Japan

TOKYO, September 12. /TASS/: Russia’s An-26 plane allegedly twice violated Japan’s airspace near the Hokkaido Island in the north of the country on Sunday, the Japanese Defense Ministry said in a statement.

It is noted that Japanese jets were scrambled to intercept the Russian plane.

According to Kyodo news agency, the Japanese Foreign Ministry called on the Russian side to prevent similar incidents in the future through diplomatic channels and issued a note a protest over what happened. At the same time, it is claimed that the Russian plane was a civil one.

TOKYO (AP) — Japan can now give defense equipment and technology to Vietnam under an agreement signed Saturday, as the two countries step up their military cooperation amid worries about China’s growing military influence.

Japan’s Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said the deal elevates their defense partnership “to a new level” and that Japan and Vietnam plan to deepen defense ties through multinational joint exercises and other means. Details about the transfer of specific equipment, including naval vessels, will be worked out in subsequent talks, the ministry said.

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s government says more than 50% of the population has been fully vaccinated.

Japan’s vaccine rollouts began in mid-February, months behind many wealthy countries due to its lengthy clinical testing requirement and approval process. Inoculations for elderly patients, which started in April, were also slowed by supply shortages of imported vaccines, but the pace picked up in late May and has since achieved 1 million doses per day.

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s outspoken vaccinations minister, Taro Kono, announced Friday that he is running to become the head of the governing party, who usually is chosen prime minister, and pledged to be reform-minded and gets things done.

Kono, 58, a Georgetown University graduate who is fluent in English, has many fans among younger people, with whom he communicates via social media, a rarity in Japanese politics. With nearly 2.4 million followers on Twitter, he says he will keep tweeting if elected prime minister.

TOKYO (AP) — Objective, science-based monitoring is the key to safely carrying out the planned release of treated but still radioactive water at Japan’s wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant, an International Atomic Energy Agency official said Thursday.

A three-member IAEA team led by Lydie Evrard, head of the agency’s Department of Nuclear Safety and Security, is in Japan for preliminary talks and a visit to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, which suffered reactor meltdowns after a massive 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

TOKYO (AP) — Japan announced Thursday it is extending a coronavirus state of emergency in Tokyo and 18 other areas until the end of September as health care systems remain under severe strain, although new infections have slowed slightly.

The current state of emergency, which was to end on Sunday, was issued first in Okinawa in May and gradually expanded. Despite the prolonged emergency, the largely voluntary measures have become less effective as the exhausted public increasingly ignores them.

TOKYO, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Japanese lawmaker Sanae Takaichi on Wednesday officially announced she would run in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) leadership race to succeed Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who last week announced he would step down.

Takaichi, a conservative who aims to be the country's first female leader, will go up against former foreign minister Fumio Kishida, among others, in the Sept. 29 race.

The winner of the vote is all but assured to be Japan's next prime minister.

TOKYO (AP) — Some of the world’s largest broadcasters including American network NBC are being asked by human rights groups to cancel plans to cover next year’s Winter Olympics in Beijing. The Winter Games are scheduled to open on Feb. 4.

The request comes in an open letter from rights groups representing minorities in China, including Uyghurs, Tibetans, Hong Kong residents and others.

TOKYO (AP) — One of the main candidates to be Japan’s next prime minister said Wednesday the country needs a new type of capitalism to address income and social gaps caused by the pandemic.

Former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida is the only announced candidate so far in the race to lead the governing Liberal Democratic Party and succeed outgoing Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga. Whoever wins the Sept. 29 party vote is almost certain to be the next government leader.

TOKYO, Sept 4 (Reuters) - The Japanese government plans to extend a state of emergency in and around Tokyo until the last week of September in a further bid to contain the coronavirus epidemic, the Mainichi newspaper reported on Saturday.

Japan last month expanded emergency curbs to cover about 80% of its population until Sept. 12, but the number of severe cases and the strain on the medical system have not eased sufficiently in Tokyo and surrounding areas to allow the restrictions to be lifted.