Page 4 - Japan

Engine of Japan's new small rocket explodes during a test for 2nd time

The engine for a flagship new small Japanese rocket burst into flames Tuesday during a combustion test, but there was no injury or damage to the outside, officials said. The second failure in a row raises concern about the progress of the Epsilon S rocket, whose debut is expected for next year. The test was conducted inside of the restricted area at Japan's Tanegashima Space Center in southwestern Japan, and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency is investigating, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters. The fire was followed by an explosion and plumes of white smoke. Tuesday's failure comes just over a year after the explosion last year of the same Epsilon S engine during a test, according to JAXA. Last year's explosion was related to damage to the ignition systems of the engine and JAXA has since taken the necessary steps, the agency has said. Development of flagship rockets such as Epsilon S is extremely important from the perspective of ensuring autonomy of ..

Staff of Japanese bank signs pledge to 'commit suicide' if they steal

Shikoku, a Japanese bank, is redefining "strong work ethic" after staff members pledged to "commit suicide" if they were discovered to be involved in any financial irregularities

India aiming to finalise carbon deals with Japan, Singapore, and S Korea

Talks over prospective future deals also are taking place with Germany and Sweden

Japan holds Sado mines memorial despite South Korean boycott amid tensions

Japan held a memorial ceremony on Sunday near the Sado Island Gold Mines despite a last-minute boycott of the event by South Korea that highlighted tensions between the neighbors over the issue of Korean forced laborers at the site before and during World War II. South Korea's absence at Sunday's memorial, to which Seoul government officials and Korean victims' families were invited, is a major setback in the rapidly improving ties between the two countries, which since last year have set aside their historical disputes to prioritize U.S.-led security cooperation. The Sado mines were listed in July as a UNESCO World Heritage site after Japan moved past years of disputes with South Korea and reluctantly acknowledged the mines' dark history, promising to hold an annual memorial service for all victims, including hundreds of Koreans who were mobilized to work in the mines. On Saturday, South Korea announced it would not attend the event, saying it was impossible to settle unspecified .

India, Japan resolve to boost co-development of military hardware: Rajnath

The proposed pact was discussed at a meeting between Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Japanese counterpart Gen Nakatani

Japan's core inflation at 2.3% in Oct, slows but stays above BOJ target

Increase in the nationwide core consumer price index (CPI), which includes oil products but excludes fresh food prices, compared with a median market forecast for a 2.2 per cent gain

Important to develop ambitious targets: S Jaishankar on India-Japan ties

Calling Japan a "key contributor" to India's economic development, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday said it is a bilateral relationship of "great trust" and the two countries need to develop "ambitious targets" and work towards realising them. "In a world under flux, we must deliberate on the urgent need to enhance the quality of our economic cooperation," the minister said in his virtual address at the 7th India-Japan Indo-Pacific Forum and 10th India-Japan Track 1.5 Dialogue. Jaishankar spoke of the breadth of the bilateral relationship and said the India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership serves the cause of "regional peace, international stability and global prosperity". "It is a bilateral relationship of great trust and growing substance. But precisely because we have come so far in the last decade, it is important that we develop ambitious targets and work towards realising them," he said. Japan remains a key contributor to India's economic ...

Sony in talks to buy Japan's media giant behind 'Elden Ring' video game

The talks between the two sides are ongoing and, if successful, a deal could be signed in the coming weeks

Japan's minister visits Kyiv to stress mutual concern over N Korean troops

Japan's foreign minister arrived in Kyiv on Saturday to discuss North Korea's deepening military alliance with Russia, including the deployment of thousands of troops to support Moscow's war in Ukraine. Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya will meet his Ukrainian counterpart, Andrii Sybiha, to reaffirm Japan's strong support for Ukraine against Russia's invasion and to discuss further sanctions against Moscow, Japan's Foreign Ministry said. High on the agenda was Tokyo's grave concern over growing military cooperation between North Korea and Russia, the ministry said. According to US, South Korean and Ukrainian intelligence assessments, up to 12,000 North Korean troops have been sent to Russia as part of a major defence treaty between the countries. Last week, Ukrainian officials said Ukraine and North Korean troops engaged in small-scale fighting while Ukraine's army fired artillery at North Korean soldiers in Russia's Kursk border region, where Ukraine launched a surprise push on Augus

Japan PM meets Xi Jinping, voices concern over Taiwan, South China Sea

The two leaders meet on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Lima, Peru

