Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

TOKYO, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Japan's lower house of parliament on Tuesday voted down a no-confidence motion against Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's Cabinet jointly filed by the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ) and three other opposition parties.

The motion was filed after the ruling coalition turned down the opposition camp's request for the end of the current parliamentary session, scheduled to end on Wednesday, to be pushed back by three months to allow for more debate on matters related to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Tokyo Olympics.

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong’s leader said Tuesday her government is closely watching a nearby Chinese nuclear power plant following a news report of a possible leak.

The operators have released few details, but nuclear experts say based on their brief statement, gas might be leaking from fuel rods inside a reactor in Taishan, 135 kilometers (85 miles) west of Hong Kong.

Radiation levels in Hong Kong were normal on Tuesday, according to the Hong Kong Observatory.

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte will never cooperate with a possible International Criminal Court investigation into the thousands of killings under his anti-drugs crackdown, his spokesman said Tuesday, calling an international inquiry insulting to the country’s justice system.

(Reuters) --- Taiwan will be a “force for good” and continue to seek even greater international support, the presidential office said, after the Chinese-claimed island won unprecedented backing from the Group of Seven of major democracies.

The G7 leaders on Sunday scolded China over human rights in Xinjiang, called for Hong Kong to keep a high degree of autonomy and underscored the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

(Reuters) --- China denounced on Monday a joint statement by the Group of Seven leaders that had scolded Beijing over a range of issues as a gross interference in the country’s internal affairs, and urged the grouping to stop slandering China.

The G7 leaders on Sunday took China to task over human rights in the heavily Muslim region of Xinjiang, called for Hong Kong to keep a high degree of autonomy and underscored the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait - all highly sensitive issues for Beijing.

TOKYO, June 14 (Xinhua) -- Japan Airlines Co. on Monday began providing on-site COVID-19 vaccinations for its employees, with the move coming a day after All Nippon Airways Co. started its own inoculation drive becoming the first business in Japan to begin workplace vaccinations.

Both airlines started to administer the inoculations at Tokyo's Haneda airport, with crew on international flights being given priority for the jabs.

SEOUL, June 14 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's military will conduct a defense drill near the islets disputed with Japan, Yonhap news agency reported Monday citing unnamed government and military sources.

The maritime exercise, called the East Sea Territory Protection Exercise, will be staged Tuesday near the Dokdo islets, called Takeshima in Japan.

The exercise, which has been held usually twice a year since 1986, would reportedly mobilize naval and coast guard vessels, fighter jets and maritime patrol aircraft.

SEOUL, June 14 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's unification ministry on Monday called for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to respond to Seoul's dialogue offer ahead of the 21st anniversary of the June 15 joint declaration.

Lee Jong-joo, unification ministry spokesperson, told a press briefing that the government urges the DPRK to return to the spirit of the June 15 joint declaration and positively respond to the call for dialogue and cooperation between the two Koreas.

TOKYO (AP) — Two Americans who are charged with helping former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn flee Japan while facing accusations of financial misconduct agreed Monday they took part in a scheme in which Ghosn hid in luggage and was flown out of the country.

The statements by Michael Taylor and his son, Peter, on the opening day of their trial suggested the pair don’t plan to fight charges of assisting a criminal. They carry a possible penalty of up to three years in prison.

BANGKOK (AP) — Myanmar’s ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi was set to go on trial Monday on charges that many observers have criticized as attempt by the military junta that deposed her to delegitimize her democratic election and cripple her political future.

Suu Kyi’s prosecution poses the greatest challenge for the 75-year-old and her National League for Democracy party since February’s military coup, which prevented them from taking office for a second five-year term following last year’s landslide election victory.