Japan

[ad_1] The support rate for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's Cabinet fell 2.8 percentage points to 24.5%, marking its second-lowest rating, a Kyodo News survey showed Sunday, with most respondents indicating discontent with his fact-finding efforts regarding the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's political funds scandal. Some 84.9% said LDP lawmakers who failed to report income from fundraising parties should explain what they used the funds for, while 87% expect the party's […]

[ad_1] The Japanese Self-Defense Forces and the U.S. military named China as a hypothetical enemy for the first time in their joint command post exercise, government sources said Sunday, amid rising concerns over a potential invasion of Taiwan by Beijing in the future.The computer simulation exercise, which began on Feb. 1 and is slated to be held through Thursday, envisions an emergency in Taiwan. A provisional name was previously used […]

[ad_1] MOSCOW – Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko on Sunday set a world record for total time spent in space, surpassing his compatriot Gennady Padalka who logged more than 878 days in orbit, Russia's space corporation said.At 0830 GMT Kononenko broke the record, Roscosmos said. Kononenko is expected to reach a total of 1,000 days in space on June 5 and by late September he will have clocked 1,110 days."I fly […]

[ad_1] DOHA – Japan's quarterfinal exit from the Asian Cup in Qatar may have been a predictable end to the tournament for a team that never lived up to its billing as favorites.Before a ball had been kicked, some of the team's Europe-based stars had openly questioned the scheduling of a competition that forced them to leave their clubs at a crucial stage of the season.Their comments reflected the dilemma […]

[ad_1] SINGAPORE – The global economic landscape is changing fast.Scarring from the COVID-19 pandemic has weakened potential growth, making slower income gains the new normal for many countries. Geopolitical tensions — especially the trade and technology “war” between the United States and China — are threatening not only to halt globalization, a key enabler of growth over the last few decades, but also to split the world economy into separate […]

[ad_1] A fire broke out at a building near East Japan Railway's Omori Station in Tokyo's Ota Ward on Sunday, causing JR trains to suspend operations for about three hours and injuring one person. According to JR East, services on the Keihin Tohoku Line and the Tokaido Line were suspended for about three hours after the fire broke out shortly past 10 a.m. Due to the fire, a Keihin Tohoku […]

[ad_1] QUEBEC CITY – Japanese 17-year-old Shomu Sasaki finished strongly to win the men's mass start Saturday in the final speed skating World Cup round of the season. The youngster broke away late and held off South Korea's Chung Jae-won in a sprint to the line for his maiden World Cup gold at Quebec City's Centre de Glaces. Switzerland's Livio Wenger was third. Sasaki, who attends high school in Nagano […]

[ad_1] MAMMOTH MOUNTAIN, California – Yuto Totsuka led a Japanese men's podium sweep, while Mitsuki Ono and Sena Tomita finished 1-2 in the women's competition Saturday in the snowboarding halfpipe World Cup round at California's Mammoth Mountain resort. Totsuka scored 94.75 to win his first World Cup gold in three seasons, ahead of countrymen Ruka Hirano (91.75) and Kaishu Hirano (89.25). Shuichiro Shigeno placed sixth as Japan claimed four of […]

[ad_1] When you live in Tokyo and its environs, snow doesn’t really factor much into your winter — unless, of course, you get that light dusting that seems to come once every couple of years to cause mild havoc for anyone relying on public transport.That’s not just a Tokyo thing, mind you. I lived in London for a few years and it was much the same. Only that light dusting […]