DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

CAIRO (AP) — The European Union on Sunday announced a $8 billion aid package for cash-strapped Egypt amid concerns that economic pressure and conflicts and chaos in neighboring countries could drive more migrants to European shores. The package includes both grants and loans over the next three years for the Arab world’s most populous country, according to the European Union Mission in Cairo. The package drew criticism from international rights groups over Egypt’s human rights record. Amnesty International decried the deal and urged European leaders not to be complicit with human rights violations taking place in Egypt. “EU leaders must ensure that the Egyptian authorities adopt clear benchmarks for human rights, said Amnesty International’s Head of the European Institutions Office, Eve Geddie in a statement.

Persons: Ursula von der Leyen, Eve Geddie, Geddie Organizations: Union, Sunday, European, Mission, EU, Amnesty International, Amnesty, Office Locations: CAIRO, Egypt, Belgium, Italy, Austria, Cyprus, Greece, Cairo, Libya, Africa, Saharan Africa, Europe, Israel

☆ Japan Airlines Crash: Air Traffic Controllers Call for 'Significant' Staff Increase
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-06 | by ( Feb. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

TOKYO (Reuters) - A labour union representing air traffic controllers in Japan has called for a "significant increase" in staff to improve the safety of operations at airports in the wake of a deadly crash at Tokyo's Haneda airport last month. "We strongly urge the realisation of a significant increase in the number of air traffic controllers," Masato Yamazaki said in the statement, adding that speculation about the cause of the crash risked putting mental strains on controllers. He said repeated staffing requests to the government, which directly employs air traffic controllers in Japan, have been only partially approved in recent years despite increased workload on controllers. Other countries including the United States and France are grappling with air traffic control staff shortages that airlines have argued pose risks to aviation safety. In 2019, each air traffic control operator in Japan handled nearly 7000 flights, up from around 4,600 in 2004, according to the ministry's records.

Persons: Masato Yamazaki, Yamazaki, Nobuhiro Kubo, John Geddie, Jamie Freed Organizations: Japan Airlines, JAL, Coast Guard, Airbus, Authorities Locations: TOKYO, Japan, Haneda, United States, France

☆ Japan's Message for Donald Trump: Don't Cut a Deal With China
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Feb. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +8 min

Trump, who reached a trade agreement with Beijing in 2019 that later expired, has not mentioned any potential deal with China during his campaign for the 2024 nomination. Two Japanese foreign ministry officials said they fear that Trump may be prepared to weaken U.S. support for nearby Taiwan in pursuit of a deal with China. A Trump aide told Reuters that no recent meetings have taken place between Trump and Japanese officials. "If he is going to cut a deal with China, Japan needs to try and get ahead of the curve and understand its potential role to support its interests in both the U.S. and in China," said Machida. Robert O'Brien, Trump's former national security adviser, also has connections with Japanese officials, two of the sources said.

Persons: John Geddie, Tim Kelly, Yoshifumi, America's, Donald Trump, Fumio Kishida, Joe Biden's, Trump, Xi, Kim Jong Un, they're, Ado Machida, Machida, Shinzo Abe, Aso, Japan's, Shigeo Yamada, Mike Pence, Jim Mattis, Mike Pompeo, Michael Green, Bill Hagerty, Yamada, Hagerty, Robert O'Brien, Trump's, O'Brien, Shigeru Kitamura, Biden, Tsuneo Watanabe, John Bolton, Watanabe, Yukiko Toyoda, Kaori Kaneko, Sakura Murakami, David Brunnstrom, Tim Reid, Ben Blanchard, Laurie Chen, Liz Lee, David Crawshaw Organizations: Trump, Republican, Group, North, Reuters, Fox News, U.S, Steel, Japan's Nippon Steel, U.S ., Liberal Democratic Party, . Studies, University of Sydney, Japan's U.S, Taiwan, Peace Foundation Locations: TOKYO, Japan, Asia, China, Beijing, Tokyo, Iowa, New Hampshire, U.S, Taiwan, Washington, Trump, Taipei

☆ U.S. Eyeing Japanese Shipyards for Warship Overhauls, Says U.S. Ambassador
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-19 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

YOKOSUKA, Japan (Reuters) - The United States and Japan will look at the viability of using Japanese shipyards to overhaul U.S. navy warships that patrol East Asian waters, the U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel said on Friday at the Yokosuka naval base near Tokyo. Doing refits in Japan could help the U.S. keep more of its ships battle-ready in East Asia where China is expanding its naval power. The U.S. navy currently sends its ships back across the Pacific to shipyards at home that are wrestling with a backlog of maintenance contracts. Japan hosts the biggest overseas concentration of U.S. military power, including the only forward-deployed carrier strike group, which operates from Yokosuka.

