DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Iwao Hakamata: He’s the world’s longest-serving death row inmate. A court ruling may soon clear his name
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-25 | by ( Lex Harvey | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Tokyo CNN —A pair of blood-spattered trousers in a miso tank and an allegedly forced confession helped send Iwao Hakamata to death row more than five decades ago. Now, the world’s longest-serving death row convict has a chance to clear his name. During the retrial, Hakamata’s lawyers argued new information proved his innocence, while prosecutors claimed there was enough evidence to confirm he should be hanged for the crime. And some say it’s one of the reasons why the country should do away with the death penalty. “I’m against the death penalty,” Hideko said.

Persons: Iwao Hakamata, that’s, Hakamata, Hideko, ”, he’s, ” Hideko, “, Machiko Ino Japan, Hiroshi Ichikawa, Ichikawa, Hideyo Ogawa, ” Ogawa, Chiara Sangiorgio, Sangiorgio, “ Iwao, Hakamata “ Organizations: Tokyo CNN, Tokyo High Court, Japan’s, Ministry of Justice, Hakamata, CNN, “, Japan’s Ministry, Justice, exoneration, Amnesty International Locations: Shizuoka, Japan, Tokyo, United States

“Today, I would like to announce that a settlement has been reached in the civil trial with the three perpetrators who were found guilty in the criminal trial,” Gonoi said. Authorities initially seemed unwilling to believe her but Gonoi’s refusal to be silenced eventually prompted prosecutors to reopen investigations in a sweeping probe into sexual harassment across the JSDF. The broad investigation led by Japan’s defense ministry found that Gonoi had suffered physical and verbal sexual harassment daily between late 2020 and August 2021. Not backing downAs a child, Gonoi said she saw JSDF members as heroes. The defense ministry eventually launched a broad investigation into sexual harassment across the JSDF that found Gonoi had suffered physical and verbal sexual harassment daily between late 2020 and August 2021.

Persons: Hong Kong CNN —, Rina Gonoi, ” Gonoi, Gonoi, “, Yoshiaki Saito, Japan’s, Kazuhiro Nogi, Fumio Kishida, Boram Jang, “ Rina Gonoi, ” Jang Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, “, Japan Self, Defense Force, NHK, CNN, Japan’s Ministry of Defense, Authorities, Getty, Japanese, Gonoi, Amnesty Locations: Tokyo, Hong Kong, Japan, Higashi, Japan’s, Miyagi, Fukushima, AFP, East Asia

Tokyo CNN —Japanese officials descended on the headquarters of Toyota on Tuesday, after a safety test scandal at a number of automakers in the country widened this week. The ministry said five automakers — Toyota (TM), Mazda, Honda (HMC), Suzuki and Yamaha — had submitted incorrect or manipulated safety test data when they applied for certification of the vehicles. All five companies were told to review their safety certification processes. Kyodo/ReutersKoji Endo of SBI Securities said that Japan’s certification tests are very stringent and much stricter than in other countries. In January, Toyota announced it would suspend shipments of certain models after finding irregularities in certification tests for diesel engines developed by its affiliate, Toyota Industries.

Persons: —, Suzuki, Yamaha —, Koji Endo, ”, “, ” Endo, Akio Toyoda, Toyota’s Organizations: Tokyo CNN, Toyota, Japan’s Ministry of Transport, CNN, — Toyota, Mazda, Honda, Yamaha, Corolla Fielder, Corolla, Kyodo, SBI Securities, Transport Ministry, Toyota Industries, Daihatsu Locations: Japan

☆ Super-aged Japan now has 9 million vacant homes. And that’s a problem
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Chris Lau | Mayumi Maruyama | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

“This is a symptom of Japan’s population decline,” said Jeffrey Hall, a lecturer at Kanda University of International Studies in Chiba. “It’s not really a problem of building too many houses” but “a problem of not having enough people,” he said. According to figures compiled by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, 14% of all residential properties in Japan are vacant. “When an earthquake or a tsunami occurs, there is a possibility that vacant houses will block evacuation routes as they break down and get destroyed,” he said. In other rural areas with a high concentration of vacant houses, akiya have stalled development, the professor said.

