日: 2020年12月22日

1. Sources say Tokyo prosecutors questioned former prime minister Abe Sinzo on a voluntary basis on Monday over alleged political funding violations involving his support group.
2.  Former agriculture minister Yoshikawa Takamori has resigned as a member of the Lower House of Japan’s Diet. The move came amid allegations that he received cash from a lobbyist.
3.  The Tokyo Metropolitan government reported 563 new coronavirus cases in the Japanese capital on Tuesday. It is the first time for a Tuesday to mark more than 500 confirmed cases.

1. The U.S. Congress has reached a deal on a 900-billion-dollar coronavirus rescue package for businesses and workers affected by the pandemic. The legislation will include a direct payment of 600 dollars per adult and a temporary 300 dollars per week in additional jobless benefits.                                    2. A top U.S. scholar on East Asia, Ezra Vogel, has died at the age of 90.  He was a professor emeritus at Harvard University and was the author of “Japan as Number One.” After obtaining a doctorate in sociology at Harvard, he spent two years in Japan to study the country’s language and society.                     3. U.S. media report that President Donald Trump and some of his aides have discussed the possibility of imposing martial law to overturn the results of November’s presidential election.