Persons: Japan Rahm Emanuel, John Geddie, Tim Kelly, Chang, Ran Kim Organizations: Yokosuka, U.S . Navy, Seventh Locations: YOKOSUKA, Japan, United States, U.S, Tokyo, East Asia, China, Pacific, Yokosuka

☆ U.S. Military in Japan to Deploy to Earthquake-Hit Area - Sources
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-15 | by ( Jan. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

TOKYO (Reuters) - U.S. military forces in Japan are set to deploy to the earthquake-hit Noto peninsula to help with relief efforts, sources familiar with the matter said. Details of the mission are expected to be announced later on Tuesday, the sources said on condition of anonymity as the plans have not yet been made public. The quake is Japan's deadliest since 2016 when quakes in the southwestern region of Kumamoto claimed 276 lives. U.S. forces have been stationed in Japan since World War II, marking the country's biggest military presence abroad. (Reporting by Yukiko Toyoda, Nobuhiro Kubo, Tim Kelly, Kaori Kaneko; Writing by John Geddie; Editing by Michael Perry)

Persons: Yukiko Toyoda, Nobuhiro Kubo, Tim Kelly, Kaori Kaneko, John Geddie, Michael Perry Organizations: Authorities Locations: TOKYO, Japan, Noto, Kumamoto, U.S

Japan, a key U.S. ally, had sought the suspension of all non-emergency V-22 Osprey flights over its territory after one fell into the sea on Wednesday in western Japan. Japan's Coast Guard has said one person was found and confirmed dead, and the search for the remaining seven aboard continues. The Pentagon said on Thursday that it was still flying Ospreys for now, and that it was not aware of any official request for their grounding. "We are concerned that despite our repeated requests, and in the absence of sufficient explanation (from the U.S. military), the Osprey continues to fly," he told a news conference. The Japan Self-Defense Forces (SDF), which also operates Ospreys, has said it would suspend flights of the transport aircraft.

Persons: Hirokazu Matsuno, Yoko Kamikawa, Rahm Emanuel, Robert Dujarric, Dujarric, Mariko Katsumura, John Geddie, Chang, Ran Kim, Gerry Doyle Organizations: Kyodo, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Japan's Coast Guard, Pentagon, Ospreys, U.S ., Japan Self - Defense Forces, U.S, Pacifist Japan, U.S . Marine Corps, Tokyo's Temple University, Thomson Locations: Kagoshima prefecture, Japan, U.S, Tokyo

☆ Japan asks US military to ground Osprey aircraft after fatal crash
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Kantaro Komiya | Thomson Reuters | Kantaro Writes About Everything Japan'S Economic Indicators To North Korea'S Missiles To Global Regulation On Ai Companies. His Previous Stories Have Been Published In The Associated Press | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A Japan Coast Guard vessel and a helicopter conduct a search and rescue operation at the site where a U.S. military aircraft V-22 Osprey crashed into the sea off Yakushima Island, Kagoshima prefecture, Japan November 30, 2023, in this photo taken by Kyodo. The Japan Self-Defense Forces (SDF), which also operates Ospreys, will suspend flights of the transport aircraft until the circumstances of the incident are clarified, another senior defence ministry official said in parliament. A spokesperson for U.S. military forces in Japan did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The deployment of the aircraft in Japan has been controversial, with critics of the U.S. military presence in the southwest islands saying it is prone to accidents. The last fatal U.S. military aircraft crash in Japan was 2018, when a mid-air collision during a training exercise killed six people, according to the defence ministry.

