Tag Archives: Japan

Axios reports: California’s economy has surpassed Japan’s, state Gov. Gavin Newsom announced, as he warned of potential impacts in the Golden State from President Trump’s sweeping tariffs. “CA just became the 4th largest economy in the WORLD,” Newsom said on X Thursday, after his office announced data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. …

The Washington Post reports: President Joe Biden has decided to officially block Nippon Steel’s proposed purchase of U.S. Steel, a once-iconic American company whose sale to a foreign buyer he publicly opposed for months, according to two administration officials who were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter. Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel have vowed to pursue legal action …

Reuters reports: Honda and Nissan are in talks to merge by 2026, they said on Monday, a historic pivot for Japan’s auto industry that underlines the threat Chinese EV makers now pose to the world’s long-dominant legacy car makers. The tie-up would create the world’s third-largest auto group by vehicle sales after Toyota and Volkswagen. It would also give the …

CNN Business reports: Honda and Nissan are discussing a possible merger, potentially bringing together two Japanese automaking titans that have recently fallen on hard times. The companies said in statement that they have been in talks, but they offered no details or timeframe for when a deal – if one should develop – may be completed. It’s also not clear …

The Associated Press reports: Japan’s refusal to recognize same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, a high court ruled Friday, the latest victory for the LGBGQ+ community to add pressure on the reluctant government. Friday’s decision marks the eighth victory out of nine rulings since the first group of plaintiffs filed lawsuits in 2019. In Friday’s ruling, presiding Judge Takeshi Okada noted that …

The Associated Press reports: A second high court in Japan ruled on Wednesday that the government’s policy against same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, the latest in a series of decisions upholding plaintiffs’ demands for marriage equality. The Tokyo High Court called the ongoing ban “a groundless legal discrimination based on sexual orientation”, saying it violates the constitutional guarantee of right to …

ABC News reports: The Chinese military test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile into the Pacific on Wednesday, marking its first known launch of an ICBM in decades, officials said. The People’s Liberation Army launched the ICBM carrying a “dummy warhead” into the “high seas” at about 8:44 in the morning, the Chinese Ministry of Defense said in a statement. The missile …

The Guardian reports: Shoko Miyata, the 19-year-old captain of the Japan women’s artistic gymnastics team, has withdrawn from the squad for the Paris Games after violating the team’s code of conduct by smoking, the Japanese Gymnastics Association (JGA) said on Friday. The women’s squad would compete with four athletes instead of five, the JGA told a media conference. “We apologise …

Today in extremely creepy robotics: A group of Japanese researchers say they have figured out a way to bind “engineered skin tissue,” grown in a lab, to moveable solid objects, including the bodies and even faces of humanoid robots. The team was led by Professor Shoji Takeuchi of the University of Tokyo, a pioneer in a field that sounds like …

“The Embassy of Japan in the United States is aware of recent media reports concerning the steps Taylor Swift will need to take to travel from Tokyo after her concert on February 10th to Las Vegas in time to watch the Kansas City Chiefs play in Super Bowl LVIII. “Despite the 12-hour flight and 17-hour time difference, the Embassy can …

CBS News reports: A passenger plane collided with a Japanese coast guard aircraft and burst into flames on the runway of Tokyo’s Haneda Airport on Tuesday, officials said, with public broadcaster NHK TV saying five crew members on the coast guard plane were killed. NHK reported that all occupants of Japan Airlines flight JAL-516, believed to total 379 people, got …

The Washington Post reports: Japan issued tsunami warnings for several regions after an earthquake with an estimated 7.6 magnitude erupted off the country’s western coast around 4:10 p.m. local time Monday, prompting authorities to urge those in vulnerable areas to evacuate or run to higher ground. The Japan Meteorological Agency issued tsunami warnings or advisories for almost all of its …

Reuters reports: Japan started releasing treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean on Thursday, a polarizing move that prompted China to announce an immediate blanket ban on all aquatic products from Japan. China is “highly concerned about the risk of radioactive contamination brought by… Japan’s food and agricultural products,” the customs bureau said …

The Washington Post reports: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida here on Monday and praised Japan’s efforts to bolster its defense spending, in the first leg of the likely GOP presidential contender’s trip this week to four of the biggest U.S. allies. The tour is officially billed as an “international trade mission” with Enterprise Florida, …

CNN reports: A North Korean missile sparked fear on the Japanese northern island of Hokkaido Thursday after the government’s emergency alert system warned residents to take cover. Millions of people received a J-alert, or evacuation order, shortly before 8 a.m., urging them to seek shelter as the missile could land on or near the island. But soon after, fear turned …

NPR reports: Ryuichi Sakamoto, a trailblazing composer and producer who was one of the first musicians to incorporate electronic production into popular songcraft, has died at the age of 71. Sakamoto died on March 28 after a multi-year battle with cancer, according to a statement published on his website Sunday. “We would like to share one of Sakamoto’s favorite quotes,” …

The Japan Times reports: Japan’s leading opposition party submitted to parliament on Monday a bill to legally recognize same-sex marriage in an effort to spur debate on the issue. The Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan’s bill proposes amending wording in the country’s Civil Code that has been written on the premise that marriage is a union between partners of different …

Reuters reports: Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Saturday fired an aide who said he wouldn’t want to live next to lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender couples and warned that people would flee Japan if same-sex marriage was permitted. In remarks reported by local media, Masayoshi Arai, an economy and trade official who joined Kishida’s staff as a secretary in …

The Washington Post reports: Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s former president and a senior security official in President Vladimir Putin’s administration, said Saturday that Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida should perform a ritualistic suicide by disembowelment to repent for what Medvedev called servitude to the United States. Medvedev’s remarks were in response to a joint statement Friday by President Biden and Kishida, …

CNBC reports: The U.S. government is considering imposing new Covid rules for travelers from China, officials said, citing concerns over virus-related data released by the Chinese government. The U.S. officials’ comments come after Japan’s recent measures which require a negative Covid test for travelers arriving from mainland China from Dec. 30. Travelers from China without a valid vaccination certificate will …