Persons: ”, Jeffrey Hall, “ It’s, don’t, Akio Kon, it’s, “ They’re, Buddhika Weerasinghe, Yuki Akiyama, Akiyama, ” Akiyama Organizations: CNN, Kanda University of International Studies, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, Kanda University, “, Bloomberg, Getty, Ministry, Internal Affairs, Communications, Tokyo City University, Homes Locations: Japan, New York City, Tokyo, Kyoto, Chiba, Kanda, Yato, Yokosuka City, Kanagawa prefecture, Tambasasayama, Noto, Ishikawa, Europe, West, “

☆ Red rice yeast: Japan orders recall of ‘beni koji’ products over suspected link to four deaths
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-28 | by ( Himari Semans | Chris Lau | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

All three supplements contain “beni koji” - rice fermented with red yeast – an ingredient said to lower cholesterol levels that is traditionally used in food seasoning and preservation, and rice wine production. Kobayashi Pharmaceutical’s website says its beni koji products use a strain of bacteria in fermentation that does not produce citrinin. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Thursday said the government was investigating the deaths and the suspected link to beni koji, adding it was prepared to act. Across the Taiwan Strait, the island’s Food and Drug Administration ordered distributors to suspend the import of more than 150 products containing beni koji, including those made by Kobayashi. And in Singapore, authorities recalled a sparkling sake, a type of rice wine, by Kyoto-based Takara Shuzo, which uses beni koji in its production.

Persons: Kobayashi, beni koji, Benikoji, Kobayashi Pharmaceutical’s, “, Fumio Kishida, ”, Takara Shuzo, beni Organizations: Tokyo CNN, Japan’s Ministry of Health, Wednesday, Kobayashi Pharmaceutical, CNN, Weibo, Drug Administration Locations: Japan’s, Osaka, beni, Asia, China, Japan, Taiwan Strait, Singapore, Kyoto

☆ Cracked window on Boeing 737 forces All Nippon Airways flight to turn back
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-15 | by ( Junko Ogura | Marc Stewart | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

The crack was discovered about 40 minutes after take-off in the “second window from the right out of six windows in the cockpit,” ANA said. All 65 passengers and crew of the ANA flight 1182 arrived back safely, it added. The crack was discovered in the outermost of four layers of tempered glass on the cockpit window, the airline said. On January 5, a door plug on an Alaska Airlines flight blew open mid-flight, leaving a refrigerator-sized hole in the fuselage. The FAA said last week it was opening an investigation into Boeing’s quality control due to the failure of the door plug.

Persons: Boeing Max Organizations: Tokyo CNN, All Nippon Airways, ANA, Boeing, Japan’s Ministry of Land, Transport, Tourism, Alaska Airlines, Alaska Air, United Airlines, Federal Aviation Administration, FAA, National Transportation Safety Locations: Infrastructure, Oregon, United States

Tokyo CNN —China has formally arrested a Japanese man who was detained in March, according to officials from Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and the Japanese Embassy in Beijing. The arrest of the Japanese national, who was reportedly an employee of a Tokyo-based pharmaceutical firm, could further rattle foreign businesses in China, which have reported feeling more unsettled this year amid a crackdown on international consulting firms on national security grounds. According to Japanese public broadcaster NHK, the man was an employee of drugmaker Astellas Pharma and was detained in March by Chinese security authorities in Beijing on suspicion of violating the country’s criminal law and anti-espionage law. In May, state security authorities said they had raided several offices of Capvision, an advisory network. The issue has been cited as headache for foreign businesses, some of which were already having trouble convincing workers to relocate to China.

Persons: Hirokazu Matsuno, Japan’s MOFA, Mao Ning, “, ”, Weeks, Bain, — CNN’s Michelle Toh, Sophie Jeong, Mengchen Zhang Organizations: Tokyo CNN, Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Embassy, NHK, drugmaker, Pharma, CNN, Foreign Ministry, Ministry of State Security, Mintz Group, American Chamber of Commerce, China’s Commerce Ministry, State Administration of Foreign Exchange Locations: China, Tokyo, Beijing, MOFA, Shanghai, Hong Kong

CNN has contacted the Unification Church for an official comment but has not yet heard back. Previous controversiesThis is not the first time the Unification Church has been at the center of a controversy. The Sapporo District Court made a landmark ruling in favor of 20 former Unification Church members who had sued the group as part of the case. However, he also notes that some of its members felt happy and at peace after making donations to the Unification Church. Some critics of the Unification Church say the government’s actions don’t go far enough as it could still operate as a non-religious group.

