1. Japan’s Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru has met with relatives of Japanese citizens who were abducted by North Korea. He pledged to make his utmost efforts to resolve the issue as soon as possible while gaining cooperation from the international community. 2. Japan’s Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru has instructed his top tariff negotiator with the United States to be fully prepared for the possibility that a wider range of issues could be taken up in the next round of talks.
3. Japan’s new agriculture minister Koizumi Shinjiro has pledged to tackle soaring rice prices as he officially takes over from his predecessor Eto Taku.