月: 2024年5月

1. Russian President Vladimir Putin has told a Chinese media outlet that he is “open to a dialogue on Ukraine.” He has also indicated that Moscow welcomes Beijing’s involvement in the effort to resolve the conflict.
2. A group of private economists believe that Japan’s economy shrank in the January-to-March quarter. The country’s GDP figures will be released by the government on Thursday. Observers will be paying attention to consumer spending, which accounts for more than half of Japan’s GDP. 3. Wednesday marks 50 years since Seven-Eleven Japan opened its first convenience store outlet. Seven-Eleven Japan is the country’s first full-fledged convenience store chain employing a franchise system to allow store owners to operate outlets. The chain launched its first store in Tokyo’s Toyosu area in 1974. Company President Nagamatsu Fumihiko said the chain aims to further advance the concept of convenience.

1. Police in Japan say three people have died in a pileup involving seven vehicles that left multiple cars ablaze on the Metropolitan Expressway just outside Tokyo. The road operator alerted police on Tuesday morning about the burning vehicles on the outbound lanes of Route 5 Ikebukuro Line in Toda city, Saitama Prefecture. Three people who were trapped in the fire have been confirmed dead. A person in a truck was sent to hospital with minor injuries. 2. The pace of gains in Japan’s producer prices was unchanged in April from the previous month, as higher crude-oil prices maintained inflationary pressure. The Bank of Japan said on Tuesday the preliminary Producer Price Index rose 0.9 percent last month from the same period a year earlier.
3. Donald Trump’s former lawyer has testified that he made hush money payments to an adult film actress at the direction of the former US President. Michael Cohen spoke as the prosecution’s star witness at the hearing in New York state criminal court on Monday. The trial has been held since last month after prosecutors charged Trump with falsifying business records. This was in relation to hush money paid to an adult film star during his 2016 presidential election campaign.

1. Many people in Japan harbor an ambition to visit Alaska, Canada, or Scandinavian countries to see, at least once in their lifetime, the spectacular Northern Lights. But realizing this dream is becoming increasingly difficult as the cost of overseas travel is soaring due to a weakening Japanese yen, which is at the lowest level in three decades against the US dollar. Fortunately, Northern Lights enthusiasts this weekend were able to boast:” Don’t worry. You can see the aurora here in Japan!”
2. More Japanese automakers have posted record profits for the fiscal year ending in March, with the combination of a weak yen and brisk sales proving to be a windfall. Honda Motor reported group sales of 20.4 trillion yen, or about 131 billion dollars, which is up over 20 percent in yen terms from a year ago.
3. Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu be appointed as the secretary of the Russian Security Council. Shoigu has headed the defense ministry since 2012. He will be replaced by acting First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov, who has been in charge of economic policies.

1. Prime Minister Kishida Fumio says he aims to hold a summit meeting with North Korea with support from the United States and the international community. Kishida made the comment on Friday in a meeting in Tokyo with a group of the relatives of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea.
2. The mayor of a town in western Japan says he has decided to accept a first-stage survey to choose a final disposal site for high-level radioactive waste. Genkai Mayor Wakiyama Shintaro made the announcement on Friday.
3. A quake-hit aquarium in central Japan says it’s on the road to recovery, thanks to supporters who’ve been donating to a crowdfunding campaign. Their generosity has raised 31 million yen, or about 200 thousand dollars. That’s more than six times the initial target.

1. Russians have commemorated the former Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany with a ceremony in the capital Moscow Victory Day celebrations were held across Russia amid the country’s invasion of Ukraine. Russia marked the 79th anniversary of the World War Two victory on Thursday in ceremonies and military parades held in more than 20 cities. 2. A group of non-regular workers looking for pay hikes in Japan says nearly half the firms involved have not agreed to their demands at spring wage negotiations. The group said at a news conference on Thursday that about 30,000 workers demanded 10-percent or more wage increase from 107 employers. Fifty-five percent of the companies have responded so far. But the group said the average increase is only 3 to 4 percent, and the remaining 48 firms have yet to agree to boost salaries.
3. Japanese figure skater and Olympic medalist Uno Shoma has announced his retirement from competition. The 26-year-old made the announcement on Instagram on Thursday. He won a silver medal in the men’s singles in the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics and took bronze in the 2022 Beijing Games. He also won two world championships in a row in 2022 and 2023. In the message, Uno expressed his gratitude for people who have supported him as a competitor until today.