Persons: Japan CNN —, Shinzo Abe, Tetsuya Yamagami, Abe, Yamagami, Reverend Sun Myung, Abe’s, Fumio Kishida, Kishida, Sakurai Yoshihid, Naomi Honma, ”, Nobutaka Inoue, What’s, don’t, Sakurai, ” Sakurai, Kimiaki, Nishida, Toshiyuki, – Organizations: Japan CNN, Unification, Family Federation, World Peace, Court, NHK, Unification Church, Reverend, CNN, Reuters, Japan’s Ministry, Cultural Affairs, Hokkaido University . CNN, National Lawyers Network, Kokugakuin University, Japan’s Ministry of Education, Japan Society for Cult Prevention, Osaka University Locations: Tokyo, Japan, South Korea, Sapporo

☆ Inflation is expected to slow because of these trends
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-17 | by ( Bryan Mena | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Washington, DC CNN —US inflation has slowed steadily from its four-decade peak last June, and it’s expected to cool further thanks to easing car prices and rents. Despite the expected inflation drop, she said investors anticipate the Fed will keep interest rates steady and not cut them anytime soon. “It may take a little bit longer than expected for inflation to come down to 2%, and inflation being in a 2-3% range next year is reasonable,” she said. Tuesday: Canada’s statistics agency releases August inflation data. The UK’s Office for National Statistics releases August inflation data.

Persons: we’re, ” José Torres, “, ”, Sarah House, Saira Malik, Michelle Toh, ” Read, General Mills, Christine Lagarde Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, DC CNN, Interactive Brokers, CNN, “, ”, United Auto Workers, CPI, San, San Francisco Fed, National Association of Home Builders, US Commerce Department, Japan’s Ministry of Finance, FedEx, General, National Statistics, Federal Reserve, Darden Restaurants, The Bank of England, US Labor Department, National Association of Realtors, The Bank of Japan, European Central Bank, Global Locations: Washington, Wells Fargo, San Francisco, China, Michelle Toh ., Japan’s

Tokyo, Japan CNN —Evacuation warnings have been issued to more than 237,000 people across 11 prefectures in Japan as Typhoon Lan hit the west of the country on Tuesday, according to Japan’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency. At least 26 people have been injured in five prefectures across western Japan, according to Japan’s public broadcaster NHK, citing police and fire officials. In two towns in Tottori and Okayama prefectures, rainfall over a few hours on Tuesday exceeded the average for the entire month of August. A swollen river as Typhoon Lan makes landfall in Shingu City, Wakayama Prefecture on Tuesday. Typhoon Lan follows Typhoon Khanun, which lashed southwestern Japan with wind and rain earlier this month.

Persons: Typhoon Lan, Lan, Takumi Harada, Koji Ito, Khanun Organizations: Japan CNN, Disaster Management Agency, NHK, Japan Meteorological Agency, Yomiuri Shimbun, Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Tourism, CNN, Japan Airlines, All Nippon Airlines, ANA Locations: Tokyo, Japan, Shionomisaki, Japan’s Wakayama, Tottori, Okayama, Shingu City, Wakayama Prefecture, Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture, Kansai, Chubu, Nagoya

Tokyo CNN —Japan’s Supreme Court handed down a landmark decision on Tuesday, ruling against a government agency that had barred a transgender employee from using the women’s bathroom, according to public broadcaster NHK. The decision was the top court’s first ruling involving the rights of sexual minorities in the workplace, NHK reported. The plaintiff is an employee in her 50s, working at Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). In an email to CNN on Tuesday, METI said it was aware that there was a Supreme Court ruling Tuesday regarding the use of women’s bathrooms by a transgender METI employee. And under Japan’s Gender Identity Disorder Special Cases Act, enacted 20 years ago, transgender individuals must undergo invasive surgeries – including sterilization – to be legally recognized according to their gender identity.

Persons: Tokyo CNN —, METI, “ Organizations: Tokyo CNN, Tokyo CNN — Japan’s, Court, NHK, Japan’s Ministry, Economy, Trade, Industry, National Personnel Authority, CNN, Japan’s Locations: Tokyo, Japan

Public prosecutors in Japan have not released information regarding the case and did not respond to CNN’s request for comment. Rina Gonoi, a former member of Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force, checks old photos on her phone. “That makes it hard for people to speak out.”Rina Gonoi says she endured physical and verbal sexual abuse while she served in Japan's Self-Defense Forces. In 1992, Japan’s National Defense Academy finally began accepting women, which made it possible for them to become senior officers. “We are aware that the perpetrators of sexual harassment cases are scheduled to be punished severely.

