Japan

[ad_1] The Liberal Democratic Party's largest political faction formally met Thursday for what was likely to be the final time, as the group, previously headed by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, announced it was bringing down the curtain on its 45-year run.But with questions still swirling about the involvement of Abe faction members, especially faction leaders, in an LDP political slush funds scandal, the decision to dissolve the faction — […]

[ad_1] The wing tips of two passenger jets "scratched" each other at a Japanese airport Thursday, an airport operator said, in the latest in a string of aviation recent mishaps in the country. Reports said no one was injured in the incident involving the two All Nippon Airways aircraft at Osaka's Itami airport for domestic flights. "We've been told wing tips of two ANA planes scratched each other" shortly after […]

[ad_1] Donations to quake-hit Ishikawa have reached around ¥17 billion ($116 million), prefectural officials said Thursday. According to the officials, 223,365 donations totaling ¥16,925 million had been made as of Tuesday. A committee made up of members of related organizations will decide how to allocate the funds, which will be distributed to those affected by the quake via local municipalities. Satofull, a Tokyo-based operator of a website for the central […]

[ad_1] On board the USS Carl Vinson – The U.S. and Japanese navies held joint exercises in the Philippine Sea this week, in a show of force as tensions with China and North Korea rise.Washington and Beijing are at loggerheads over a raft of issues, from chips to tariffs, but both have been alarmed by the growing assertiveness of China's military in the Pacific.China claims self-ruled Taiwan as its own […]

[ad_1] Jera, Japan's biggest power generator, will check two thermal power plants that are using woody biomass fuel similar to the Taketoyo thermal power station which was hit by a fire on Jan. 31, it said in a statement.Japan is the world's second biggest buyer of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and any disruptions at its domestic power plants — be that thermal or nuclear facilities — are closely watched by […]

[ad_1] After a brief awakening, Japan's Moon lander is out of action again but will resume its mission if it survives the two-week lunar night, the country's space agency said Thursday.The unmanned Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) touched down last month at a wonky angle that left its solar panels facing the wrong way.As the sun's angle shifted, it came back to life for two days this week and […]

[ad_1] Joso, Ibaraki Pref. – Honda Motor said Thursday that it will conduct demonstration tests of a self-driving electric vehicle and a logistic robot in Ibaraki Prefecture from mid-February. The four-seater EV, named CiKoMa, can travel at speeds of up to 20 kph. It will transport people between a michi no eki roadside rest station in the city of Joso and a strawberry-picking farm 850 meters away for free. At […]

[ad_1] Police said Thursday that they have launched an investigation into international soccer player Junya Ito after local media reports said two women had accused him of sexual assault, a claim he denies. "We received a criminal complaint against him and have started an investigation," said a police spokesman in Osaka working in the department covering crimes including sexual assaults. He declined to give further details including what the complaint […]

[ad_1] A month after a magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck Ishikawa Prefecture’s Noto Peninsula on New Year’s Day, myriad challenges remain in the recovery effort, with about 14,000 people still living at evacuation shelters as officials race to repair infrastructure in the region.In the quake, more than 46,000 houses in the prefecture were severely damaged or destroyed. A large portion of the population was also cut off from water supplies.For some […]