Politics
Japan keeps greenhouse gas target, eyes further cuts
Japan has kept unchanged its target, set in 2015, of a cut of 26% in greenhouse gas emissions by the fiscal year ending in March 2031, from levels seen in fiscal 2013, the environment ministry said on Monday. In its five-year review, the ministry said that while making sure Japan… Read
Tokyo's infection spike after Olympic postponement sparks questions
Before the Olympics were postponed, Japan looked like it had coronavirus infections contained, even as they spread in neighboring countries. Now that the games have been pushed to next year, Tokyo’s cases are spiking, and the city's governor is requesting that people stay home, even hinting at a possible lockdown.… Read
Japan said to favor home-grown design for next-generation fighter
Japan wants to develop a stealth fighter domestically, rejecting designs from Lockheed Martin Corp and Boeing Co in the United States and Britain's BAE Systems PLC, three sources with knowledge of the program told Reuters. That would put Japan's leading defense contractor, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, in the lead for a… Read
N Korea fires two short-range ballistic missiles into Sea of Japan
North Korea fired what appeared to be two short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast on Sunday, the fourth such launch this month as the world battles the coronavirus outbreak. The string of weapons drills come as a prolonged hiatus in disarmament talks with the United States drags on, and… Read
78% think 1-year delay of Olympics appropriate: poll
A total of 78.7 percent of people think the decision earlier this week to postpone this summer's Tokyo Olympics for about one year due to the global coronavirus pandemic was "appropriate," a Kyodo News survey showed Saturday. The three-day nationwide telephone poll conducted from Thursday also found that 11.1 percent… Read
Japan plans huge stimulus package to cushion blow from coronavirus
The Japanese government will soon kick off work on a stimulus package that could be worth 10% of the country's economic output, joining global efforts to combat the hit to their economies from the coronavirus pandemic. With the state budget for next fiscal year having passed the Diet on Friday,… Read
Olympic delay may not be all bad news for Abe
In 2016, Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe broke with his staid public image to pop up in Rio dressed as Super Mario for the official handover of the Olympic Games to Tokyo. The stunt reflected his commitment to an event that was supposed to be the crowning glory of his… Read
Pompeo says G7 agrees China spreading virus disinformation
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Group of Seven foreign ministers agreed with him in talks Wednesday that China was waging a "disinformation" campaign about the coronavirus pandemic. The top diplomats from the major industrialized nations held a previously scheduled meeting by videoconference, with the United States scrapping a… Read
Abe faces struggle on coronavirus, economy, after Olympics delayed
Postponing the Olympics due to the coronavirus pandemic has turned a hoped-for year of triumphant celebration for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe into a struggle to stem the outbreak and save the economy, but is unlikely to cost him his job. Abe, who returned to office in 2012 promising "Japan… Read
Abe says Trump supports Olympic postponement 100%
U.S. President Donald Trump fully supports a delay in the Tokyo Olympics agreed between Japan and the international Olympic panel, a Japanese government spokesman said on Wednesday, citing comments made to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in a telephone call. "President Trump repeatedly said the postponement is an excellent and wise… Read