Persons: Tokyo CNN — Rina Gonoi, Gonoi, “, ”, Rina Gonoi Gonoi’s, Staff Yoshihide Yoshida, dishonorably, Rina Gonoi, Philip Fong, Japan’s, Fumika Sato, ” Sato, Sato, ” Rina Gonoi, Rina, Shinzo Abe, Richard A, Brooks, –, ” Gonoi, Gonoi’s, I’d, Yasukazu Hamada, Fumio Kishida, hasn’t, you’ve, “ I’m Organizations: Tokyo CNN, Defense Force, Japan’s Ministry of Defense, Staff, Defense Forces, NHK, Public, Getty, Hitotsubashi University, Defense Ministry, CNN, National Press Club, Japan’s National Defense Academy, Defense, Japan’s, Self - Defense Force, Ministry of Defense, ”, “, SDF Locations: Japan’s, Japan, AFP, Japan's, North Korea, China, Tokyo, Higashi, Miyagi, Fukushima

☆ A pledge to fight climate change is sending money to strange places
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +10 min

That failure has helped keep climate finance at the top of the agenda at annual U.N. climate conferences, such as last year’s COP27, held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. Some officials from potential recipient countries say that, before more money starts to flow, clearer definitions of what qualifies as climate finance and more transparency in reporting contributions are needed. A SIMEST official said that the agency’s work is not focused on climate change and that it is not involved in Italy's climate finance reporting. Source: Reuters analysis of climate finance data nations reported to the U.N. Japan’s foreign ministry, not JICA, is responsible for reporting climate finance to the U.N., Takeda said.

Persons: COP27, Matthew Samuda, Venchi, hasn’t, Fred Béliard, Nicolas Fierens Gevaert, Mohammad Hossain, Sachiko Takeda, Takeda, Hiroshi Onuma, Matarbari, “, ” Organizations: Jamaica's Ministry of Economic, Reuters, Italy's Ministry of Environment and Energy Security, United, Marriott, Fatima Group, U.S . State Department, Roja, French Development Agency, U.S, Power Cell, Japan International Cooperation Agency, Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Locations: Paris, Sharm el, Sheikh, Egypt, Dubai, Jamaica's, Japan, China, Indonesia, Asia, SIMEST, Italy, United States, Haitien, Haiti, Marriott, U.S, Belgium, Argentina, France, Mexico, Kenya, South Africa, Bangladesh, San Francisco, Germany, “ Japan

☆ Russia-Ukraine War Zelensky Flying to Japan for G7 Summit, in Search of Military Aid
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Victoria Kim | Natalia Yermak | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

Image A photograph released by Saudi Arabian state media showing President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine addressing the Arab League Summit on Friday. Mr. Biden said he was also prepared to let other countries give F-16s to Ukraine. In Hiroshima, Mr. Zelensky will almost certainly meet one on one with Mr. Biden. In Saudi Arabia, Mr. Zelensky appealed to Arab leaders meeting there not to bend to Russian influence. In his meetings with the leaders, Mr. Zelensky will have a chance to discuss the war with some of his staunchest backers: the U.S., Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Canada and Italy.

☆ Zelensky, Ukraine's president, plans to appear in person at Japan's G7 summit
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

G7 member countries, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, include the largest backers of Ukraine’s defense. Diplomatic pushEarlier this week, Zelensky completed a whirlwind European tour, where he made a bid to restock Ukraine’s military arsenal during stops in Italy, Germany, France and the United Kingdom. Zelensky will also attend the Arab League summit in Saudi Arabia on Friday, two Arab diplomats confirmed to CNN. Zelensky met with envoy Li Hui earlier this week, China’s Foreign Ministry said Thursday. Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry earlier that day had confirmed Li met Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and discussed “ways to stop Russian aggression.”

☆ Japan, Britain and Italy to build jet fighter together
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Japan, Britain and Italy are merging their next-generation jet fighter projects in a ground-breaking partnership spanning Europe and Asia that is Japan’s first major industrial defense collaboration beyond the United States since World War II. Amid what it sees as deteriorating regional security, Japan this month will announce a military build up plan that is expected to double defense spending to about 2% of gross domestic product over five years. “It’s also good for our international reputation”The proposed jet fighter aircraft Tempest, shown during the Farnborough Airshow, in southern England in July. Britain also wants Japan to improve how it provides security clearances to contractors who will work on the aircraft, sources with knowledge of the discussions told Reuters. “The United States supports Japan’s security and defense cooperation with likeminded allies and partners, including with the United Kingdom and Italy,” the U.S. Department of Defense said in a joint statement with Japan’s Ministry of Defense.

Hong Kong/Tokyo CNN Business —A quarter of a century ago, a major financial crisis ripped through Asia, shaking its economies to the core. “I do not expect a repeat of the [1997] Asian Financial Crisis this time,” said Khoon Goh, head of Asia research at ANZ Research. “Importantly, there is not the same build up of foreign denominated debt in recent years, which was one of the triggers of the Asian Financial Crisis,” Goh added. China and Japan have the world’s two biggest foreign exchange reserves, holding $3 trillion and $1.3 trillion respectively. “Asia’s resilience in the face of the current global storm is partly the result of reform that the Asian Financial Crisis prompted,” Neumann from HSBC said.

Search resuls for: "Japan’s Ministry"

17 mentions found