Topic
Fumio Kishida was elected as Japan’s 100th Prime Minister on October 4 after winning a majority of votes in both houses of parliament. He succeeded Yoshihide Suga who resigned after just one year in office due to declining support ratings over his handling of the pandemic.
- The accusations centre on unlimited funds for ‘gifts’ to win over members of the IOC who chose the host city for the Games
- PM Fumio Kishida has ‘deniability’ as it occurred under Shinzo Abe, but allegations will ‘hurt him politically at a time when he can ill afford it’
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will ‘simply refuse’ to discuss the matter after his late father’s admission to the abductions in 2002 proved a ‘disastrous miscalculation’.
On a rare state visit to Tokyo, Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong also agreed to work on defence equipment and technology transfers and start discussing Japanese military aid.
The meeting in Busan will address preparations for a three-nation summit, expected to be held by early next year.
Wang Yi, Yoko Kamikawa and Park Jin will also exchange views on cooperation for various regional and international situations during their meeting in Busan.
The 16 victims filed the suit in 2016, seeking 200 million won (US$155,000) each in compensation but the Seoul Central District Court dismissed the case in 2021.
Japan’s PM Fumio Kishida did not push China’s Xi Jinping “very hard” over issues such as the Fukushima-linked food ban and Taiwan, an analyst says.
North Korea’s space agency will soon send up more satellites to continue surveillance over South Korea and elsewhere, state media reported
Talk of his successor is growing as many doubt Fumio Kishida’s ability to make ‘fundamental changes’ to deal with rising costs, stagnant wages and a ‘huge’ national debt.
Malaysian PM Anwar encouraged his Japanese counterpart to try the spiky fruit during their meeting as he sought to project the country’s ‘soft power’.
Defence and maritime security cooperation – and US$6.3 billion worth of investment – were also discussed during the Japanese prime minister’s visit to Malaysia at the weekend.
The Philippines and Japan have taken a strong line against what they see as aggressive behaviour by Chinese vessels amid decades-old disputes over maritime sovereignty.
Japan and the Philippines have been seeking to boost trilateral defence ties with the US over China’s construction of islands with military infrastructure in nearby waters.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s coming trip to the Philippines and Malaysia is seen as a significant step towards achieving Tokyo’s goals to enhance regional ties amid China’s rising clout.
Japan is being cautious about its approach given its ties in the Middle East, but analysts say it has ‘important diplomatic roles’ in facilitating efforts to ease tensions.
Any further signs of weakness could mean that the Japanese prime minister’s job as Liberal Democratic Party leader comes under threat.
The Unification Church – a cult linked to the motives of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe’s alleged assassin – has long wielded influence in Japan’s politics and society. Now it could be dissolved.
If the court grants the request, the church will no longer be a religious corporation and be deprived of tax benefits, but will not be required to stop operating.
In New York, PM Fumio Kishida is to outline major plans to entice foreign wealth management firms, looking at the likes of tax, tech, AI and helping female and foreign staff to thrive.
The Japanese PM also replaced his foreign minister on Wednesday in a reshuffle that saw a record five women enter the cabinet as he works to shore up flagging support.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was out campaigning in April when a man threw a home-made pipe bomb at him; he wasn’t hurt but 2 others were. Suspect Ryuji Kimura was arrested on the spot.
Critics of PM Fumio Kishida say ‘Japan will be seen as easy pickings’ if it fails to stand up to Beijing’s ‘economic coercion’. But Tokyo knows its China relations are ‘critical’.
Japanese fishing associations and groups in neighbouring countries have strongly opposed the release, and China immediately banned all imports of Japanese seafood.
A request for it to disband could be filed with the court as soon as October, and comes after an investigation of the church regarding alleged illegal donations and ‘spiritual sales’.
‘The economic coercion … the harassment and disinformation … comes right out of China’s playbook’, Rahm Emanuel said after China, Japan’s biggest trade partner, banned all aquatic products.
Fumio Kishida’s lunch comprised sashimi consisting of sea bass, flounder, and octopus, alongside rice harvested in Fukushima, said Yasutoshi Nishimura, Economy, Trade and Industry Minister.
US official Kurt Campbell says recent Camp David summit shows Washington, Seoul and Tokyo driven ‘to protect themselves’ by a rising regional anxiety and instability
