月: 2022年1月

1.Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio says that for now his government is not considering declaring a coronavirus state of emergency in Tokyo. Kishida said on Monday that intensive quasi-emergency measures are already in place in the capital.
2.Japan’s Self-Defense Forces have started administering booster shots against the coronavirus at a large-scale venue in Tokyo. The site opened at a government building in Tokyo’s Otemachi district on Monday morning to give third shots to people who want a booster.
3.The Tokyo Metropolitan Government is asking coronavirus patients under the age of 50 with no pre-existing health concerns, and who are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms, to self-monitor their health at home.

1.Police have arrested a man who was holed up in his house with a gun for eleven hours in Saitama Prefecture, near Tokyo. The individual had taken a doctor hostage the day before. The 44-year-old doctor was the man’s family physician. He was taken to a hospital and confirmed dead there.
2.The Japanese government is thinking about shortening the self-quarantine period for people who have been in close contact with those infected with the Omicron variant from the current 10 days to around one week. Prime Minister Kishida Fumio said in a TV program on Thursday night “the government is trying to cut the self-quarantine period as much as possible, while taking the characteristics of Omicron into account.”
3.Japanese police sources say a 19-year-old college student has admitted to using a smartphone to cheat on a recent standardized university entrance exam. The student, who lives in Osaka Prefecture, turned herself in at a police station in Kagawa Prefecture, western Japan, on Thursday. She said she saw news about the case and, after consulting her mother, decided to contact the police.

1.More than 180 people have reportedly been killed since the Islamic State group mounted an attack on a jail in Syria that houses the group’s members. Islamic State militants raided the prison in the northeastern region of Hasaka on Thursday last week to free its members there. Fighting is continuing between the militants and security troops.
2.Germany and France are working together to ease tensions over Ukraine. Senior diplomats from the two countries met with delegates representing Russia and Ukraine in Paris on Wednesday. After the talks, chief Russian negotiator Dmitry Kozak said the four parties agreed to continue with talks aimed at easing tensions.
3.The South Korean military says North Korea has fired two projectiles believed to be short-range ballistic missiles toward the sea off its east coast. Officials say the projectiles were launched from the eastern city of Hambung toward the Sea of Japan, traveling about 190 kilometers and reaching an altitude of about 20 kilometers.

1.The Japanese government is facing the challenge of securing proper medical services amid a surge in coronavirus infections. Noting the high transmissibility of the Omicron variant, the government is closely watching nationwide bed occupancy ratios.
2.Global demand for air travel remained sluggish last year compared to pre-pandemic levels, with the rapid spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant denting a recovery. The International Air Transport Association announced its analysis of passenger traffic in 2021 on Tuesday. Despite the resumption of economic activity, global demand for domestic and international flights was down 58.4 percent from 2019 levels, before the pandemic began.
3.The International Monetary Fund has cut its global growth forecast for 2022 to 4.4 percent, which 1.5 percentage points lower than the growth recorded last year. The IMF cites a worsening outlook for the United States and China in its latest world economic outlook report released on Tuesday.

1.Diplomatic efforts are continuing as tensions surrounding Ukraine rise amid growing fears of a
possible Russian invasion. About 100,000 Russian troops have massed near Russia’s border with Ukraine. The US and its allies are demanding their withdrawal.
2.A member of the Japan Self-Defense Force unit that was dispatched to provide assistance to disaster-hit Tonga has tested positive for the coronavirus. Japan’s Defense Ministry says a member of the Air Self-Defense Force had a fever on Monday and an antigen test came back positive. The unit is based in Australia, and the person took the test there.
3.Iran’s foreign minister said on Monday that his country was prepared to consider direct nuclear talks with the United States. Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian told local media in Tehran that indirect talks between Iran and the US would soon reach saturation point. He added that Iran would be prepared to hold direct talks with the US, if it felt this could lead to a good deal with strong guarantees.

1.Japan’s government plans to expand the current quasi-state of emergency as coronavirus case numbers continue to climb. 18 more prefectures are requesting the stricter measures, which affect businesses like restaurants and bars. And three others are seeking an extension.
2.Organizers of the Beijing Winter Olympics say they have found the first coronavirus case among national team members that entered China on Sunday. The organizing committee did not disclose which team the athlete or official belongs to. It revealed that three people who were not members of a team also tested positive at an airport in Beijing.
3.Incumbent Mayor Toguchi Taketoyo of Nago City, Okinawa prefecture has secured his re-election in Sunday’s vote, supported by ruling parties. The mayoral race comes as the central and prefectural governments remain locked in a standoff over the planned relocation of US Marine Corps Futenma Air Station to the city.

1.The governments of Japan and the United States have called on all parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons to help achieve “a meaningful outcome” at its next review conference. Tokyo and Washington released a joint statement on the treaty, known as the NPT, ahead of an online summit between Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio and US President Joe Biden on Friday night, Japan time..
2.Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio has held an online summit with US President Joe Biden, Kishida says they discussed a range of global challenges including security and the economy.
3.The top diplomats of the United States and Russia have agreed to continue talks aimed at defusing military tensions over Ukraine, despite coming away from their latest meeting without a breakthrough.

1.Japan’s Defense Ministry will dispatch two aircraft as early as Thursday to transport drinking water to Tonga after Saturday’s huge undersea volcanic eruption. Defense Minister Kishi Nobuo ordered the Self-Defense Forces to carry out international emergency relief operations in Tonga. He said he expects the SDF to provide support for the people of Tonga, based on its vast experience in disaster relief at home and abroad.
2.US President Joe Biden has reflected on his first year in office by stressing his achievements in the coronavirus vaccination effort, while acknowledging that challenges remain in achieving national unity.
3.US Secretary of State Antony Blinken travelled to Kiyev on Wednesday to try to defuse the crisis in Ukraine. He met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Blinken warned that Russian forces could attack on “very short notice.” About 100 thousand Russian soldiers have massed along the border. But their commanders have said they have no plans to invade.

1.The World Health Organization has suggested that there is no need at this time to
develop new vaccines to deal with the Omicron coronavirus variant.
2.The United States has warned that Russia could attack Ukraine at any point amid mounting tensions along the border. Western nations are calling for Russia to withdraw an estimated 100,000 troops amassed near the country’s border with Ukraine.
3.Airlines in the United States are canceling flights over worries about a new technology. They say the country’s new 5G wireless service could interfere with some aircraft instruments and are warning of “catastrophic disruptions” to travel and shipping.

1.New Zealand’s government has confirmed two deaths on volcano-ravaged Tonga and postponed delivery of relief supplies due to volcanic ash on an airport runway. New Zealand’s government on Tuesday said Tongan police reported that two people had died. One of the victims was a Tongan national, and the other a 50-year-old British woman who was swept away by a tsunami.
2.Japan’s Defense Ministry says it believes the ballistic missiles North Korea launched on Monday were a solid-fuel, short-range type that Pyongyang last tested in March 2020.
3.A suspected drone attack targeting an oil facility in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, has killed three people. Houthi rebels in Yemen have claimed responsibility. The UAE backs forces fighting the rebels.