月: 2021年10月

1.Japanese political leaders are gearing up for a general election at the end of the month as Prime Minister Kishida Fumio dissolved the Diet’s Lower House on Thursday. At a news conference on Thursday evening, Kishida said, “We must do all we can to fight the coronavirus and get the economy back on track. We also have to build a new social economic system for the post-corona era. I would like the people to decide who can carve out a future after the pandemic.”
2.The Japanese government is to provide financial support for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s planned new chip factory in Japan. The move is in line with governments the world over vying to secure a domestic chip production base to ensure economic security.
3.Prime Minister Kishida Fumio says Japan’s government will come up with an overall set of measures early next month to counter a possible resurgence of the coronavirus. Kishida said he has instructed relevant Cabinet ministers to take concrete measures even when the virus has double the virulence as the outbreak this summer.

1.The Lower House of Japan’s Diet has been dissolved for a general election. The Lower House speaker made the announcement on Thursday afternoon that triggers a national election. The Cabinet will meet later in the day to formally set the election date, which is expected for October 31. Campaigning will officially kick off next Tuesday, October 19.
2.The secretary-general of Japan’s main governing Liberal Democratic Party says that in the upcoming election, his responsibility is to add as many seats as possible to achieve a stable government. Amari Akira said the Lower House election is for voters to choose between a system led by the Constitutional Democratic Party and the Japanese Communist Party, or a system led by the current coalition of the LDP and Komeito.
3. The leader of Japan’s largest opposition party has made clear his resolve to end the dominance of the Liberal Democratic Party in the upcoming general election. Thursday happens to be the day the Edo shogunate ended more than 150 years ago. Edano Yukio says he has a strong determination to make the Lower House dissolution the end of one-party dominance of Japan’s politics.

1.Delegates from the Group of 20 nations and international organizations held an emergency meeting on Tuesday to tackle the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi chaired the online summit. He said the leaders agreed unanimously on the need for aid. They acknowledged they may have to coordinate any efforts with the Taliban.
2.Myanmar’s detained President Win Myint has testified that he refused when the military tried to force him to resign shortly before a coup in February. Win Myint appeared in court on Tuesday. He was detained on February 1 along with State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi. He has been on trial over multiple charges such as incitement.
3. The International Monetary Fund has lowered its forecast for global growth to 5.6 percent. IMF economists cited persistent threats to the world economy, including the spread of the coronavirus Delta variant.

1.Japan’s Immigration Services Agency has launched a new drive to speed up coronavirus vaccinations among foreign nationals, including language assistance. The move follows reports of a slow pace of inoculations among foreigners, with many unable to make appointments due to language barriers or difficulties obtaining vaccination vouchers.
2.Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio has reiterated that he will prioritize raising wages of corporate employees over reviewing taxes on capital gains of the wealthy. Kishida said discussing capital gains taxes ought to be done sometime in the future, suggesting that a review will not be included in the next fiscal year’s taxation plan.
3.The latest NHK opinion poll shows that Japan’s new Cabinet led by Prime Minister Kishida Fumio has an approval rating of 49 percent. The Cabinet was launched on October 4. The initial approval rate is 13 percentage points lower than that of the Cabinet launched by Kishida’s predecessor, Suga Yoshihide, in September 2020.

1.The East Japan Railway Company says a power outrage has knocked out services on several lines in the Tokyo area. The operator temporarily suspended services on nine lines in Tokyo, including the Yamanote Line, at around 1 P.M. Three of these remained out of operation as of 2:30 P.M.
2.Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen has expressed her determination to strengthen defense capabilities in a speech during celebrations for Double Ten Day, which Taiwan considers its founding day. Tsai said that “routinization of Chinese military activity” in Taiwan’s air defense identification zone “has seriously affected both our national security and aviation safety.”
3. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government confirmed 49 new cases of the coronavirus in the capital on Monday. The figure is down by 11 from the previous day. It also hit a record low for the third day in a row.

1.The Japan Meteorological Agency says the tremor which shook Tokyo and surrounding areas on Thursday night was smaller in scale than a major earthquake which could occur directly underneath the capital. The Cabinet Office estimates that such an earthquake could register an intensity of seven on the Japanese seismic scale of zero to seven in Tokyo. It says the death toll could be about 23,000 in a worst case scenario.
2.A research institute affiliated with North Korea’s foreign ministry has issued a warning about Japan’s new Prime Minister Kishida Fumio having raised the abduction issue during talks with leaders of other nations. The institute claimed the issue has already been resolved.
3. New coronavirus infections have continued to decline in the week since Japan lifted its state of emergency. Now, officials want to further ease restrictions on social activities. The government is now testing ways to increase the number of travelers and spectators at sporting events.

1.As the financial woes of Chinese real estate firm Evergrande Group continue, another Chinese property developer has failed to repay debts. Trading in shares of the debt-laden Evergrande Group has been suspended at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange since Monday.
2.The U.S. Secretary of State warned Chinese leaders on Wednesday about tensions across the Taiwan Strait. Antony Blinken urged them to stop what he called their “provocative military activity” near Taiwan.
3. The United States and China have agreed in principle that President Joe Biden and President Xi Jinping will hold a virtual summit before the end of this year.

1.U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has met with French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss the soured bilateral ties and cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. Bilateral relations deteriorated last month after Australia decided to scrap a major submarine contract with France. Canberra instead opted for U.S. and U.K. technological support under a new three-way security partnership called AUKUS.
2.A senior U.S. government official will on Wednesday meet with China’s top diplomat for the first time since March, in an apparent bid to ease bilateral tensions. The White House said that National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan will meet with China’s foreign policy chief Yang Jiechi in Zurich, Switzerland.
3. NHK has learned that in late June a North Korean ship armed with a man-portable surface-to-air missile was sighted in Japanese fishing grounds in the Sea of Japan. Sources told NHK that the Japan Coast Guard confirmed the presence of the North Korean official ship in the Yamatotai area off Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture.

1.Japan’s new leader is vowing to do all he can to fight the coronavirus and get the country’s economy back in shape. Kishida Fumio has been elected prime minister by the country’s Diet and has formed his Cabinet. More than half of its members will serve in a ministerial role for the first time.
2.ASEAN foreign ministers says they are disappointed by the Myanmar military’s reluctance to accept the association’s special envoy.
3. This year’s Nobel Prize in Physics has been announced in Sweden. A Japan-born scientist has been recognized for his work on climate modeling. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences says the award is being shared by three laureates. Syukuro Manabe and Klaus Hasselmann helped our understanding of the earth’s climate and it is affected by human behavior.

1.Japan’s Prime Minister Kishida Fumio is launching his Cabinet after being chosen to lead the country by the Diet. The leader is promising an era of Japanese politics focused on working together to take on national and global challenges.
2.The South Korean government has announced that its communication channels with North Korea have been restored. The cross-border hotlines were cut in August.
3.A deadly explosion occurred on Sunday afternoon in the Afghan capital Kabul. Media outlets say that at least five civilians are confirmed dead.