Biden praises cooperation at meeting with S Korean, Japanese leaders

President Joe Biden on Friday praised the cooperation between South Korea, Japan and the US at countering what he described as North Korea's "dangerous and destabilising cooperation with Russia". Biden spoke at the start of a meeting in Peru with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. The talks came amid heightened concerns about North Korea's growing military partnership with Russia and Pyongyang's stepped-up cadence of ballistic missile tests. The meeting on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Peru comes as North Korea has deployed thousands of troops to Russia to help Moscow try to claw back land in the Kursk border region that Ukraine seized earlier this year. I'm proud of how far we've come, Biden said. Whatever the issue, we've taken it on together." North Korean leader Kim Jong Un also ordered a series of ballistic missile tests in the lead-up to this month's US election and is claiming progress on effort

Japanese Princess Yuriko, Emperor Hirohito's sister-in-law, dies at 101

Japanese Princess Yuriko, the wife of wartime Emperor Hirohito's brother and the oldest member of the imperial family, has died after her health deteriorated recently, palace officials said. She was 101. Yuriko died Friday at a Tokyo hospital, the Imperial Household Agency said. It did not announce the cause of death, but Japanese media said she died of pneumonia. Born in 1923 as an aristocrat, Yuriko married at age 18 to Prince Mikasa, the younger brother of Hirohito and the uncle of current Emperor Naruhito, months before the start of World War II. She has recounted living in a shelter with her husband and their baby daughter after their residence was burned down in the U.S. fire bombings of Tokyo in the final months of the war in 1945. Yuriko raised five children and supported Mikasa's research into ancient Near Eastern history, while also serving her official duties and taking part in philanthropic activities. She outlived her husband and all three sons. Her death reduces Japa

Japan's reelected PM Ishiba vows to step up reform against funds misuse

Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba pledged to take tougher measures against misuse of political funds after he was reelected by parliament Monday following a major loss in the polls last month by his governing coalition. Ishiba's Liberal Democratic Party and its junior partner Komeito together lost a majority in the 465-seat Lower House, the more powerful of Japan's two-house parliament, in the October 27 election. The defeat was blamed on voter outrage over financial misconduct by his party. We must remind ourselves of the basics that politics is for the people, as we tackle political and party reforms," Ishiba said. He said that in response to the poor election results, "We must be able to have empathy for the pain, sorrow and anger of the people. A special parliamentary session convened Monday to pick a new leader in a vote required within 30 days of a general election. Ishiba beat top opposition leader Yoshihiko Noda 221-160 in the first runoff in 30 years. In his second ...

Japan PM Ishiba survives parliament vote as protectionist Trump looms large

Former Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, the head of the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party, the biggest party after the LDP, is also expected to be among the candidates put forward as premier

ADB boosts climate finance after US, Japan give first sovereign guarantees

The ADB has set a long-term cumulative climate finance lending target of $100 billion between 2019 and 2030

Japan vows military buildup, deeper ties with US as regional tension rises

Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Saturday renewed a pledge to build up his country's military and deepen its alliance with the United States under President-elect Donald Trump. Ishiba, who made the comments at an annual troop review held at Camp Asaka in the Tokyo suburbs, said the security environment surrounding Japan and the international community has significantly worsened due to escalating tensions with China, Russia and North Korea. He pledged to reinforce Japan's military power. He said breaches of Japanese airspace by Chinese and Russian warplanes earlier this year not only violated Japanese sovereignty but also threatened the safety of Japan and are absolutely unacceptable. He said Japan faces growing threats from China's accelerating military activity around Japanese coasts and from North Korea's repeated missile firings. As we face the most severe and complex security environment, I will balance and strengthen Japan's diplomacy and security, Ishiba said in his ..

Mount Fuji likely gets its trademark snowcap after long delay in 130 years

Japan this year also had an unusually hot summer and warm autumn

Honda reports 15% drop in Q2 operating profit, misses analyst forecasts

Honda said last week its global vehicle sales shrank 1.5per cent to 2.8 million over the first nine months of the year, as a hefty 29per cent drop in China and a 6 per cent fall in Asia and Oceania

Japan's Mount Fuji still without its iconic snowcap for 1st time in 130 yrs

Japan's iconic Mount Fuji, known for its snowcap forming around this time of the year, is still snowless in November for the first time in 130 years, presumably because of the unusually warm temperatures in the past few weeks. The lack of snow on Mt. Fuji, a UNESCO World Heritage site, as of Tuesday breaks the previous record set on October 26, 2016, meteorological officials said. Usually, the 3,776-metre-high mountain has sprinkles of snow falling on its summit starting October 2, about a month after the summertime hiking season there ends. Last year, snow fell on the mountain on October 5, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency, or JMA. The snowless Mt. Fuji has captured attention on social media. People posted photos showing the bare mountain, some expressing surprise and others concerned over climate change. The JMA's Kofu Local Meteorological Office, which keeps weather data in central Japan and was the agency that announced the first snowfall on Mt. Fuji in 1894, has ci

Japan launches world's first wooden satellite, LignoSat, into space

Japanese researchers have launched LignoSat, the world's first wooden satellite, aiming to test the viability of timber as a sustainable material in space