Persons: Minoru Kihara, Witnesses, Chang, Ran Kim, Kantaro Komiya, Tim Kelly, John Geddie, Kim Coghill, Gerry Doyle Organizations: Japan Coast Guard, Kyodo, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, U.S . Air Force, U.S, Ospreys, Japan Self - Defense Forces, Boeing, Bell Helicopter, Marines, Navy, U.S . Marine Corps, Osprey, Thomson Locations: Kagoshima prefecture, Japan, U.S, Australia, Okinawa

TOKYO, Nov 29 (Reuters) - A U.S. military V-22 Osprey aircraft crashed near an island in western Japan on Wednesday with eight people onboard, Japan's coast guard said. The aircraft disappeared from radar at 2:40 p.m. local time, Japan Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said. Another crash-landed in the ocean off Japan's southern island of Okinawa in December 2016, prompting a temporary U.S. military grounding of the aircraft. The deployment of the Osprey in Japan has been controversial, with critics saying the hybrid aircraft is prone to accidents. The U.S. military and Japan say it is safe.

Persons: Hirokazu Matsuno, Kiyoshi Takenaka, Tim Kelly, Satoshi Sugiyama, John Geddie, David Dolan, Gerry Doyle Organizations: Osprey, U.S, Marines, U.S . Marines, U.S . Navy, Japan Self Defense Forces, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, U.S, Japan, Australia, Okinawa

The U.S. military said the mishap occurred during a routine training mission off the shores of Yakushima Island, about 1,040 km (650 miles) southwest of the capital Tokyo. Another Osprey thought to have been travelling with the crashed aircraft landed safely at the island's airport on Wednesday afternoon, a spokesperson for the local government said. Japan, which also operates Osprey aircraft, said on Wednesday it had asked the U.S. military to investigate the crash. The deployment of the hybrid aircraft in Japan has been controversial, with critics saying it is prone to accidents. In August, a U.S. Osprey crashed off the coast of northern Australia while transporting troops during a routine military exercise, killing three U.S. Marines.

Persons: Kiyoshi Takenaka, Tim Kelly, Kantaro, Idrees Ali, Phil Stewart, John Geddie, David Dolan, Gerry Doyle, Nick Macfie, Deepa Babington Organizations: Japan Coast Guard, Yakushima Fisheries Cooperative, . Air Force Special, Command, United, ., Boeing, Bell Helicopter, U.S . Air Force, Marines, Navy, Japan Self - Defense Forces, Osprey, U.S, Thomson Locations: Kagoshima prefecture, Japan, TOKYO, U.S, Yakushima, Tokyo, Japan's, United States, Taiwan, Okinawa, Australia

☆ Car crashes into barricade near Israel embassy in Tokyo, man detained
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( Francis Tang | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/5] A view of the scene after a car crashed into a barricade near the Israeli embassy in Tokyo, Japan, November 16, 2023. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon Acquire Licensing RightsTOKYO, Nov 16 (Reuters) - A car crashed into a barricade near the entrance of the Israeli embassy in Tokyo on Thursday and a man in his 50s was detained on the spot, local media reported. An official at the Israeli embassy said the matter was under police investigation and declined further comment. Several pro-Palestinian demonstrations have been held outside Israeli embassies around the world in recent weeks, including in Tokyo, in protest against Israel's bombardment of the Gaza Strip. Around the same time, a staffer at the Israeli embassy in Beijing was assaulted on the street and hospitalised.

Persons: Kim Kyung, Israel, Francis Tang, Satoshi Sugiyama, Mariko Katsumura, John Geddie, Christopher Cushing Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Fuji, Police, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan, Tama, Gaza, Israel, Beijing

Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese President Xi Jinping pose for a family photo during Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit in San Francisco, California, U.S. November 16, 2023. They also pledged to hold high-level dialogue on economic issues and welcomed the launch of a framework to discuss export controls as they met on the sidelines of an Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. In a joint statement in 2008, Japan and China agreed to pursue a "mutually beneficial relationship based on common strategic interests" designed to ensure frequent leadership exchanges on issues such as security and economic cooperation. On the sidelines of the APEC summit, Kishida has also met South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol for their seventh meeting this year. Leaders from the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum are in San Francisco for its 30th summit from Nov. 15-17.

