日: 2022年12月28日

1. Many people in Japan are heading overseas to enjoy their first year-end and New Year holidays since the country significantly eased border controls against the COVID-19 pandemic. 2. Sources say the Japan Football Association has decided to let men’s national team coach Moriyasu Hajime stay in his post. Moriyasu, 54, led the Samurai Blue in the FIFA World Cup in Qatar earlier this year. The team advanced to the last 16 after beating powerhouses Germany and Spain in the group stage, but failed to reach the quarterfinals as the team had hoped. 3. A government survey has revealed that airports across Japan are facing a severe shortage of security staff amid a recovery in air travel. A transport ministry survey shows that the number of security staff fell from 7,400 in April 2020 to 5,600 in September 2022. That’s reduction of 1,800 staff, or about 25 percent.

1. Indonesians have commemorated the 18th anniversary of the deadly Indian Ocean tsunami that struck on December 26, 2004. The disaster left more than 220,000 people dead or missing in a vast area spanning from Southeast Asia to East Africa. The tsunami was triggered by a massive earthquake that struck off the coast of Indonesia’s Sumatra Island. More than 160,000 people were killed in Aceh province, located on the northwest tip of the island. 2. Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba says his country wants an international conference on ending the war to be held at the end of February. Kuleba also suggested that Ukrainian soldiers will be trained outside the country to learn how to use the US Patriot air defense system. He said that the Patriot missile battery will be operational in less than six months and that Ukraine will do whatever it can to win the war next year. 3. Japan’s reconstruction minister Akiba Kenya has submitted his resignation over political funding irregularities and other issues.