月: 2025年7月

1. Syria has strongly condemned Israeli airstrikes on its military headquarters and other targets in the capital, Damascus, on Wednesday. In a televised speech on Thursday, the country’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa condemned the attacks, saying that Israel is once again seeking to transform Syria’s “pure land into an arena of endless chaos.”
2. The Ukrainian parliament on Wednesday approved by Majority vote Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal’s dismissal after he tendered his resignation. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier tapped Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko as the new prime minister. Local media reported that the parliament is expected to approve her appointment and the new cabinet will be launched soon.
3. Japanese weather officials say torrential downpours have hit the Tokai region in the central part of the country and warn of a heightened risk of landslides and flooding.
They say the Shikoku region, in western Japan, could also face an increased risk of rain-triggered disasters through late Thursday night.

1. US President Donald Trump came out with another criticism of Japan’s trade stance on Tuesday, claiming the country refuses to “open up.”　Trump has lately made a string of negative comments about Japan.
2. Some Japanese employers are offering higher pay and other financial rewards in a bid to retain staff amid a labor shortage and rising inflation. Nojima, a major electric-appliance retailer, says round 3,000 employees can expect a hike of 10,000 yen, a month in September. Another raise is slated for as early as January next year.
3. Japan’s government has set up a new office tasked with promoting measures to build what it calls a society of orderly coexistence between Japanese nationals and foreign residents.

1. A group of researchers in Japan says an experiment using mice has confirmed that a certain strain of gut bacteria improves the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy. Immunity- boosting cancer drugs are said to be sufficiently effective in less than half the subjects. The patients’ gut microbiome had been pointed out as a possible factor, but the mechanism remained unclear.
2. Torrential downpours are intermittently hitting the Tokai and Kanto-Koshin regions. Weather officials warn that bands of heavy rain clouds could develop in the Tokai region, and sharply raise the risk of rain-triggered disasters.
3. The average price of rice at supermarkets in Japan has fallen for a seventh straight week. Yet it remains higher than a year ago. Officials say consumers were buying more lower-priced grain from government stockpiles than before.

1. Children were brought to school in cars and buses in the wake of a fatal bear attack in a northern Japan town. Monday is the first school day at elementary and junior high schools in Fukushima Town, Hokkaido, since a man was killed by a bear in the area on Saturday. The victim was a 52-year-old newspaper delivery man. He was found in bushes with what appeared to be claw marks on his body. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The incident prompted police to begin around-the-clock patrols. They have not yet found the bear.
2. Japan’s government has designated a bird that caused a fatal airplane crash in South Korea in December as one of the most dangerous causes of collisions known as bird strikes. The Baikal teal is a migratory bird that breeds in Russia and migrates to the Korean Peninsula, China and Japan during winter. Feathers and blood of the bird were found in the two engines of the Jeju Air passenger flight, indicating that bird strikes played a role in the crash. One hundred-79 passengers and crew died when the jet landed on its belly and went up in flames at Muan International Airport in the country’s southwest. *The Baikal teal　トモエガモ
3. The chair of the Upper House Budget Committee has resigned from his post to take responsibility for a verbal gaffe about a powerful earthquake that hit the Noto Peninsula in central Japan last year. Committee chair Tsuruho Yosuke of the main ruling Liberal Democratic Party has come under fire for the remarks on July 8. He said, “Fortunately, there was an earthquake in the Noto Peninsula, which allows Wajima residents to get their residence certificates in Kanazawa City.” That is where they evacuated to at the time.

1. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for more international investment in his country’s defense to counter escalating Russian attacks. Zelenskyy said Russia is intensifying its drone offensive “every single night,” mainly targeting Kyiv. He said more investment in interceptor drones and air defense systems is needed.
2. US President Donald Trump says he is going to impose a 35-percent tariff on goods from Canada. On social media on Thursday, Trump posted a letter addressed to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. It says the new rate will take effect on August 1.
3. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has indicated his country may retaliate against the 50-percent tariff that US President Donald Trump plans to impose on Brazilian imports starting on August 1.

