月: 2024年10月

1. Japanese actor Nishida Toshiyuki, who was known for performing wide-ranging roles in popular film and drama, has died at the age of 76. He was found collapsed at his home in Tokyo on Thursday. In the popular movie series “Tsuribaka nisshi,” Nishida played the role of a leading character Hama-chan, who is crazy about fishing.
2. Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru has met with the families of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea and said he will make all-out efforts to quickly bring them home. It was the first such meeting since Ishiba became prime minister, taking place Thursday at the Prime Minister’s Office in Tokyo.
3. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has indicated that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s “Victory Plan” involves political and military issues that need to be addressed.

1. Japan’s new defense minister and the United States Forces Japan’s new commander have agreed that the two countries will continue to coordinate closely. Nakatani Gen and Lieutenant General Stephen Jost met at the Japanese Defense Ministry in Tokyo on Wednesday. 2. North Korea says more than 1.4 million young people across the country have volunteered to join or return to the military over the past two days. North Korea’s ruling party newspaper, Rodong Sinmun said the enlistments represent “an eruption of the hatred and retaliatory spirit of the younger generation.”
3. The United States has reportedly urged Israel to allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza or face the possible suspension of US military assistance. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin sent a letter to Israel on Sunday, raising concerns over the situation in Gaza.

1. It is officially election season in Japan. More than a thousand candidates are kicking off their campaigns to win seats in the Lower House. Voters will cast ballots at the end of the month to choose their government. All 465 seats in the powerful Lower House are up for grabs. 289 will be from single-seat districts and 176 will be elected through a system of proportional representation. 233 seats are needed for a majority. Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru says if the governing coalition can secure a majority, he would consider it a victory. 2.Former US President Barack Obama has congratulated Nihon Hidankyo for winning this year’s Nobel Peace Prize. Obama, who advocated for a nuclear-free world, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009 while he was in office. Obama said, “At a time when the threat of nuclear weapons is growing – and the taboo against threatening their use is weakening – Nihon Hidankyo’s work reminds us that these weapons have a terrible human cost, and that the pursuit of a world without nuclear weapons is an essential part of making sure we leave our children a safer, more secure world.”　
3. This year’s Nobel Prize for economic sciences has been awarded to three professors based in the United States. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences praised them for helping to explain inequality around the world. Daron Acemoglu is a Turkish-American economist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Simon Johnson is also at MIT. James A. Robinson works at the University of Chicago. The academy says the three laureates have pioneered new approaches to significantly advance the understanding of global inequality.

1. The Chinese military has mobilized to start massive military drills in waters surrounding Taiwan as a warning against Taiwanese pro-independence forces. China’s Eastern Theater Command announced on Monday morning that the drills will be conducted in the Taiwan Strait, as well as in the waters to the north, south and east of Taiwan. The command oversees the East China Sea, including Taiwan, among other regions. The areas of the drills nearly encircle Taiwan. 2. US President Joe Biden has congratulated Nihon Hidankyo, a Japanese organization representing survivors of the 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, for winning this year’s Nobel Peace Prize. Biden says, “On behalf of the United States, I congratulate them on being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their historic work to ensure that nuclear weapons are never used again.”
3. The Israeli military says drone attacks by the Lebanon-based Shia Muslim group Hezbollah killed four of its soldiers. Local media say 60 others were wounded. The attack by drones on Sunday night struck a military base in Binyamina, about 30 kilometers south of Haifa in northern Israel.

1. The leaders of Japan and India have agreed that their countries will continue to work closely together for peace and stability in the international community. Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi concurred that Japan and India are partners that share basic values, such as democracy and the rule of law.
2. Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru and Chinese Premier Li Qiang have affirmed that their countries will continue to communicate at every level. Ishiba has also conveyed deep concerns about the situation in the East China Sea and increased activity by the Chinese military near Japan.
3. Hurricane Milton has ripped through the southern US state of Florida, leaving millions of homes and businesses without power. AP news agency says dozens of homes were destroyed before the hurricane came ashore.

