Japan

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s space agency said data transmitted from the Hayabusa2 spacecraft indicated it successfully landed on a distant asteroid Thursday and completed its historic mission of collecting underground samples that scientists hope will provide clues to the origin of the solar system.

Hayabusa2 had created itself a landing crater in April by dropping a copper impactor. Thursday’s mission was to land inside that crater and collect underground samples that scientists believe contain more valuable data.

TOKYO (AP) — An Australian student on Friday thanked Swedish and his country’s diplomats for securing his release in North Korea but kept mum about what led to his weeklong detention.

“I intend now to return to normal life but wanted to first publicly thank everyone who worked to ensure I was safe and well,” Alek Sigley said in a statement released by his family’s spokeswoman in Australia, a day after he was flew from Pyongyang to Beijing and then Tokyo to be reunited with his Japanese wife.

4 July 2019; DW: Japan has evacuated more than a million people from its southernmost main island of Kyushu  as torrential rains triggered landslides and concerns for widespread flooding.

A woman in her 80s was unaccounted for in the city of Soo in Kagoshima prefecture after her house was buried by a landslide on Thursday morning.

More rain is expected to hit wider regions of the country, including Tokyo, on Thursday.

TOKYO (AP) — Shares opened higher in Asia on Thursday, tracking the ascent by major U.S. indexes to record highs.

The rally follows a slight easing of trade tensions between the U.S. and China after they agreed to refrain from new tariffs pending a new round of negotiations. That has relieved some pressure on markets, though the trade war still overshadows the global economic outlook.

TOKYO (AP) — Shares were mostly lower in Asia on Wednesday as the euphoria from President Donald Trump’s truce with China’s Xi Jinping on trade faded.

The retreat followed yet another all-time high for the S&P 500 index, though trading in U.S. markets has been subdued ahead of an early closure on Wednesday for the July 4 holiday.

TOKYO, July 3 (Xinhua) -- Around 600,000 people have been ordered to evacuate in the city of Kagoshima in Japan's southwest, public broadcaster NHK said here Wednesday.

The evacuation order came as torrential rain continues to pummel southwest Japan, with Kyushu Island, which comprises Kagoshima City, the capital of Kagoshima Prefecture, one of the hardest-hit regions.

2 July 2019; AFP: Chinese President Xi Jinping urged US President Donald Trump to "show flexibility" towards North Korea, including the "timely" easing of sanctions, at the G20 summit last week, China's foreign minister said Tuesday.

Xi visited North Korea prior to meeting Trump at the G20 in Japan on Saturday, and analysts had said the Chinese leader could use the trip as leverage in his trade war talks with the US leader.

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese whalers returned to port Monday with their first catch after resuming commercial whaling for the first time in 31 years, achieving the long-cherished goal of traditionalists that is seen as largely a lost cause amid slowing demand for the meat and changing views on conservation.

TOKYO (AP) — Asian markets took heart Monday from revived hopes for progress in trade negotiations between the U.S. and China after President Donald Trump met with China’s Xi Jinping at the Group of 20 summit in Japan.

But the latest data suggested the prolonged trade conflict between Washington and Beijing is taking a further toll on regional growth.

TOKYO (AP) — A closely watched quarterly survey by Japan’s central bank released Monday showed declining confidence in the economic outlook among major manufacturers as trade tensions between the U.S. and China add to worries over regional and global growth.

The Bank of Japan’s weak “tankan” reading was the second straight quarter of deterioration amid worries over trade tensions and a regional slowdown.

The survey’s index for major manufacturers fell to 7 in June from 12 in the March survey.