Tag Archives: Japan

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 …

The BBC reports: A Tokyo court has upheld a ban on same-sex marriage in Japan, but also said that the ban was a violation of human rights. The compensation case was brought by four couples who claimed the law was discriminatory. Japan is currently the only G7 nation that does not recognise same-sex marriage. Campaigners have welcomed the ruling as …

The Associated Press reports: North Korea’s military said Monday its recent barrage of missile tests were practices to “mercilessly” strike key South Korean and U.S. targets such as air bases and operation command systems with a variety of missiles that likely included nuclear-capable weapons. North Korea fired dozens of missiles and flew warplanes toward the sea last week — triggering …

The Associated Press reports: North Korea on Tuesday conducted its longest-ever weapons test, a nuclear-capable ballistic missile that flew over Japan and could reach the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam and beyond, forcing the Japanese government to issue evacuation alerts and halt trains. The South Korean and U.S. militaries responded by launching fighter jets which fired weapons at a target …

The Associated Press reports: People in a southwestern Japanese city have come under attack from monkeys that are trying to snatch babies, biting and clawing at flesh, and sneaking into nursery schools. The attacks — on 58 people since July 8 — are getting so bad Yamaguchi city hall hired a special unit to hunt the animals with tranquilizer guns. …

Reuters reports: The mother of the man arrested for the killing of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe is a member of the Unification Church, the head of its Japanese arm said on Monday. Tetsuya Yamagami, an unemployed 41-year-old, has been identified by police as the suspect who approached Abe and opened fire during a campaign speech on Friday. Yamagami …

The Hill reports: President Biden ordered flags at the White House and other federal buildings and military installations to be flown at half-staff through Sunday as a mark of respect for former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe after he was assassinated at a campaign event. “The longest serving Prime Minister in Japan’s history, Abe Shinzo was a proud servant of …

Reuters reports: Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Japan’s longest-serving leader, died on Friday hours after he was shot while campaigning for a parliamentary election, shocking a country in which political violence is rare and guns are tightly controlled. A man opened fire on Abe, 67, from behind with an apparently homemade gun as he spoke at a drab traffic island …

Reuters reports: A Japanese court ruled on Monday that a ban on same-sex marriage was not unconstitutional, dealing a setback to LGBTQ rights activists in the only Group of Seven nation that does not allow people of the same gender to marry. The ruling dashes activists’ hopes of raising pressure on the central government to address the issue after a …

The Associated Press reports: Japan’s capital has announced it will start recognizing same-sex partnerships to ease the burdens faced by residents in their daily lives, but the unions will not be considered legal marriages. Support for sexual diversity has grown slowly in Japan, but legal protections are still lacking. The Tokyo metropolitan government unveiled a draft plan on Tuesday to …

Vice News reports: A leader of a Japanese QAnon group that believes COVID-19 was made up has been arrested for allegedly trespassing into a clinic offering vaccinations for children in Tokyo. Hiroyuki Kuraoka, a 43-year-old anti-vax activist and former actor, was detained on Wednesday after he entered the facility earlier this month and protested the COVID-19 vaccinations it provided. Kuraoka …

Kyodo News reports: Japan on Tuesday banned new entries by foreigners globally for at least one month in an attempt to stave off the new Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said the measure, reversing a three-week relaxation of travel restrictions, is needed to “avoid the worst-case scenario.” Additionally, 14 countries and regions, including Britain and …

The Washington Post reports: The Tokyo Olympics concluded Sunday, with the last medals awarded and the stage ceded to the Closing Ceremonies. After the coronavirus pandemic forced a year-long delay, and created an unprecedented environment of empty venues and ever-present restrictions, the Games were held in their entirety without many significant disruptions once they finally got underway. Team USA finished …

Reuters reports: A Belarusian sprinter said she was taken to the airport against her wishes on Sunday to board a flight back home after she complained about national coaches at the Tokyo Olympics. Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, who was due to compete in the women’s 200 metres on Monday, told Reuters she did not plan to return to her home country. She …

Market Watch reports: Nothing but net for Skynet! A 6′10″ basketball-playing robot sank a series of deep three-point shots and a half-court shot during halftime of the Men’s Preliminary Round Group B game between the U.S. and France on Sunday. And the mechanical man invited plenty of comparisons to the murderous, self-aware computer system from the ”Terminator” movies that nearly …

NBC News reports: Five out of six U.S. athletes competing in the Tokyo Olympics have been vaccinated against Covid-19, the team’s top doctor revealed Friday just before the Games officially begin. That information was culled from the health histories that 567 of the athletes filled out before they departed for Japan, said Dr. Jonathan Finnoff, who estimated that 83 percent …

Reuters reports: The head of the organizing committee for the Tokyo Olympics on Tuesday did not rule out a last-minute cancellation of the global sporting showpiece, amid rising coronavirus cases that have presented organizers with mounting challenges. Asked at a news conference if the Games, which are due to open on Friday, might still be canceled, Toshiro Muto said he …

CBS News reports: With just four days to go until the opening ceremony, the COVID-19 pandemic is casting an ever longer shadow over the Tokyo Summer Olympics. Officials have reported at least 12 new coronavirus cases connected with the Games since Sunday, including a U.S. gymnast and the first cases among athletes inside the Olympic village. Several of the latest …

“I like to call them the ‘genocide Olympics.’ Anyway, I’m still on the team that I’m not even sure that we should be competing because there’s an ongoing genocide in Xinjiang. So if we are going to compete and have America athletes there in a country that’s committing a genocide, even more important, Harris, to have the freedom of the …

The Wall Street Journal reports: The Tokyo Olympics will be held without spectators, the organizers said, after Japan declared a new state of emergency that will continue through the end of the Games due to a rise in Covid-19 infections. Hundreds of athletes and officials from around the world have already arrived for the Olympics, which open on July 23. …