IAEA head Grossi vouches for safety of water release at wrecked Fukushima plant
Tokyo, JapanReuters International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi on Wednesday vouched for the safety of Japan’s plan to release treated radioactive water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the ocean after he surveyed the facility. In a major milestone for the decommissioning of the power plant, destroyed in a massive earthquake and […]
Japan demographic woes deepen as birth rate hits record low
Tokyo, JapanReuters Japan’s birth rate declined for the seventh consecutive year in 2022 to a record low, the health ministry said on Friday, underscoring the sense of crisis gripping the country as the population shrinks and ages rapidly. The fertility rate, or the average number of children born to a woman in her lifetime, was […]
At Hiroshima G7, bomb survivors grapple with a disarmament dream deferred
Hiroshima, Japan Reuters The last time a US President visited Hiroshima, atomic bomb survivor Shigeaki Mori was filled with hope for a future without nuclear weapons. Seven years later, he’s more sceptical. As leaders of the Group of Seven nations gather in the Japanese city this week for a summit, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida wants […]
Sauerkraut or sardines? Hiroshima’s pancake goes global for G7 summit
Hiroshima, Japan Reuters When Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida hosts leaders of the Group of Seven richest nations in Hiroshima this week, restaurants in the city hope to put a local speciality on the map, with a choice of fillings to cater for foreign tastes. A gateway to tourism on the western side of Japan’s […]
Last students graduate: School closures spread in ageing Japan
EIMI YAMAMITSU, TOM BATEMAN and ISSEI KATO, of Reuters, report from the village of Ten-ei…
‘Omurice’, comfort food for Japanese and Koreans, a symbol of warmer ties
Tokyo, Japan Reuters Nearly everything about South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s first summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo will be scrutinised for signs of warmer bilateral ties, including a shared meal of a Tokyo classic called omurice. The dish, whose name is a mash-up of omelette and rice, has become the […]
South Korea and Japan hail spring thaw amid missiles and weight of history
Tokyo, Japan/Seoul, South KoreaReuters The leaders of Japan and South Korea promised to turn the page on years of animosity at a meeting on Thursday, putting aside their difficult, shared history and saying they needed to work more closely to counter regional security challenges. The comments from South Korea’s Yoon Suk Yeol and Japan’s Fumio […]
North Korea fires two short-range ballistic missiles, South Korea says
Seoul, South Korea Reuters North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea off its east coast on Tuesday, South Korea’s military said, the latest of several weapons tests as the South and the United States conduct their largest joint military drills in years. The missiles were fired about 7:40am from South Hwanghae province, […]
South Korea says its own companies will pay to resolve forced labour dispute with Japan
Seoul, South Korea/Tokyo, Japan Reuters South Korea said on Monday that its companies would compensate people forced to work under Japan’s 1910-1945 occupation of Korea, in a bid to improve poor relations that have impeded trade and cooperation between the two countries. The proposal was welcomed in Tokyo but faced immediate backlash from some victims […]
Japan PM shakes up cabinet amid outcry over party ties to Unification Church
Tokyo, JapanReuters Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida reshuffled his cabinet on Wednesday, removing some ministers with links to the Unification Church to reverse a plunge in public support triggered by the ruling party’s ties to the controversial group. Kishida, in office since last October, announced his new government team in a shake-up that came earlier […]