Japan

TOKYO, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Wednesday that travelers coming to Japan will be exempt from taking COVID-19 tests before departure if they have received three vaccine shots.

The eased COVID-19 restrictions on arrivals to Japan will begin on Sept. 7, the Japanese leader told a virtual press briefing.

Along with easing the virus testing requirements, Kishida said the government will soon decide on raising the daily cap of arrivals to Japan.

TOKYO (AP) — Global shares were mixed Wednesday as a wait-and-see mood set in following another — though more modest — day of sell-offs on Wall Street.

Worries about inflation are weighing on investors’ minds, including in Asia. Inflation data for Singapore released earlier in the week showed inflation was still going strong, with core inflation headed higher to 4.8% year on year for July. Food price inflation was at 6.1%.

Benchmarks finished lower in Japan and China, while they were higher in Australia and South Korea. European shares fell in early trading.

TOKYO, Aug 22 (NNN-NHK) – Two people have been confirmed dead, after a car collided with a bus, on an expressway in Nagoya, central Japan, today, local media reported.

According to local fire officials, the bus caught fire, after overturning in the collision. Seven others were injured in the fatal crash, local emergency services, said.

The fiery collision occurred at 10:15 a.m. near the Toyoyama-Minami interchange.

Fire officials and prefectural police said that, the blaze had since been brought under control.

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has been diagnosed with the coronavirus Sunday and canceled his planned travels while he isolates and recuperates.

Kishida developed a slight fever and cough late Saturday and tested positive in a COVID-19 PCR test, said Noriyuki Shikata, the cabinet secretary for public affairs at the prime minister’s office.

“Prime Minister Kishida is isolated inside his residence,” he told The Associated Press on Sunday.

TOKYO (AP) — A Japanese chemical tanker ship crashed into a cargo ship off the coast of southwestern Japan, the coast guard said Saturday.

No one was injured among the six Japanese crew members aboard the tanker Ryoshinmaru and 14 Chinese crew members aboard the Belize-registered cargo ship Xin Hai 99.

The crash early Saturday was under investigation and both ships were anchored in the area, about 3.5 kilometers (2.2 miles) off the coast of Wakayama prefecture, according to a Kushimoto Coast Guard official.

TOKYO, Aug 19 (NNN-NHK) – Japan logged a record daily high of 255,534 new COVID-19 cases yesterday, as the country feared a strain on the medical system, fuelled by the seventh wave of infections.

The daily tally topped the previous record of 250,403 cases registered on Aug 10, with 21 of Japan’s 47 prefectures posting record high numbers. A total of 287 deaths were reported nationwide.

The Tokyo metropolitan government reported 27,453 new cases, down 1,963 from Wednesday.

TOKYO, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- The COVID-19 pandemic saw the suicide rate in Japan spike between March 2020 and June 2022, with females in their 20s accounting for the largest increase, local media said Wednesday.

Citing a recent study conducted by a team of researchers including Taisuke Nakata, an associate professor at the University of Tokyo, Kyodo News said there were 8,000 more suicides in Japan during the pandemic period.

The study showed that large numbers of women aged 19 years or younger also committed suicide during the period.

TOKYO (AP) — A former Tokyo Olympic organizing committee board member and three people from a clothing company that was a surprise sponsor of the 2020 Games were arrested on bribery suspicions Wednesday.

Haruyuki Takahashi, 78, a former executive at advertising company Dentsu, is suspected of receiving bribes from the former head of Aoki Holdings Inc. and two company employees, the prosecutors’ office said.

TOKYO, Aug 16 (NNN-NHK) – The chemical waste, that is extremely high in carcinogens and stored near Japan’s disaster-hit Fukushima nuclear power plant, was transported today, to a city in Hokkaido, among protests from local residents.

The toxic and radioactive waste, mostly condensers and lighting ballasts, contain high concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) that are harmful to humans.

Prior to the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, carcinogenic waste was disposed of in regions surrounding the now-stricken nuclear plant.

TOKYO, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida reshuffled his Cabinet and the executive lineup of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on Wednesday as the administration faces slipping public support.

Calling his new team "a Cabinet that pushes through policies," Kishida said he chose "experienced and capable" members to swiftly deliver results in times of crises.