Japan

TOKYO, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) -- Japan's ruling coalition of Liberal Democratic Party and its partner Komeito will secure a majority of lower house of parliament seats in the general election on Sunday, the NHK exit polls projected.

Voting of the country's general election finished Sunday evening with polling stations closing nationwide at 8 p.m. local time (1100 GMT), and ballots counting is expected to last late into the night.

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s governing coalition is expected to keep a majority in a parliamentary election Sunday but will lose some seats in a setback for his weeks-old government grappling with a coronavirus-battered economy and regional security challenges, according to exit polls.

Kishida’s Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner Komeito together were expected to win between 239 to 288 seats in the 465-member lower house, the more powerful of Japan’s two-chamber Diet, public broadcaster NHK’s exit poll showed.

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese voters are casting ballots in national elections Sunday, a first big test for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to determine if he has a large enough mandate to tackle a coronavirus-battered economy, a fast-aging and dwindling population and security challenges from China and North Korea.

Up for grabs are 465 seats in the lower house, the more powerful of the two-chamber Japanese Diet, or parliament.

TOKYO, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Japan's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and prime minister Fumio Kishida are likely to take a bruising at the weekend's lower house election, though the coalition government should safely retain power, opinion polls on Friday showed.

The Sunday election is set to be a test for the LDP, whose image was battered by its perceived mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic, and hanging on to its single-party majority in the powerful lower house could be difficult, the polls suggested.

TOKYO, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- Japan's consumer confidence in October hit its highest level in almost two and a half years, as the government fully lifted the state of emergency amid a sharp fall in COVID-19 infections and higher vaccination rate nationwide, local media reported Friday.

According to the Cabinet Office, the seasonally adjusted index of sentiment among households made up of two or more people rose 1.4 points from September to 39.2, increasing two months in a row and logging the highest point since May 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic.

TOKYO (AP) — The defense for former Nissan executive Greg Kelly said Wednesday there was no evidence or motives linking him to alleged under-reporting of his ex-boss Carlos Ghosn’s compensation.

Kelly’s chief defense lawyer, Yoichi Kitamura, said in wrapping up the defense’s arguments that Kelly is innocent and he had no knowledge of the complex calculations over Ghosn’s unpaid remuneration, tabulated and updated by Nissan Motor Co. secretariat official Toshiaki Ohnuma.

TOKYO, Oct 26 (NNN-NHK) – Japan today launched a new satellite into orbit, to replace the ageing first quasi-zenith satellite, which has been providing accurate global positioning data for services, such as autonomous driving cars and flying drones.

The new satellite, loaded in an H-2A rocket, was launched at 11:19 a.m. local time today from the Tanegashima Space Centre in Kagoshima Prefecture, south-western Japan.

The launch was initially scheduled for Monday, but was put off due to bad weather.

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Princess Mako quietly married a commoner without traditional wedding celebrations Tuesday and said their marriage — delayed three years and called unfit by some — “was a necessary choice to live while cherishing our hearts.”

The marriage to Kei Komuro cost Mako her royal status and she has taken her husband’s surname — the first time she has had a family name. Most Japanese women must abandon their own family names upon marriage due to a law requiring only one surname per married couple.

TOKYO, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) lost in one of two by-elections held ahead of the general election this weekend but won the other.

As two LDP lawmakers resigned, the by-elections for vacant seats in the upper chamber of parliament took place in the Yamaguchi and Shizuoka constituencies. The by-elections, which were the first national contests held since Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio took office on Oct. 4, were closely watched as a bellwether for the general election.

TOKYO (AP) — Carlos Ghosn, the former auto industry superstar whose career screeched to a halt with his arrest three years ago, isn’t about to settle into quiet retirement.

The former head of the Nissan-Renault alliance fled to Lebanon in late 2019, while out on bail facing financial misconduct charges in Japan. In a recent interview with The Associated Press, Ghosn was confident, energized and determined to fight to restore his reputation.