1. A leading US newspaper says President Donald Trump extended the moratorium on what he calls “reciprocal tariffs” after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told him he could get multiple deals, but needed more time. The deadline was originally set for July 9, and Trump had indicated he would not extend the pause. On Monday, however, he signed an executive order delaying the imposition of the tariffs to August 1.
2. US media outlets say the death toll from last week’s flash floods in the state of Texas has risen to 120 and over 160 people remain unaccounted for. Heavy rain began in the early hours of last Friday, inundating communities along the Guadalupe River. The floods swept away many people, including children who were attending a summer camp along the river.
3. The tariffs already in place under US President Donald Trump are putting pressure on some Japanese companies. Firms at a manufacturing trade show in Tokyo say the outlook for businesses has worsened. An eyeglass frame maker from Fukui Prefecture in central Japan does business with a company exporting to the US. But the client told the manufacturer it would reevaluate production plans when the Trump administration introduced a 10-percent universal tariff in April.

1. A US media report says President Donald Trump has expressed frustration over poor coordination within his government of US weapons deliveries to Ukraine. On Monday, Trump said the US will have to send more defensive weapons to Ukraine, effectively reversing the move.
2. US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick says he and other top American trade officials may meet Chinese negotiators in early August. Attention is on whether any progress to improve relations between the two countries could come out of such talks.
3. French President Emmanuel Macron is on a state visit to the United Kingdom. The three-day trip is the first to the country by a leader of a member state of the European Union since Britain left the bloc in 2020. Macron indicated that France will work with Britain to keep supporting Ukraine in its defense against Russia’s invasion. He said, “We will fight till the very last minute in order to get this ceasefire, in order to start the negotiations to build this robust and sustainable peace.”

1. US President Donald Trump says he’ll slap a 25 percent tariff on goods from Japan next month if Tokyo doesn’t reach a trade deal with the US. Trump told reporters that the tariff letters he sent out on Monday were more or less a final offer, though there is room for some negotiation.
2. US President Donald Trump has welcomed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House for talks on Iran and a ceasefire in Gaza.
3. The US administration has disclosed that it is planning to send Ukraine more “defensive weapons.” President Donald Trump told reporters on Monday that Ukraine has to be able to defend itself. He said, “They’re getting hit very hard now” and that the United States is going to have to send more weapons.

1. There has been a massive volcanic eruption in Indonesia. Japanese officials are determining if it could cause a tsunami. Indonesia’s volcano monitoring agency says Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki erupted at around 11 a.m. local time Monday. It says the ash cloud reached 18 kilometers above the summit.
2. Mongolian media outlets have given positive coverage to the ongoing visit by Japan’s Emperor and Empress. Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako flew into Mongolia on Sunday. After being given a traditional Mongolian welcome, they moved to the capital, Ulaanbaatar.
3. US President Donald Trump has slammed tech billionaire Elon Musk’s plan to form a new party as “ridiculous.” He says starting a third party just “adds to confusion.”
Trump made the remarks on Sunday when asked by reporters about Musk’s social media post the previous day, in which he wrote, “Today, the America Party is formed.”

1. A survey shows Japan’s growers and wholesalers expect rice prices to drop over the next three months as government stockpiles have been released into the market. The price outlook index as of June fell by the most on record. The Rice Stable Supply Support Organization released the findings of its June survey on Friday. The index on the outlook for the next three months dropped by 24 points from a month earlier to 35, on a zero to 100 scale. The margin of decline was the largest since the survey began in 2012.
2. Early voting began across Japan on Friday for the Upper House election on July 20. Official campaigning for the election kicked off on Thursday. A total of 522 people are running in the election – either those competing in electoral districts or running under the proportional representation system. Key election issues include how to tackle rising prices and the future of social security. Polling stations set up by municipalities are basically open from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.
3. Residents of an island in Japan’s Kagoshima Prefecture have begun evacuating amid a series of earthquakes. The Japan Meteorological Agency sys Thursday’s lower-6 quake is the first with such an intensity to be recorded in the village of Toshima since comparable data became available in 1919.