 million over the next four years for Afghan reconstruction at an international conference in Geneva on Tuesday that brought together over 80 countries and international organizations to help the war-torn country recover from years of violence. Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, in his statement, said, "Japan… Read
Japan considers setting up consulate in Wuhan
Japan is considering setting up a consulate within two years in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, where the coronavirus was initially detected late last year, a diplomatic source said. Calls have been growing among business circles for the Japanese government to open a consulate in Wuhan, known as a… Read
