月: 2023年9月

1. Japanese police are searching the headquarters of used car dealer chain Bigmotor in relation to alleged used of weed killer leading to deaths of trees along sidewalks outside some of its shops. The firm is under scrutiny for allegedly filing fraudulent insurance claims after carrying out unnecessary repair work. Tree deaths by weed killer or other means near Bigmotor outlets have also drawn public attention.
2. Shipments of top-quality bigeye tuna have begun in the northeastern Japanese city of Shiogama, Miyagi Prefecture. The Sanriku Shiogama Higashimono brand name is given to premium bigeye tuna unloaded at the market from early autumn to winter. The selection criteria include freshness and fattiness.
3. Japanese musician Yoshiki has left prints of his hands and feet in cement in a ceremony at a Hollywood theater. He’s the first Japanese to leave his mark alongside those of legendary stars. The imprint ceremony for the member of the popular rock band X Japan took place at the TCL Chinese Theatre on Thursday.

1. North Korea says the country’s leader Kim Jong Un sand Russian President Vladimir Putin reached a “satisfactory agreement” on important issues in their summit talks on Wednesday. Putin also reportedly accepted an invitation to visit North Korea at a convenient time. 2. Japan’s new Foreign Minister Kamikawa Yoko says she hopes to build trust with her global counterparts at the UN General Assembly next week. She wants to visit New York next week to attend the UN General Assembly session and the G7 Foreign Ministers’ meeting. 3. Japan Airlines is using a sustainable aviation fuel, or SAF, on one of its international flights during a week-long trial. SAF accounts for 11 percent of the fuel on flight JL6 from Tokyo’s Haneda Airport to New York City. The carrier’s goal is for SAF to make up 1 percent of the fuel burned on all its flights by 2025. The ratio is slated to rise to 10 percent by 2030.

1. Japan’s Prime Minister Kishida Fumio will reshuffle his Cabinet on Wednesday evening. He made Liberal Democratic Party executive appointments earlier in the day. Kishida plans to keep Chief Cabinet Secretary Matsuo Hirokazu and Finance Minister Suzuki Shunichi in their current positions to maintain his administration framework.
2. Multiple Russian media have reported that President Vladimir Putin will meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Wednesday at a space center in Russia’s far eastern region of Amur. 3. Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un exchanged words in front of reporters on Wednesday at the start of their summit in the Russian Far East. Putin stressed the need to discuss economic cooperation, humanitarian issues and regional affairs. Kim said the two countries have much to cooperate on, such as in politics and culture, to meet the expectations of their people.

1. A special train carrying North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has entered the Russian Far East. Russian government sources say Kim and President Vladimir Putin are expected to hold talks on Wednesday. 2. The Russian and North Korean Ambassadors to the United Nations are showing support for each other as a summit meeting between their two leaders is likely to take place soon. North Korean Ambassador Kim Song backed Moscow’s veto of a resolution to renew sanctions against the West African country of Mali at the UN General Assembly meeting on Monday. 3. British scientist Ian Wilmut, who created the world’s first cloned sheep, Doly, has died. He was 79. Wilmut, who studied embryology and regenerative medicine, cloned Dolly in 1996 from the cell of an adult sheep. While the lamb’s creation raised hope that the technique could be applied to treatment of incurable diseases, it also sparked controversy over the ethics of possible human cloning.

1. The yield on Japan’s 10-year-government bond has risen to its highest level since January 2014. It hit 0.705 percent at one stage on Monday. A move by the Bank of Japan in July to slightly relax its grip on long-term yields has been putting upward pressure on the benchmark bond’s yield. 2. The operator of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says the first round of the release into the sea of treated and diluted water has been completed. It says there were no problems with the equipment or procedures.
3. In the men’s Rugby World Cup in France, Japan comfortably defeated Chile 42-12 in their opening group match. Chile scored the first try in the sixth minute of the first half. Then two minutes later, Japan immediately scored a try to tie the score. Chile temporarily lost two players one by one to penalties. Japan took advantage by scoring two tries, finishing the first half in the lead.