1. South Korean author Han Kang has been named the winner of this year’s Nobel Prize in Literature. It’s the first time that an Asian woman has been awarded one of the literary world’s top accolades. Kang was born in 1970 and comes from a literary background as her father is also a reputed novelist. The Swedish Academy highlights works such as her international breakthrough “The Vegetarian.” Published in 2007, it tells the story of a woman who faces violent consequences for refusing to eat meat.
2. Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru has held talks with the leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. He expressed his intention to step up security cooperation between Japan and the ASEAN nations for the peace and stability of the region. 3. Japan’s Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru spoke to reporters after the dissolution of the Lower House was announced. He said he would use the election as an opportunity to gain the public’s confidence and promote efforts at regional revitalization.

1. Japan’s Lower House has been dissolved for a general election set for October 27. Official campaigning will kick off next Tuesday. It will be the first Lower House in three years. Ahead of the formal dissolution in the Diet, Ishiba had his first one-on-one debate against the four opposition parties, the Constitutional Democratic Party, Japan Innovation Party, Japanese Communist Party and Democratic Party for the People.
2. Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party officially announced on Wednesday morning that it would deny endorsements for 12 current and former Lower House members in the upcoming election over their involvement in the recent political funding scandal.
3. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ series of meetings got underway in Laos on Wednesday. On the agenda: Howe to break the impasse in Myanmar, where fighting between the military and pro-democracy forces is intensifying.

1. Japanese prosecutors have informed the families of victims in a 1966 multiple murder cases that they will not appeal a not-guilty ruling handed down in a retrial of Hakamada Iwao, who had been sentenced to death for the crime. The Shizuoka District Court handed down the not-guilty ruling last month. Now 88 years old, Hakamada was convicted of killing a family of four 58 years ago. Hakamada is now expected to be exonerated nearly 60 years after the crime took place.
2. Japan has posted a record current account surplus for the month of August. The country extended its surplus streak to 19 months in a row, as the weak yen boosted financial gains abroad. The Finance Ministry announced on Tuesday that the current account surplus topped 3.8 trillion yen, or over 25 billion dollars. That’s an increase of more than 10 billion dollars from the same month last year. It’s the highest figure for August since comparable data became available in 1985.
3. Japan’s Empress Emerita Michiko has undergone surgery for a broken thigh bone. The Imperial Household Agency says the operation was completed successfully at the University of Tokyo Hospital on Tuesday. She was examined and diagnosed the previous day with a fracture on the upper part of her right femur.

1. Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te has said it is “impossible” for the People’s Republic of China to become the motherland of Taiwan’s people, reiterating his view that Taiwan is distinct from China. Lai stressed that in terms of age, the People’s Republic of China will never be considered the motherland of the Republic of China’s people. He added that Taiwan may be the motherland of people in China who are 75 or older. 2. A Japanese business group is calling for more cooperation with Taiwan in semiconductors, artificial intelligence and other areas. The Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry Taipei consists of about 500 Japanese companies doing business in Taiwan. Its views and recommendations are in a white paper submitted to Liu Chin-ching, who heads Taiwan’s National Development Council.
3. The Nihonmatsu Lantern Festival kicked off on Saturday evening in Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan. The event in the city of Nihonmatsu is said to be one of Japan’s three major lantern festivals. The autumn event, which features thousands of paper lanterns, dates back to the mid-17th century. It is designated as an important intangible folk cultural asset by the prefecture.

1. The new head of NATO, Mark Rutte, has been in his post for less than a week. He has already taken time to visit Ukraine to show his support. Rutte said, “I come to Ukraine at the start of my mandate to make crystal clear to you, to the people of Ukraine and to everyone watching, that NATO stands with Ukraine.”
2. Israeli forces have carried out another attack against Hezbollah militants in Lebanon. They announced on Wednesday that they conducted a “precise” strike in central Beirut.
3. The 10 non-permanent members of the UN Security Council have issued a joint statement condemning the “current cycle of violence” in the Middle East.