Persons: Fumio Kishida, Xi Jinping, Carlos Barria, Xi, Kishida, Joe Biden, Biden, Washington, Rumi Aoyama, Aoyama, Yoon Suk, Yoon, Mariko Katsumura, John Geddie, Kaori Kaneko, Sakura Murakami, Ethan Wang, Stephen Coates, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: Japan's, Economic Cooperation, REUTERS, Asia, Astellas Pharma, ., Waseda Institute of Contemporary Chinese, APEC, South, Thomson Locations: Asia, San Francisco , California, U.S, China, San Francisco, Japan, Taiwan, Beijing, United States, Tokyo

China detained the executive, named in several media reports as Hiroshi Nishiyama, on suspicion of espionage in March, and he was formally arrested last month. Japan's then foreign minister protested the executive's detention with his Chinese counterpart on a visit to Beijing in April. China's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Half the respondents in a recent survey of Japanese companies doing business in China said they would cut investments this year. It's a very difficult point in time to be navigating that as a decision maker, in business or politics," he said.

Persons: Fumio Kishida, Xi Jinping, Rahm Emanuel, Hiroshi Nishiyama, Japan's, Xi, Masashi Mizobuchi, Nishiyama, Takeshi Niinami, Niinami, Stefan Angrick, Yukiko Toyoda, Kiyoshi Takenaka, John Geddie, Sakura Murakami, Francis Tang, Laurie Chen, Antoni Slodkowski, Andrew Silver, Lincoln Organizations: Economic Cooperation, Kyodo, drugmaker Astellas Pharma, APEC, Reuters, Japanese Chamber of Commerce, Japan Association of Corporate, Suntory, Moody's Analytics, Thomson Locations: Asia, Bangkok, Thailand, TOKYO, BEIJING, China, San Francisco, Tokyo, U.S, Japan, Beijing, officialdom, Shanghai

The statement gave no details of options being discussed if the Hamas militant group is ousted from Gaza as the result of an ongoing Israeli bombardment of the Palestinian enclave. Israel has so far been vague about its long-term plans for Gaza. Diplomats in Washington, the United Nations, the Middle East and beyond have also started weighing the options. The statement will present the G7's "united stance" on the Middle East situation, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said on Wednesday. The G7 group of wealthy, industrialised nations is made up of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States, with the European Union also participating in the talks.

Persons: Josep Borrell, James, Annalena Baerbock, Antony Blinken, Yoko Kamikawa, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, Eli Cohen, Hirokazu Matsuno, Netanyahu, John Geddie, Sakura Murakami, Satoshi Sugiyama, Lincoln, Gerry Doyle Organizations: European Union for Foreign Affairs, German, Foreign, Group, Wall Street Journal, Union, Gaza, Diplomats, United Nations, Reuters, European Union, Thomson Locations: British, U.S, TOKYO, Gaza, Tokyo, Japan, Israel, Ukraine, China, Washington, Palestinian, United States, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy

☆ More questions than answers as Israeli PM Netanyahu seeks security control over Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( James Mackenzie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

[1/2] Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a press conference with defense minister Yoav Gallant and Cabinet minister Benny Gantz in the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv , Israel , 28 October 2023. The challenges that are likely to confront any reshaped Israeli security mechanism have already been clearly demonstrated during more than 18 months of increasingly violent clashes in the nearby occupied West Bank. The PA used to run both Gaza and the West Bank, but was forcibly ousted from Gaza by Hamas in 2007, and now only governs sections of the West Bank, which is dotted with ever-growing Jewish settlements. Dermer said that while Israeli troops had physically entered West Bank towns, they had essentially been absent from Gaza for the last 17 years. Jordan's former deputy prime minister, Marwan Muasher, told Reuters he had seen no convincing initiative on how Gaza might be governed once the conflict ended.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant, Benny Gantz, Benjamin Netanyahu's, Israel, Netanyahu, Gantz, Ron Dermer, Antony Blinken, It's, Ariel Sharon, Mohammad Shtayyeh, Dermer, Jordan's, Marwan Muasher, Muasher, James Mackenzie, John Geddie, Crispian Balmer, Daniel Wallis Organizations: Rights, U.S, NBC, United Nations, Israel, West Bank, Palestinian Authority, Palestinian, Reuters, Carnegie Endowment, International Peace, Thomson Locations: Tel Aviv, Israel, ABIR, Gaza, Palestinian, United States, Tokyo, West, Oslo, Nablus, Jenin, West Bank, Washington, Dubai