1. Tropical storm Yun-yeung is approaching central Japan and may make landfall as early as Friday evening. Atmospheric conditions are becoming extremely unstable in the Kanto-Koshin region. Radar analysis shows some parts of Chiba Prefecture received more than 100 millimeters of rain in one hour on Friday morning. 台風１３号　
2.The Indian capital of New Delhi is under tight security ahead of the Group of 20 summit. The two-day meeting will kick off on Saturday. The G20 leaders are expected to start arriving in the city from around noon on Friday.
3. Voting has begun in gubernatorial and other local elections across Russia. Voters will elect new regional and local leaders, including the mayor of Moscow and the governors of 20 regions. The country is also staging what it calls elections in four eastern and southern Ukrainian regions—Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. Russia unilaterally declared the annexation of the four regions in September last year.

1. The head of Johnny & Associates talent agency has said its late founder, Johnny Kitagawa sexually abused young men, and she has stepped down from the president role to take responsibility. Julie K. Fujishima, Kitagawa’s niece, said at a press conference in Tokyo on Thursday that her uncle abused minors. Following her resignation, which she said took place on Tuesday, Johnny performer Higashiyama Noriyuki became the new president.
2. An internationally-acclaimed Japanese conductor will lead an opera performance in Odesa, southern Ukraine, in an effort to encourage people in the war-torn country. Yoshida Hirofumi will lead the production of Puccini’s “La Boheme” at the Odesa National Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre. 3. Japan has successfully launched an H2A rocket carrying an X-ray satellite, as well as a probe that will attempt to make the nation’s first lunar landing.

1. Public prosecutors have indicted a man suspected of throwing an explosive device that landed near Prime Minister Kishida Fumio in April. The Wakayama District Public Prosecutors Office indicted 24-year-old Kimura Ryuji on Wednesday.
2. Ukraine has reiterated its accusations that Russia caused the breach of the Kakhovka dam in the Ukrainian southern region of Kherson in June. Wednesday marks three months since the breach that flooded vast areas.
3. A health ministry survey of people in Japan who overdosed on over-the-counter drugs found they were overwhelmingly women and young. The researchers surveyed 122 people who were hospitalized after abusing painkillers and fever-reducing medication during the 18-month period through last December.

1. Japan’s government has decided to extend over 20 billion yen, or more than 140 million dollars, in emergency aid to domestic seafood producers. This is in response to China’s suspension of seafood imports following the release of treated and diluted water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
2. Leaders and top diplomats from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations kicked off a summit meeting on Tuesday in Jakarta. At the top of the agenda is the situation in Myanmar where battles are intensifying between the military that seized power two years ago and pro-democracy groups. 3. China’s foreign minister Wang Yi has demonstrated in talks with Italian counterpart Antonio Tajani that Beijing intends to strengthen bilateral ties. The move is apparently aimed at urging Italy to continue its participation in the Beijing-led Belt and Road Initiative.

1. People in Japan are turning to a tax-reduction plan to help the nation’s fishing industry after China imposed a ban on seafood imports last month. The program known as furusato nozei allows people to donate to municipalities of their choice in return for a tax reduction and gifts. China suspended all seafood imports from Japan in response to the release of treated and diluted water from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The move is a huge blow for people in the fishing industry.
2. Researchers in Japan say they have found that a type of intestinal bacteria may protect against the development of diabetes. They say these bacteria may activate insulin, a hormone that helps reduce blood sugar levels. The group of researchers from the Riken research institute, the University of Tokyo and others published their findings in the science journal Nature. They surveyed more than 300 adults who were found to be at risk of developing diabetes because of their weight and blood test results.
3. Japan’s men’s basketball team has finished 19th in the FIBA World Cup after winning three matches and losing two. In the previous World Cup, Japan was in 31st place. In the Classification Games 17-32, Japan topped its group after beating Venezuela and Cabo Verde. The victory over the West African nation put Japan at the top of the six Asian nations that took part in this year’s World Cup.