月: 2025年2月

1. Japan’s government has decided to provide additional funding to help the Noto region in central Japan recover from a powerful earthquake and torrential rains last year. Cabinet ministers decided on Friday to allocate nearly 107 billion yen, or about 710 million dollars, from the reserve funds in the current fiscal year’s budget.
2. Workers at the US Agency for International Development have packed up their belongings and left the headquarters in Washington. This comes after they were dismissed or placed on leave as part of a cost-cutting measure carried out by the Trump administration. 3. US President Donald Trump will soon meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the United States, where the leaders are expected to sign an agreement on Ukraine’s mineral resources.

1. Operations to repatriate foreign nationals freed from scam centers in Myanmar continued on Thursday. Authorities have started to transport Indonesians to Thailand, and from there they will head home. Last week, hundreds of Chinese were repatriated. Thai authorities say they plan to move other foreign nationals in phrases.
2. Japan increased its cabbage imports in January by more than 40 times year-on-year as local harvests suffered from lack of rain. Ninety-five percent of the cabbage came from China. Imports of Chinese cabbage surged to 1,440 tons from almost zero a year earlier. And for lettuce, the amount was up by 80 percent.
3. The former chief treasurer of a faction of Japan’s main ruling Liberal Democratic Party has been questioned by a Diet committee about a political fund scandal. The faction was once led by the late Prime Minister Abe Shinzo. Members of the Lower House Budget Committee questioned Matsumoto Junichiro as an unsworn witness in a Tokyo hotel on Thursday. The close-door session continued for about 40 minutes.

1. US President Donald Trump has ordered the Commerce Department to investigate an increase in copper imports as a national security risk and may slap tariffs on the metal. Trump signed the order on Tuesday. The goal is to boost domestic production and reduce dependence on China and Latin American countries such as Chile.
2. South Korea’s fertility rate slightly increased in 2024 from the previous year, but it remains at one of the lowest levels globally, 0.75. Statistics Korea said on Wednesday that the figure, which represents the average number of children born per woman, was up 0.03 points from a record low of 0.72 in 2023.
3. Japan’s transport ministry says the country’s public pilot training college will introduce a special entrance quota for female applicants in fiscal 2027. This comes amid a pilot shortage and the low proportion of female pilots.

1. The United Nations General Assembly has adopted a resolution calling for an end to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the withdrawal of Russian troops from the country. The United States opposed the motion. Ninety-three member states voted in favor of it, but 18 others, including the US and Russia, voted against it. Sixty-five members abstained. 2. Leaders from European and other nations have met in Kyiv to mark the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. They have reaffirmed their solidarity as they aim for an end of the war. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for support at the meeting for his efforts to bring an end to the war. He said, “we must achieve peace through force, wisdom and unity in our cooperation.”
3. Germany’s largest opposition alliance of the Christian Democratic Union and the Christian Social Union has won the most seats in Sunday’s general election. The bloc’s candidate for chancellor, Friedrich Merz expressed hope for launching a new government by around mid-April during a TV appearance on Sunday night. Merz is expected to become German chancellor.

1. Japan’s Emperor Naruhito turned 65 on Sunday. Ahead of his birthday, he spoke to reporters at the Imperial Palace in central Tokyo. As 2025 marks 80 years since the end of World War II, the Emperor said memories of the war might be about to fade. But he stressed the importance of remembering the accounts of harrowing experiences and history of those who went through the war, and passing them on to those who did not.
2. An ethnic minority militia guarding Myanmar’s border says it has raided one of the transnational scam centers in the east of the country, near Thailand. It’s believed that many people from around the world, including Japan, are being coerced into carrying out fraudulent activities at these facilities.
3. Germany’s largest opposition alliance of the Christian Democratic Union and the Christian Social Union has won the most seats in Sunday’s general election. The center-right bloc is on course to lead post-election coalition talks to form a government.

1. It has been one month since US President Donald Trump returned to the White House. In that time, he has signed executive orders at a faster pace than in his firs term and said things that have shocked the world. Experts say there is a strategy behind this flurry of activity, which is called “Flood the zone.”
2. Representatives of Ukrainian and Japanese firms have celebrated the opening of the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Japan at an event in Tokyo. The Ukrainian chamber of commerce started operating in Japan in December with eight founding members, including Ukrainians who live in Japan.
3. The average price of new condominiums in Greater Tokyo fell in January, due to a decrease in the number of units offered for sale in more expensive central areas.

1. Thursday marks one month since US President Donald Trump returned to the White House. He has been shaking things up as he reverses the previous administration’s agenda and upends generations of US policies. This has spread confusion around the country and the globe. He has signed 70 executive orders in his first 30 days, which is more than he signed during his first year in office the last time.
2. US President Donald Trump’s administration has ordered the termination of the congestion toll that was introduced in New York City last month. The state governor strongly opposes the move. The toll was launched on January 5 to address the worsening traffic congestion in Manhattan’s central business district, which includes Times Square and Wall Street. Vehicles entering these and other designated areas of the city are charged a toll. 3. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly denounced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a “dictator without elections” amid Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

1.US President Donald Trump has expressed confidence in the progress of negotiations toward a possible Ukraine peace deal following talks between US and Russian senior officials. The two country’s top diplomats met in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday and agreed to establish high-level teams to continue talks to end the fighting in Ukraine. 2. China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi says his country supports the United Nations’ central role in international affairs, and expressed Beijing’s endorsement of multilateralism at the world body.
3. US President Donald Trump says that the tariffs on imported automobiles that he plans to impose from early April will be set at around 25 percent. If tariffs are imposed on all countries, it will deal a blow to Japan as a major automobile exporter to the United States.

1. European leaders have gathered in France for emergency talks on Ukraine amid concerns over upcoming US-Russian negotiations on ending the war in the country. Participants likely discussed the current situation regarding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine amid media reports on possible talks between the US and Russia in Saudi Arabia. They also discussed their countries’ post-war plans, including whether to send peacekeeping troops to Ukraine. 2. Japan’s Environment Ministry has submitted to the United Nations its new target for reducing the country’s greenhouse gas emissions by 60 percent in fiscal 2035 from fiscal 2013 levels. Under the new targets, the country aims for a 73-percent reduction by fiscal 2040. 3. Japan’s government has approved a new basic energy plan for the country. It calls for wind, solar and other renewables to be the main national power source by fiscal 2040. Renewables are expected to account for 40 to 50 percent of the total energy mix by that time.

1. A cold wave is once again approaching Japan. Japanese weather officials say a strong winter pressure pattern is expected to bring heavy snow, mainly to areas along the Sea of Japan, from Monday to around Wednesday.
2. Japanese restaurants are reacting to spiraling prices for domestic rice by embracing cheaper imports instead. The Japanese government imports about 770,000 tons of tariff-free rice a year from countries such as the US and Thailand. It sells some of that to the private sector. 3. European leaders are to hold an emergency summit in France to discuss the situation in Ukraine and security challenges in Europe. Participants will include French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will also attend.