[1/8] Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken shake hands at the prime minister's official residence Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023, in Tokyo, Japan. "Our commitment to continue strict sanctions against Russia and strong support for Ukraine has not wavered at all, even as the situation in the Middle East intensifies," Japan's foreign minister Yoko Kamikawa told a press conference. The G7 is due to hold an online meeting with Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Wednesday. Since the war erupted, the G7 has issued just one joint statement on the conflict, amounting to a few sentences. G7 foreign ministers are preparing "some sort of statement" to be issued following the Tokyo talks, Kamikawa said declining to comment on its contents.

Persons: Fumio Kishida, Antony Blinken, Eugene Hoshiko, Yoko Kamikawa, Kamikawa, Dmytro Kuleba, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Minoru Kihara, Blinken, Sakura Murakami, Tim Kelly, John Geddie, Tom Hogue, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: Japan's, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Ukraine, Kyiv, The, European Union, Russia, Ukraine's Foreign, Mitsui & Co, Health, Japanese, British, United Nations, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan, Russia, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, United States, Ukraine, Israel, Gaza, U.S, Moscow, Hiroshima, May, ISRAEL, GAZA, Iran

☆ Eyeing North Korea, Tokyo holds first missile evacuation drill in years
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Francis Tang | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TOKYO, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Tokyo residents dashed for cover inside a train station on Monday as part of the first missile evacuation drill in the capital for years as Japan frets over the growing threat from nearby North Korea. Japan has held more than a dozen such drills nationwide this year, though Monday's drill was the first in Tokyo since 2018. The participants, wearing bibs, were divided into groups at a train station and a park. When the test missile alert was sounded, police and disaster prevention officials with loudspeakers hurried the groups to designated shelter areas where they crouched down with their hands over their heads. A few dozen anti-war demonstrators gathered in front of the train station where the drill took place, chanting and holding signs that read "Missile drill is preparation for war" and "Diplomatic dialogue instead of missile drills".

Persons: Mutsumi Takahashi, Takahashi, Francis Tang, John Geddie, Gareth Jones Organizations: Thomson Locations: TOKYO, Tokyo, Japan, North Korea, Nerima, United States

[1/2] FILE PHOTO: People hold a rally to protest against Israel's attack on Gaza near the Israeli embassy in Tokyo, Japan October 16, 2023. From the beginning of the conflict, Japan has sought a "balanced" response, in part due to its diverse diplomatic interests in the region and its dependency on the Middle East for oil. A spokesperson for Japan's foreign ministry said it was expected that countries have different positions, but denied that G7 members were struggling to find common ground. A statement issued by G7 trade ministers from a meeting in Osaka late last month did not mention the war. Other group members have issued joint statements.

Persons: Issei Kato, Thomas Gomart, Koichiro Tanaka, Hideaki Shinoda, Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, It's, Kunihiko Miyake, Tim Kelly, Yoshifumi, John Irish, Andrew Gray, Andreas Rinke, David Brunstromm, Steve Scherer, Miral Organizations: REUTERS, Japan, European Union, French Institute of International Relations, Israel, Health, Hamas, Tokyo's Keio University, United Nations, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, Canon Institute for Global Studies, Washington D.C, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Tokyo, Japan, TOKYO, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, United, Israel, United States, Osaka, Russia, Ukraine, China, Iran, Paris, Brussels, Berlin, Washington, Ottawa

☆ Samurai trash collectors clean Tokyo streets after Halloween revels
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( Francis Tang | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] Keisuke Naka and Ikki Goto, members of Gomihiroi Samurai (trash-picking samurai) clad in denim yukata, poses for a photograph as they pick up trash on the street of Ikebukuro in the morning after Halloween in Tokyo, Japan November 1, 2023. REUTERS/Issei Kato Acquire Licensing RightsTOKYO, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Trash collectors in samurai costumes took to Tokyo's streets on Wednesday, theatrically wielding garbage tongs and flicking litter left from an evening of Halloween revelry into wicker baskets on their backs. Dressed in hats and boldly patterned black-and-white tunics, the group, known as Gomihiroi Samurai, or trash-picking samurai, has attracted a large fan base since it formed in 2006, with nearly 800,000 followers on video-sharing platform TikTok. Occasions such as Halloween leave a lot of trash, as street drinking has become common in bustling areas and tourist spots, Naka said. Residents of the area say the trash-picking samurai have made a difference.

