Japan

[ad_1] Japan's agricultural, fisheries and forestry product exports rose 2.9% in 2023 to a record ¥1.45 trillion ($9.9 billion), with increased shipment to the United States and Hong Kong making up for a decline in sales to mainland China, government data showed Tuesday. Despite rising for the 11th consecutive year, growth was heavily blunted compared to 2022's rise of 14.2%, hampered by China's import ban on Japanese marine products over […]

[ad_1] WEST BANK/GAZA/DOHA – Hamas said on Tuesday it would study a new cease-fire proposal in the war with Israel in Gaza, hours after Israeli commandos killed three Palestinian militants in a raid on a hospital in the occupied West Bank.The raid underscored the risk of the Gaza war spreading to other fronts, while Israeli forces fought new battles with Hamas fighters in the Palestinian enclave.Clashes in northern Gaza forced […]

[ad_1] ISLAMABAD – A Pakistan court sentenced Imran Khan to 10 years' jail on Tuesday for leaking state secrets, his party said, the harshest sentence against the former prime minister and cricketer in multiple cases coming just days before national elections.The special court found Khan guilty of making public the contents of a secret cable sent by Pakistan's ambassador in Washington to the government in Islamabad, his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) […]

[ad_1] The Japanese government is slated to submit a bill during the ongoing ordinary session of parliament to revise the Civil Code to allow divorced parents to share custody of their children.On Tuesday, the family law subcommittee of the Legislative Council, which advises the justice minister, approved a draft outline of the planned bill, which is expected to be approved at a general meeting of the council in mid-February and […]

[ad_1] The Bank of Japan must immediately end its negative interest rate policy as it has allowed companies to delay efforts to boost productivity by keeping borrowing costs ultralow, ruling party heavyweight Shigeru Ishiba said in an interview Monday."It's an extreme policy that shouldn't exist in the first place," Ishiba said of negative interest rates, adding that ultralow rates can be justified only in times of crisis.When asked whether he […]

[ad_1] For Toyota, it has been a mixed start to 2024: The carmaker defended its position as the world’s top vehicle-seller for the fourth straight year in 2023, but it is also mired in a series of misconduct scandals involved its group firms, which threaten to tarnish its brand.Thanks to the reduced impact of chip shortages, on Tuesday it was reported that unit sales by Toyota and its subsidiaries climbed […]

[ad_1] Paris – France hosted last year's World Cup having won over a nation backing Fabien Galthie's team for home glory and a first-ever Webb Ellis Cup.An opening, comprehensive 27-13 victory over New Zealand set alight patriotic fervor in the belief that skipper Antoine Dupont could lead France to victory on home soil.But those hopes were cruelly dashed at the quarter-final stage, eventual winners South Africa sealing a nail-biting 29-28 […]

[ad_1] Kyodo – The government said Tuesday it will provide around ¥45 billion ($305 million) for a cutting-edge semiconductor project promoted by Japanese telecom giant NTT, major U.S. chipmaker Intel and its South Korean counterpart SK Hynix. The funding for the project to develop optical semiconductors that allow high-speed data processing with lower power consumption comes as Japan, in cooperation with the United States and South Korea, aims to gain […]

[ad_1] Nanao, Ishikawa Pref. – A beauty salon and a supermarket are among several businesses in a city in central Japan rocked by the New Year's Day earthquake turning to well water to resume operations.Such businesses are helping to restore a sense of normalcy to residents affected by the quake, many of whom are still relying on emergency water supplies at gymnasiums and elementary schools due to water outages that […]