Japan

TOKYO (AP) — The financial misconduct trial of former Nissan executive Greg Kelly began Tuesday with Kelly saying he committed no crimes and was only trying to keep his star boss Carlos Ghosn from leaving.

The charges being heard at Tokyo District Court center around Kelly’s alleged role in failing to report to Japanese authorities the future compensation of Ghosn, who led Nissan Motor Co. for two decades.

TOKYO (AP) — Yoshihide Suga was elected as the new head of Japan’s ruling party on Monday, virtually guaranteeing him parliamentary election as the country’s next prime minister.

Suga received 377 votes in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party election to pick a successor to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who announced last month that he would resign due to health problems. Former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, one of the other two contenders, received 89 votes, while former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba got 68.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, who is set to become prime minister this week, said on Sunday there was no limit to the amount of bonds the government can issue to support an economy hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

He also indicated he could look to a third extra budget to fight the downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic if needed, adding the government had enough resources to tap at present.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, widely expected to become prime minister next week, said on Saturday he will consider topping up payouts to households and companies to cushion the economic blow from the coronavirus pandemic.

Suga also defended his experience in diplomacy, an area where experts say his resume is rather thin, while steering clear of clues to whether he would call a snap election if he takes over from outgoing Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

TOKYO, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- The chief of the main opposition party Yukio Edano on Thursday was named as the leader of a new main opposition party that will be formed through a merger with another opposition party in a bid to better challenge the ruling coalition.

Edano, 56, leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ), beat the only other candidate in the leadership race, Kenta Izumi, 46, the policy chief of the second-largest opposition Democratic Party for the People (DPP).

TOKYO (AP) — China’s repression in Tibet, the status of the exiled Dalai Lama, and its treatment of ethnic minorities spurred violent protests ahead of Beijing’s 2008 Olympics.

It could happen again.

China is host to the 2022 Winter Olympics with rumblings of a boycott and calls to move the games from Beijing because of alleged human rights violations.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan wants to reach broad consensus with the United Kingdom on trade this week, a Japanese government official said, signalling Tokyo’s desire to make progress on the bilateral trade deal before a change in government.

Japan’s ruling party will choose a new leader next week to take over from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who has decided to step down for health reasons. His successor will become the next premier and form a new cabinet.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s economy sank deeper into its worst postwar contraction in the second quarter as the coronavirus jolted businesses more than initially thought, underscoring the daunting task the new prime minister faces in averting a steeper recession.

Other data put that challenge in perspective, with household spending and wages falling in July as the impact of the pandemic kept consumption frail even after lockdown measures were lifted in May.

TOKYO, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Two candidates began their campaigns on Monday as the leadership race for the new main opposition party to be formed by merging two existing parties officially kicked off.

Leader the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ), Yukio Edano, 56, is facing off against Kenta Izumi, 46, the policy chief of the Democratic Party for the People (DPP), in the race for the new party's top post.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, a frontrunner to be the next prime minister, said he would like the central bank to continue its ultra-loose monetary policy as the economy is still struggling with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

In an interview that ran on Saturday in the Nikkei newspaper, Suga also said he would consider compiling another economic stimulus package by the end of this year to “put the pandemic to an end and shift the economy to a new stage.”