Persons: Keisuke Naka, Ikki Goto, Issei Kato, Naka, Junya, Francis Tang, John Geddie, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Residents, Thomson Locations: Ikebukuro, Tokyo, Japan, Naka

☆ Suspected gunman takes hostages in Japanese post office - authorities
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Mandatory credit Kyodo/via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsTOKYO, Oct 31 (Reuters) - A suspected gunman took at least two people hostage in a post office in Japan after wounding two other people in a shooting at a hospital, authorities and media said on Tuesday. At least two female post office workers in their 20s and 30s were taken hostage, local media reported. Two people were injured at the hospital, media reported. Images broadcast on television showed a man wearing a track suit top and white shirt standing just inside the post office brandishing what looked like a pistol. There were just nine shooting incidents last year, according to the national police agency, of which six were related to criminal gangs.

Persons: Shinzo Abe, Sugiyama Satoshi, Sakura Murakami, Tim Kelly, John Geddie, Christian Schmollinger, Ed Osmond Organizations: Police, Kyodo, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, NHK, Thomson Locations: Warabi, Saitama Prefecture, Japan, Tokyo, Toda

Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel speaks during an interview with Reuters at the ambassador's residence in Tokyo, Japan, October 30, 2023. China, which had been the biggest buyer of Japanese seafood, says its ban is due to food safety fears. "It's going to be a long-term contract between the U.S. armed forces and the fisheries and co-ops here in Japan," Emanuel said. The U.S. military had not previously bought local seafood in Japan, he said. Asked if he considered himself hawkish on China, Emanuel rejected the term and said he was a "realist".

Persons: Japan Rahm Emanuel, Issei Kato, Rahm Emanuel, Washington, Emanuel, Barack Obama's, Antony Blinken, hawkish, They're, Li Keqiang, Xi Jinping, Robert Birsel Organizations: Reuters, REUTERS, Rights, United, U.S, Thomson Locations: Japan, Tokyo, United States, China, U.S, Beijing

This year, officials in the South Korean capital said they would work with police, emergency services and local officials to ensure "not a single person gets hurt" during Halloween celebrations. The plan unveiled this week covers just Seoul, rather than the entire nation, he added. The Seoul anniversary has unnerved authorities elsewhere in the run-up to this year’s celebrations. "Officials have grown fearful of a disastrous crowd crush similar to the one in the Itaewon district in Seoul, South Korea," Shibuya city officials said in a statement. The safety campaign has involved a ban on street drinking over the Halloween weekend, while videos posted on social media urge: "On Halloween night, everyone should stay away from Shibuya."

Persons: Ahn, Paek Seung, Dogyun Kim, Jihyun Jeon, Jack Kim, John Geddie, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: Seoul City Hall, Cyber University of Korea, Thomson Locations: Gangnam district, Seoul City, Seoul, South Korea, SEOUL, Tokyo, Itaewon, Shibuya

☆ Scientists test Fukushima fish after nuclear plant water release
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Eugene Hoshiko/Pool via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsIWAKI, Japan, Oct 19 (Reuters) - A team of international scientists collected fish samples from a port town near Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear plant on Thursday, seeking to assess the impact of the plant's recent release of treated radioactive water into the sea. Scientists from China, South Korea and Canada observed the collection of fish samples delivered fresh off the boat at Hisanohama port, about 50 kilometres south of the plant which was destroyed in the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. The samples will be sent to laboratories in each country for independent testing, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said. Before being released, the water is filtered to remove isotopes, leaving only tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen that is hard to separate, plant operator Tepco says. Reporting by Reuters staff; Writing by John Geddie; Editing by Bernadette BaumOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Eugene Hoshiko, Paul McGinnity, John Geddie, Bernadette Baum Organizations: International Atomic Energy Agency, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, IAEA, Tepco, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Hisanohama Port, Iwaki, Japan, Rights IWAKI, Japan's, China, South Korea, Canada

