月: 2023年10月

1. Senior US officials say President Joe Biden will visit Israel on Wednesday to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Blinken said Biden will be visiting at a crucial moment for Israel, the region and the world. He said the president will reaffirm US solidarity with Israel and discuss strategies to minimize civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip, which is controlled by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.
2. China is hosting an international forum on its Belt and Road Initiative beginning on Tuesday in Beijing. Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin are scheduled to talk on the sidelines. The Chinese government has said the two-day event is expected to draw delegates from more than 140 countries.
3. Asian pop music legend and Japanese singer-songwriter Tanimura Shinji died earlier this month. He was 74 years old. Tanimura was born in Osaka Prefecture, western Japan and made his musical album debut as a member of a three-man band, Alice, in 1972. Tanimura also enjoyed an active solo vocalist career. The song “Subaru”, or Star became synonymous with the singer-songwriter.

1. US President Joe Biden says it would be a mistake for Israel to occupy Gaza again. Asked if it is time for a ceasefire, Biden replied that Israel has to respond. He said, “They have to go after Hamas.” But he said, “I think it’d be a big mistake,” when he was asked if he would support an Israeli occupation of Gaza.
2. Growing worries about the Israel-Hamas conflict are creating waves in the markets, with traders in Tokyo sending crude oil prices higher over fears that further escalation could choke supply. Meanwhile, gold futures hit a record high in Osaka early on Saturday as investors piled in seeking safe haven from market uncertainty.
3. Fans of entertainers belonging to the Japanese talent agency Johnny & Associates have expressed mixed feelings over the closure of shops selling official merchandise. These so-called Johnny’s Shops, which sell photos and other goods featuring the agency’s talents, are scheduled to shut down on Monday. This follows the sexual abuse scandal involving the agency’s late founder, Johnny Kitagawa.

1. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says he will visit five Arab nations in an effort to prevent a further escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
2. The operator of Japanese clothing giant Uniqlo is expecting revenue to top 3 trillion yen in the current business year. Fast Retailing says it’s on track to meet that threshold for the first time with strong sales overseas.
3. Doctors have conducted a successful experiment using a robot system to perform remote surgery between Singapore and Japan.

1. Japan’s education and culture ministry has announced it will seek a court order to disband the group formerly known as the Unification Church. Education and Culture Minister Moriyama Masahito said, “We have interviewed over 170 victims, gathered information and considered the details of this case. As a result, the ministry will request a dissolution order based on the Religious Corporation Act.”
2. A vice-ministerial-level meeting of three countries jointly chairing discussions between creditor nations working to resolve Sri Lanka’s debt problems has been held in Morocco. Japan, India and France say the talks have been making progress, but many challenges remain. Sri Lanka has been facing a rapid weakening of its currency and inflation due to failed financial policies. 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　3. Shogi star Fujii Sota has become the first player to hold all eight major titles after winning the Oza championship. The 21-year-old Fujii faced Nagase Takuya, the 31-year-old defending champion of the Oza title, in the fourth match of the best-of-five series in Kyoto on Wednesday.　The players spent a long time pondering their moves, and Nagase gradually got the upper hand. After they had both used up their allotted time, they had to make their moves within one minute. In that situation, Nagase failed to find moves that would lead him to victory. The balance then turned to Fujii, and Nagase conceded after the 138th move of the match. Fujii won the series with three wins and one loss.

1. The International Atomic Energy Agency says a team of experts from countries including China will visit Japan next week to collect samples of seawater, deposits and fish from the vicinity of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. The plant’s operator began the second round of the release of treated and diluted water from the damaged plant last week. 2. At least 2,100 people have been killed in fighting between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas as violence escalates in and around the Gaza Strip. While Israel bombards Gaza with airstrikes, Hamas continues to launch rockets toward Israel.
3. China’s Foreign Ministry says the country will host the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing on Tuesday and Wednesday next week. Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to visit China for the first time since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year and hod a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines.

1. Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen called for peaceful coexistence with China in her address on Tuesday to mark Double Tenth Day, which Taiwan considers its national day. Speaking in front of the presidential office building in Taipei, Tsai said, “It is my duty as president to safeguard our national sovereignty and the democratic and free way of life of the 23 million people of Taiwan.” 2. The Japanese government is pushing for a shift to sea and rail freight as part of its strategy to address a truck driver shortage. One firm in central Japan has started loading its cargo on a specially designed type of ship as part of this transition. Shizuoka Prefecture-based Suzuyo is using vessels designed to carry wheeled cargo. This allows for the shipments to be easily rolled off and attached to trucks at their destinations. 3. The leaders of the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Italy have expressed support for Israel and its right to defend itself from attacks by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.

1. In the men’s Rugby World Cup, Japan has failed to advance to the knockout stage. The Brave Blossoms lost to Argentina in the last match in Pool D by 27-39. Argentina took an early lead shortly after the kickoff. Japan scored its first try in the 16th minute after Amato Fakatava collected his own kick forward. But Pieter Labuschagne was penalized with a yellow card and forced off the field for 10 minutes. His absence helped Argentina to score 8 points. The Japanese players struggled with their opponents’ power and physical strength and couldn’t reduce the gap.
2. Japanese police say four people have been hospitalized after touching what appeared to be a chemical on board a Tohoku Shinkansen bullet train linking northeastern regions with Tokyo. 3. A giant panda born in Japan has been put on public view in the Chinese province of Sichuan. Visitors to the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda have been able to view Xiang Xiang from Sunday.

1. One year after Japan fully reopened its borders to foreign visitors, inbound tourism is booming. Arrivals in August topped 2.15 million, about 85 percent of pre-pandemic levels. But the country’s hospitality sector has been struggling to keep up with the demand. One pressing concern is that there aren’t enough qualified tour guides. The shortage is so severe, it’s been forcing some companies to turn people away.
2. Sources say the northern Japanese city of Sapporo has decided to give up its bid for the 2030 Winter Olympics and Paralympics. They say instead, the city intends to aim to host the Games in 2034 or later. The city suspended efforts to build momentum for its bid in December last year, following corruption and bid-rigging scandals linked to the Tokyo Summer Games in 2021. 3. Prolific Norwegian author and playwright Jon Fosse has won the Nobel Prize in Literature. The Swedish Academy said on Thursday that Fosse is being awarded the prize “for his innovative plays and prose which give voice to the unsayable.” Fosse was born in 1959 and began his career in 1983. He chose to craft his works in Nynorsk, one of Norway’s two written languages. He has published numerous novels, poetry collections and children’s books.

1. A low pressure system and a front are dumping heavy rain on Japan’s northern prefecture of Hokkaido. Atmospheric conditions, mainly in northern Japan, have been extremely unstable. 2. Japan’s highest peak, Mount Fuji, has been capped with snow for the first time this season. The snow was observed on Thursday morning.
3. US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has confirmed he will be leading a bipartisan Senate delegation on a visit to China, Japan and South Korea next week.

1. US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was ousted from the post on Tuesday with a vote of 216 in favor, 210 against and seven not present. All attending House Democrats and eight Republicans supported the move. One factor behind the motion is believed to be McCarthy’s failure to keep a promise he made when elected as speaker to work toward drastically cutting federal expenditures. Another is that McCarthy conceded to Democrats in order to pass temporary funding to avoid a partial government shutdown.
2. Japan’s education ministry says about 299,000 elementary and junior high school students missed school in the year that ended in March 2023. The figure, which has risen 10 years in a row, was the highest pm record.
3. Popular Japanese TV personality and actor Kuroyanagi Tetsuko has released a sequel to her 1981 autobiographical memoir “Totto-chan; The Little Girl at the Window.” The 90-year-old – whose childhood nickname was memorialized in her book’s title – says what prompted he to pick up her pen again was the ongoing war in Ukraine.