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[ad_1] Nagasaki – The first Marriott hotel in Japan's southwestern Kyushu region opened Tuesday adjacent to Nagasaki Station amid hopes of boosting local tourism. Along with a new shinkansen service connecting Nagasaki and the Takeo Onsen resort in neighboring Saga Prefecture launched in September 2022, the new luxury hotel is expected to help attract visitors and revitalize the economy. The Nagasaki Marriott Hotel, which is Marriott's ninth in Japan, offers […]

[ad_1] TAIPEI – The U.S. official who heads the body that handles unofficial ties with Taiwan on Tuesday decried Nauru's "unfortunate" decision to break ties with Taipei shortly after an election and warned that Beijing's promises often go unfulfilled.The Pacific, where tiny Nauru is located, has become a source of intense competition for influence between Washington which has traditionally viewed it as its backyard, and Beijing, which has targeted Taiwanese […]

[ad_1] Tokyo prosecutors will not indict seven senior members of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s faction over a political slush funds scandal, Japanese media reported Tuesday.The decision comes after investigators decided that proving a criminal conspiracy between the faction leaders and the faction’s treasurer to not report excess income from political fundraising parties would be too difficult.It also comes as Prime Minister Fumio Kishida convened a meeting of a Liberal […]

[ad_1] BEIJING – China's muted response to the weekend victory by Taiwan President-elect Lai Ching-te signals what some analysts see as the start of an uneasy four months before he takes office, with Beijing treading carefully before then.Lai, from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), will not replace outgoing Tsai Ing-wen until May 20 — but Beijing has little appetite to break a delicate balance that has settled over its […]

[ad_1] Beijing/Manila – China on Tuesday said it had summoned the Philippine ambassador after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said he looked forward to working with Taiwanese President-elect Lai Ching-te. "This morning, Assistant Minister Nong Rong summoned the ambassador of the Philippines to China to make solemn representations and urge the Philippine side to give the Chinese side a responsible explanation," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a regular news conference. […]

[ad_1] The Cabinet on Tuesday approved a revised ¥112.57 trillion ($774 billion) draft budget for the next fiscal year starting in April, allocating an additional ¥500 billion in emergency funds to tackle the fallout from a New Year's Day earthquake that ravaged central Japan.Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has ordered a rare revision of an already finalized budget plan, valued at ¥112.07 trillion, to ensure sufficient funds are allocated for the […]

[ad_1] The head of Japan's biggest business lobby Keidanren on Tuesday called for wage hikes this year that exceed the inflation rate, setting the tone for annual wage talks that may pave the way for the Bank of Japan (BOJ) to exit its ultraeasy monetary policy.At stake in this year's spring negotiations between trade unions and large Japanese firms, analysts say, is whether wages will rise far enough to ignite […]

[ad_1] LONDON/DETROIT – Volkswagen, whose drive to develop a "solid-state" electric car battery with U.S. startup QuantumScape has been dogged by delays, is casting its net wider in pursuit of the potentially game-changing technology.The German auto giant is holding talks with France's Blue Solutions, which already produces solid-state batteries for Daimler electric buses, about adapting the design for cars, said a source with direct knowledge of the discussions.VW and Blue […]