1. Toyota Motor has posted a record group operating profit topping 5 trillion yen, or 34.5 billion dollars, for fiscal 2023, the highest-ever figure for a listed Japanese company. 2. The second round of a Japanese government-backed subsidy program to support tourism in quake-hit areas in central Japan has begun. This round, which began on Tuesday, only covers Ishikawa Prefecture. The government introduced the program earlier this year to help areas affected by the Noto Peninsula earthquake that struck on New Year’s Day. 3. Two rival companies in Japan have joined hands to develop a mosquito spray to fight the growing spread of dengue fever in Southeast Asia and elsewhere. Kao Corporation teamed up with Earth Corporation to combine expertise and shorten the development period for the product. The companies say the spray uses a fine mist to saturate the wings and bodies of mosquitoes to prevent them from flying.

1. Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to start a new six-year term as president on Tuesday. Putin, who triumphed in a presidential election held last March, is being sworn in at an inauguration ceremony at the Kremlin in Moscow. Since being elected president for the first time in 2000, Putin has held power either as president or prime minister for more than 20 years. His fifth term will last until 2030.
2. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has strongly urged Israel and Hamas not to miss an opportunity to agree on a truce and hostage-released deal. Speaking to reporters on Monday, Guterres said that he had earlier in the day made a “very strong appeal to the government of Israel and the leadership of Hamas in order to go an extra mile to materialize an agreement that is absolutely vital.”
3. A wine tasting site in central Japan’s Yamanashi Prefecture saw tourism numbers surge past pre-pandemic levels during the spring holiday season. Katsunuma Budou no Oka, or Grape Hill, is a tourist site in Koshu City, a noted wine area. It has about 200 wines available for tasting.

1. Chinese President Xi Jinping has begun three-way talks with French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Xi is on his first tour of Europe in five years.
2. Train stations and airports across Japan are crowded with holidaymakers returning home on Monday, the last day of the spring holiday period. Central Japan Railway says congestion on shinkansen bullet trains bound for Tokyo is expected to hit the highest level for the holiday period.
3. A recently discovered anime, created about a century ago in Japan, is shining new light on the industry. One expert says only a few films from that era survive today, so the newly found work will greatly help in understanding anime production of the time. The film depicts a child using a knife and a fork to eat a meal. It also shows another child eating something out of a bag.

1. Japan’s Prime Minister Kishida Fumio has arrived in Brazil. He will hold summit talks with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Kishida arrived in the capital Brasilia on Thursday night, on the second leg of his tour to France and South African countries. It is the first time in eight years that a Japanese prime minister has visited Brazil. 2. Nippon Steel says it will postpone its plan to acquire United Sates Steel until the end of this year. The Japanese firm initially planned the takeover of the American steel producer by September. The Japanese steelmaker said it revised the estimated closing date after carefully deliberating on the timeframe for obtaining approval from US authorities. 3. US President Joe Biden has come under criticism for not addressing university protests against the situation in the Middle East. He spoke out on Thursday about the clashes and said “order must prevail.” Biden made the comments after hundreds of officers muscled their way through demonstrators at the University of California, Los Angeles, in the early hours of Thursday morning. They used stun grenades and dismantled an encampment that had been there for a week.

1. Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio has stressed the importance of maintaining a free and fair rules-based economic order amid a diversifying international community. Kishida delivered a speech on Thursday at a meeting in Paris of the Ministerial Council of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.
2. Japanese Foreign Minister Kamikawa Yoko has visited three African nations to promote economic cooperation and to confirm the importance of building an international order based on the rule of law. Kamikawa visited Madagascar, Cote d’lvoire, and Nigeria on a five-day tour of emerging economies in Africa, which ended on Wednesday. 3. Fujiko Hemming, a classical pianist who released her best-selling debut album in her late 60s, has died at the age of 92. She won many fans with her struggle to overcome adversity and performances that reflected her warm personality. The Fujiko Hemming Foundation announced on Thursday that she died on April 21 after she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in March.