月: 2024年2月

1. Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio has told a Lower House ethics council that his party will consider whether to discipline Diet members who were involved in a fundraising scandal, depending on their explanations. Kishida addressed the Deliberative Council for Political Ethics on Thursday, becoming the first incumbent prime minister to do so. The session was open to the media.
2. The new government of the South Pacific nation of Tuvalu has reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining relations with Taiwan. Prime Minister Feleti Teo’s government released a “Statement of Priorities” committing to the long-term and lasting special relationship between Tuvalu and Taiwan. It also says the government intends to strengthen ties.
3. The wife of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has called for support from European Parliament members. She vowed to pursue President Vladimir Putin’s responsibility over her husband’s death and continue his work to criticize the Putin administration.

1. Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio says he will attend a Lower House ethics meeting on a fundraising scandal involving factions of the main governing Liberal Democratic Party. Kishida told reporters on Wednesday that he will attend the Lower House Deliberative Council on Political Ethics with the media present. It will be the first time for a prime minister in office to attend.
2. US media say President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are each certain to win their party’s primary in Michigan on Tuesday. Biden’s Democratic party and the Republican party both held a primary in the Midwestern state for the November presidential election.
3. NHK has learned that Japan’s Justice Ministry has compiled a draft of revised guidelines on special stay permission for foreign nationals who have been illegally staying in the country. Ministry officials are considering allowing people with no residential status to stay if the parents integrate themselves into local communities and their children have been receiving education in Japan for a long time.

1. Japan’s ruling and opposition camps are at odds over whether or not a Lower House ethics council meeting should be open to the public. The fundraising scandal involving the main ruling Liberal Democratic Party will be discussed at the meeting.
2. French President Emmanuel Macron has not ruled out the option of sending ground troops to Ukraine. Macron invited leaders and ministers from more than 20 countries to Paris on Monday to discuss support for Ukraine, as Russia’s invasion of the country goes into its third year. Attendees included representatives from the United States and Europe.
3. Leaders in Sweden have cleared the final hurdle allowing their country to join NATO. On Monday, they saw lawmakers in Hungary approve their bid to join the alliance. Prime Minister Viktor Orban had promised Hungary would not be the last of NATO’s 31 members to ratify. But, last month, members of parliament in Turkey approved Sweden’s request. Finally, he relented. “We make alliances to defend each other in case of outside attack. There is no more serious commitment than this,” Orban said.

1. A US expert on Russian politics has stressed the urgent need for Western nations to provide military assistance to Ukraine, comparing the current situation to that during World War Two.
2. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for continued military assistance from the West as his country’s fight against Russia’s invasion enters what he referred to as a crucial third year.
3. The head of Ukraine’s Defense intelligence says Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny died from a blood clot, denying speculation that he was killed while in prison.

1. Japan’s Emperor Naruhito turns 64 on Friday. Ahead of his birthday, he spoke to reporters at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. He reflected on the past year, conveying condolences to the relatives of those who died in the major earthquake that shook the Noto Peninsula and other areas of central Japan on January 1.
2. Foreign ministers from the Group of 20 nations remain divided over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as the fighting approaches the two-year mark. Diplomats discussed the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as reforms for international bodies including the United Nations.
3. A senior UN official in charge of overseeing humanitarian aid in Ukraine has appealed for continued support from the international community, as the second anniversary of the start of Russia’s invasion nears. Denise Brown, the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Ukraine noted that the conflict between Israel and Hamas and other global crises have reduced the international community’s interest in the situation in Ukraine.

1. The benchmark index for the Tokyo Stock Exchange set an all-time high on Thursday. It has taken more than 34 years for the Nikkei 225 to reach that level. Thursday’s trading saw it cross the 39,000 mark for the first time ever, reaching 39,156 at one stage.
2. Japan’s Foreign Minister Kamikawa Yoko has strongly condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and called for bringing about lasting peace as soon as possible. Kamikawa was speaking at the G20 foreign ministerial meeting that opened in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday. The participants include Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
3. The British government has imposed sanctions on six individuals in charge of the Arctic penal colony where Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny died last week.
The Foreign Office announced on Wednesday that the officials will be banned from Britain and their assets will be frozen.

1. The Japanese government is accelerating its push for offshore wind power. It sees floating turbines as more suitable for the country, and is preparing for tests. The government has set offshore wind power as one of the pillars of its renewable energy policy. But the country has few shallow sea areas suitable for the anchored types, leaving floating versions as a more feasible option.
2. A private survey has found that workers at most small-and-medium-sized firms in Japan can expect wage hikes in fiscal 2024. But the margin of the increase will not be as big as this year. Labor and management are currently discussing sustainable pay increases in the annual spring wage negotiations.
3. The Italian government says leaders of the Group of Seven nations will hold an online summit on Saturday, exactly two years from the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Italy said on Tuesday that the leaders will discuss support for Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to join the talks.

1. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has reportedly been given a Russian-made car as a gift from the country’s President Vladimir Putin. The North Korean leader’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, reportedly conveyed her brother’s gratitude to the Russian side, calling the gift a clear sign of the special personal relationship between the two leaders.
2. EU foreign ministers expressed their condolences to the widow of later Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny during a ministerial meeting that was held on Monday. Yulia Navalnaya attended the EU foreign ministers’ gathering in Belgium. The ministers invited her after her husband—a vocal critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin – died at a prison on Friday.
3. Taiwanese authorities say they will send back to China two crew members who were aboard a Chinese fishing boat that capsized. The boat overturned last Wednesday near Kinmen, a group of islands effectively controlled by Taiwan. Two of the four crew members on the vessel died. The incident occurred as the boat was being pursued by a Taiwanese coast guard ship.

1. Japan is hosting a conference to discuss how to support Ukraine’s reconstruction efforts nearly two years after Russia’s invasion started. The Japan-Ukraine Conference for Promotion of Economic Growth and Reconstruction began on Monday morning in Tokyo.
2. A Ukrainian military commander says his troops have inflicted nearly 50,000 personnel losses on Russian forces before withdrawing from the strategically important city of Avdiivka. But a US newspaper warns of challenges confronting Ukrainian troops amid stalled military aid from the United States.
3. Japanese animation master Miyazaki Hayao’s “The Boy and the Heron” has won the Animated Film category at the British Academy Film Awards. The winners of the 77th awards, commonly known as the BAFTAs, were announced at a ceremony on Sunday.

1. The White House official in charge of East Asia says the United States will support Japan’s efforts to hold a summit with North Korea.
2. Japan’s top government spokesperson says Pyongyang’s claim that the issue of abductions of Japanese nationals by North Korean agents is already settled is absolutely unacceptable.
3. The World Bank says 486 billion dollars will be needed over the next decade to fund the reconstruction and recovery of Ukraine. It says damage caused directly by Russia’s invasion nearly two years ago has reached almost 152 billion dollars. Housing, transport, commerce and agriculture are the most affected sectors.