月: 2023年2月

1. US media says one of the federal agencies comprising the country’s intelligence community now concludes the COVID-19 pandemic was most likely caused by a leak from a laboratory in Wuhan, China. The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday that the Energy Department recently submitted to the White House a report concluding that the virus likely accidentally spread from the laboratory. 2. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen made a surprise visit to Ukraine on Monday to underscore Washington’s commitment to supporting the country. In a meeting with President Zelenskyy, Yellen stressed, “Ukraine’s fight is our fight. We will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes.” 3. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is visiting China on Tuesday for talks with President Xi Jinping. The meeting comes amid pressure by the United States on China to avoid providing military aid to Russia in its invasion of Ukraine.

1. A boat crowded with migrants from Afghanistan, Iran and other countries has capsized off the coast of Italy, killing at least 59 people. Italian authorities and media say the wooden vessel crashed against rocks in bad weather and capsized off the coast of the southern Italian province of Calabria on Sunday. It had set sail from Turkey several days earlier. 2. A Japanese venture firm is providing evacuees from Ukraine with an opportunity to learn Japanese via their smartphones. Tokyo-based firm Monoxer is a provider of memorization tools and develops learning platforms mainly for educational institutions and businesses. Now it has created an application for Ukrainian evacuees in Japan who are having trouble finding work due to the language barrier. 3.Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has dismissed the commander of Ukrainian forces fighting Russian forces in the Donbas region in the country’s east. He has given no reason for the dismissal of Eduard Moskalyov announced on Sunday. He stressed his resolve to regain all occupied territories from Russia.

1. The government’s nominee for Bank of Japan governor has told a Lower House hearing that he intends to stick with the BOJ’s massive monetary-easing program. Economist Ueda Kazuo said, “If I am approved as governor, I would like to work closely with the government and implement appropriate policies in accordance with developments in ‘economic activity and prices’.” 2. The UN General Assembly has adopted a resolution demanding Russia immediately withdraw its forces from Ukraine and urging lasting peace. The resolution was put to a vote at a special session at UN headquarters in New York on Thursday, the eve of the anniversary of Russia’s invasion. In the vote, 141 countries voted in favor of the resolution, while Russia and other six countries voted against it. Another 32 countries, including China, abstained.
3. Finance chiefs and central bank governors from the Group of Seven nations have reaffirmed their “unwavering support” for Ukraine, and their unity in condemning Russia’s invasion. The officials released a statement after their meeting in the southern Indian city of Bengaluru on Thursday, the eve of the first anniversary of the start of the invasion. They were joined by Ukraine’s Finance Minister Sergii Marchenko.

1. Japan’s Emperor Naruhito has greeted the general public on his birthday at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. The Emperor turned 63 on Thursday. This is the first time he has delivered a public birthday greeting since he ascended the throne in 2019. To prevent the spread of the coronavirus, only 4,800 people, chosen by lottery, were allowed into the palace grounds. 2. Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared his intention to boost his country’s nuclear forces, just a day before the one-year anniversary of the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The president hailed Russian forces in Ukraine, saying, “Our troops are heroically fighting the neo-Nazism that has taken root in Ukraine, protecting our people in our historical lands, and are fighting courageously and heroically.”
3. A senior United States government official has expressed deep concerns over China’s possible support for the Russian military in its ongoing invasion of Ukraine and said if assistance is given, it will seriously impact US-China relations.

1. Japan and China have held their first security dialogue in about four years. Senior foreign affairs and defense officials from the two countries met Wednesday in Tokyo.
2. South Korea’s fertility rate in 2022 marked a record low for the seventh year in a row. Statistics Korea said on Wednesday that the average number of children born per woman stood at 0.78 last year, down 0.03 from the previous year. The agency says South Korea is the only country among members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development with a fertility rate below one. 3. Prices of new condominiums in Japan reached record highs for the sixth straight year in 2022. The increase were due to a combination of strong demand and soaring building-material costs.

1. US President Joe Biden’s visit to Ukraine was accomplished after careful planning and strict control of information. Accompanying reporters say Biden arrived in Kyiv at 8 a.m. Monday, local time, and shortly after 8:30 a.m., he arrived at the palace to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and First Lady Olena Zelenska.
2. Eighty percent of the people who participated in a survey conducted in Ukraine said that they have physical and mental problems because of the war. Using mobile phones, NHK and the Kyiv-based research organization, Rating Group, surveyed people aged 18 and older across Ukraine. They did not question people living in the eastern region of Donbas or the southern region of Crimea. One thousand people responded.
3. The United Nations Security Council has held an emergency meeting about North Korea’s latest ballistic missile launches. Most of the member nations are standing united, but Russia and China continue to block any strong response.

1. Ukrainian leaders are bracing for major missile attacks as the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion approaches on Friday. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video message on Sunday that the more losses Russia suffers in the eastern region of Donbas, the faster Ukraine will be able to end the invasion.
2. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s sister has criticized the United States and South Korea for conducting a joint air force drill involving US B-1 bombers on Sunday. Kim Yo Jong noted, “We are carefully examining the influence it would exert on the security of our state,” and added, “we will take corresponding counteraction if it is judged to be any direct or indirect threat.” 3.US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said he conveyed his concerns to China’s top diplomat about Beijing’s possible support for the Russian military in the ongoing Ukraine invasion. Washington is apparently warning that it will take measures should Beijing respond to Moscow’s request.

1. Experts are trying to figure out why Japan’s new H3 flagship rocket was not able to lift off from a site in southwestern Japan as scheduled. The rocket was set to launch from the Tanegashima Space Center on Friday morning.
2. Doctors say US President Joe Biden is “fit for duty” after a physical exam. At the age of 80, Biden is the oldest president in US history.
3. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has addressed a prestigious film festival, urging filmmakers and others to assist his country amid Russia’s invasion. The president said Russia has been killing people in Ukraine for almost a year. He stressed that art and culture should not help the “evil” by remaining silent.

1. Candidates to become the next head and deputy heads of the Bank of Japan are set to explain their ideas on Japanese economic policy to Lower House members on February 24. The government on Tuesday presented the Diet with the nominations of Ueda Kazuo as the new central bank governor and Himino Ryozo and Uchida Shinichi as deputy governors. The term of incumbent Governor Kuroda Haruhiko ends in early April.
2. A winter festival featuring huts made from snow has welcomed back tourists for the first time in three years in Akita Prefecture, northern Japan. The event is held every year in the city of Yokote on February 15 and 16. About 40 of the “kamakura” huts were built for the festival. 3. The Financial Times reports Western intelligence shows Russia is amassing aircraft close to the border with Ukraine. It said the move indicates Moscow is preparing to bolster its faltering land offensive. The paper says intelligence shared among NATO allies shows Russia is assembling both fixed-wing and rotary aircraft. The article notes that Russia has used its air forces sparingly, relying instead on long-range missiles, artillery and land-based troops.

1. Providing aid to survivors has been especially hard in Northwest Syria as the civil war in the country continues. But officials are hoping to speed up deliveries with newly opened routes. 2. The government of Turkey and Syria, as well as the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, say the combined death toll from the recent devastating earthquakes that hit southern Turkey has exceeded 40,000.
3. Former Japanese Defense Minister Onodera Itsunori raised concern that objects believed to be Chinese spy balloons could suggest possible vulnerabilities in the nation’s defenses. The ministry on Tuesday said balloon-like objects were spotted over Japanese territory at least three times between 2019 and 2021.