WASHINGTON — U.S. regulators on July 6 formally approved an Alzheimer’s drug developed by Japanese pharmaceutical company Eisai Co. and U.S. firm Biogen Inc. that has become the world’s first medicine shown to slow the onset of the degenerative brain disease. The Food and Drug Administration granted its approval for the new drug, known chemically […]
International News
A-bomb survivors angry at G-7 summit
May 25, 2023 by Leave a Comment
HIROSHIMA — Many atomic bomb survivors, including campaigner Setsuko Thurlow, voiced anger and disappointment at the Group of Seven nations’ summit on May 21 after the leaders released a statement that supported the possession of nuclear weapons for deterrence and failed to mention the treaty banning nuclear arms. The 91-year-old Thurlow called the G-7 summit […]
Japan PM Kishida unhurt after explosives attack during campaigning
April 27, 2023 by Leave a Comment
TOKYO (Kyodo) — Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was unhurt after a man threw a cylindrical object which exploded ahead of a stump speech he was due to make during his visit to western Japan on April 15, less than a year after a former premier was fatally shot during election campaigning. Kishida immediately left by […]
Child suicides in Japan hit record high of 514 in 2022
March 30, 2023 by Leave a Comment
TOKYO — A record 514 children attending elementary, junior high and high schools in Japan died by suicide in 2022, topping the previous high of 499 seen in 2020, government data showed March 14, with the upward trend apparently fueled by the coronavirus pandemic. Suicides among females also increased for the third straight year, rising […]
Acquittal upheld for ex-TEPCO execs over Fukushima nuclear crisis
January 19, 2023 by Leave a Comment
TOKYO — An appeals court on Jan. 18 upheld an acquittal of three former executives of Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. who were accused of failing to prevent the 2011 disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in northeastern Japan. The Tokyo High Court decision followed a Tokyo District Court ruling in 2019 that […]
Suspect charged with murder in assassination of Japan’s Abe
January 19, 2023 by Leave a Comment
TOKYO — Japanese prosecutors formally charged the suspect in the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe with murder, sending him to stand trial, a court said Jan. 13. Tetsuya Yamagami was arrested immediately after allegedly shooting Abe with a homemade gun as the former leader was making a campaign speech in July outside a […]
Tourists flock to Japan after COVID restrictions lifted
October 13, 2022 by Leave a Comment
TOKYO — Eager to admire colorful foliage, eat sushi and go shopping, droves of tourists from abroad started arriving Oct. 11 in Japan for the first day of lifted border restrictions, which had been in place for more than two years to curb the coronavirus pandemic. Travelers are expected to deliver a sorely needed 5 […]
State funeral for ex-PM Abe draws protesters as well as mourners
September 29, 2022 by Leave a Comment
TOKYO — Thousands gathered in the streets of Tokyo on Sept. 27 to voice opposition to a state funeral for slain former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, while mourners formed long lines to lay flowers for the late Japanese leader and praised his diplomatic and economic accomplishments. Many people brought flowers to special stands set up […]
Japan consul to be expelled from Russia for alleged espionage
September 29, 2022 by Leave a Comment
TOKYO — A Japanese diplomat was detained by Russia’s Federal Security Service and accused of engaging in espionage after he obtained classified information in exchange for a payment, the spy agency said Sept. 26, an allegation flatly denied by Tokyo. Tatsunori Motoki, a consul at the Japanese Consulate General in Vladivostok, was declared persona non […]
Anti-U.S. base incumbent Tamaki secures 2nd term as Okinawa governor
September 15, 2022 by Leave a Comment
NAHA, Japan — Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki won a second four-year-term following Sept. 11’s gubernatorial election, obtaining a renewed mandate for his efforts to discontinue a plan to relocate a U.S. base within the island prefecture. Opposition-backed Tamaki defeated former Ginowan Mayor Atsushi Sakima, 58, who was supported by the ruling coalition of the Liberal […]
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