From this viewpoint, Japan is closely watching the situation with serious concern," she added when asked about Japan's oil dependence on the Middle East, which supplies more than 90% of its needs. G7 finance ministers, who were meeting in Morocco as events escalated, issued a brief statement on the attacks on Oct. 12. Japan was "standing one step behind the United States and some European countries", added Isamu Nakashima, associate research fellow at the Middle East Institute of Japan. "The through line of Japan's Middle East policy has been maintaining the flow of energy imports from the region," said David Boling, a director at consulting firm Eurasia Group. While the United States is Japan's closest ally, when it comes to the Middle East, Tokyo will be very wary of being seen as its proxy, said Shuji Hosaka, board member of the Institute of Energy Economics Japan.

Persons: Yoko Kamikawa, Fumio Kishida, Isamu Nakashima, David Boling, Shuji Hosaka, John Geddie, Yoshifumi Takemoto, Tim Kelly, Tetsushi Kajimoto, Ekaterina Golubkova, Kiyoshi Takenaka, Kentaro Sugiyama, Alex Richardson Organizations: Petroleum, Kyodo, Tokyo, Reuters, Middle East Institute of Japan, Middle, Energy, Eurasia Group, U.S, Institute of Energy Economics Japan, Thomson Locations: Kagoshima prefecture, Japan, TOKYO, Israel, Tokyo, Gaza, Iran, Hezbollah, Syria, Morocco, United States, U.S, Saudi Arabia, East

But part of Xi's drive to improve his fighting force has been to stamp out corruption that has long plagued China's military and other state institutions. A leader China's space and cyber warfare development and then head of military procurement, Li, 65, was elevated to defence minister in March. He also has a more public role than others on the Central Military Commission, China's top defence body, commanded by Xi. Li's term at the Central Military Commission highlighted his ties to Xi, who has strengthened his grip across the military. A bigger question is what priority Beijing will continue to place on China's military diplomacy amid ongoing regional tensions.

Persons: Li Shangfu, Li, Xi, Nancy Pelosi, Lloyd Austin, James Char, Russian Su, Zhang Youxia, Zhang, Laurie Chen, Greg Torode, John Geddie, William Mallard Organizations: Reuters, Central Military Commission, West, People's Liberation Army, PLA, Rajaratnam, of International Studies, Strategic Support Force, Equipment Development Department of, Communist Party Congress, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, United States, Taiwan, Beijing, Russia, Washington, U.S, Singapore, China, Belarus, Ukraine, Russian, Hong Kong

Rahm Emanuel, Washington's outspoken ambassador to Japan, wrote in a post on X: "1st: Defense Minister Li Shangfu hasn't been seen or heard from in 3 weeks. China's defence ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment. On the trip, Wat met with China's navy commander, Dong Jun and other navy leaders, Singapore's defence ministry said on its website. Singapore's defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Military observers and diplomats are closely watching whether China will go ahead with plans to hold the Beijing Xiangshan Forum - an annual international security summit normally hosted by China's defence minister - in late October.

Persons: Li Shangfu, Li, Rahm Emanuel, Washington's, Li Shangfu hasn't, Mao Ning, Qin Gang, Qin, Emanuel, Barack Obama, Matthew Miller, Sean Wat, Wat, Dong Jun, Lloyd Austin, Yew Lun Tian, Laurie Chen, Martin Pollard, Yukiko Toyoda, Xinghui, John Geddie, Neil Fullick, Lincoln, Gerry Doyle Organizations: Defence, Financial Times, U.S, Street Journal, Defense, Navy, Liberation, Rocket Force, . State Department, Reuters, Military, Beijing Xiangshan, U.S . Defence, Australian National University, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, TOKYO, U.S, Beijing, Japan, Vietnam, Tokyo, States, China, Singapore, United States, Xinghui Kok

Search resuls for: "Geddie"

25 mentions found