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☆ 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

☆ Japan's farmers are getting too old to work the land. 5G-powered smart tech is doing the heavy lifting for them.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( Bella Sayegh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

In remote locations, 5G-powered tech is helping farmers produce crops with the support of experts. Smart farming was introduced into Japanese agriculture in 2020 by NTT AgriTechnology in Chōfu City, Tokyo, for a three-year project. This helps farmers monitor crops for disease and create a harvesting timeline while navigating conditions that can change daily. The next steps for 5G farming involve broadening the scale of these projects so that farmers can monitor more fields at a time, Ahmed and Masakuza said. To do that, companies and local governments will need to continue investing in private, local 5G networks, they added.

Persons: —, Abe Masakuza, Masakuza, Shahid Ahmed, Ahmed, NTT Ahmed Organizations: Private 5G, Service, Agriculture, Forestry, Smart, NTT AgriTechnology, Nippon Telegraph, Telephone, NTT, Hokkaido University, 5G, Farmers, Chōfu, Private Locations: Japan, Chōfu City, Tokyo, Tachikawa , Tokyo, Iwamizawa, Northern Japan

☆ Blake Masters is running for a Phoenix-area House seat — but he lives over 100 miles away in Tucson
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

But he lives in Tucson, more than 120 miles away from Lesko's Phoenix-area House district. Abe Hamadeh, the 2022 GOP nominee for attorney general, is already running for the seat. In 2022, Masters, Lake and Hamadeh ran as a unified ticket. In 2022, Masters benefited from millions in outside spending from tech billionaire Peter Thiel. AdvertisementAdvertisementAs of the end of September, Masters' Senate campaign owed more than $820,000 in debt, most of which was owed to Masters himself.

Persons: Blake Masters, Debbie Lesko's, Kari Lake, —, there's, Masters, doesn't, I'm, Abe Hamadeh, Hamadeh, Lesko, Ben Toma, I've, Sen, Josh Hawley, JD Vance, Peter Thiel, Thiel Organizations: GOP, Service, Twitter, US, Arizona's, Commission, US Senate, Trump, Arizona House, Lake Locations: Tucson, Lesko's Phoenix, He'd, Arizona, Phoenix, Arizona's 8th, West, Scottsdale, Missouri, Josh Hawley of Missouri, Ohio

Like many other Black Protestant churches, Calvary Baptist struggled economically during the coronavirus pandemic. But the church has transformed its parking lot to accommodate game-day fundraisers, with volunteers from the congregation staffing the lots and selling spaces for $15 per vehicle. All 250 parking spaces at the Calvary lot were full when Messi’s Inter Miami played the Union. Sometimes, rival fans park at the church. The church parking lot is often full on game days.

Persons: Martin Luther King Jr, Keith Dickens, Calvary, ”, Dickens, Lionel Messi, Jeffrey Scholes, “, Scholes, ” Scholes, King, ” Abe Gitterman, Lisa Lewis, Leslie Cranford, RVs —, Jones, Cranford, Kevin Ness, Jill Connerym, Connery, Taylor, Kevin Ulmet Organizations: Eagles, NFL, Calvary Baptist Church, Major League Soccer, Philadelphia Union, Subaru, Union, Calvary Baptist, Green Bay Packers, MLS, Messi’s Inter Miami, Sports, Chester’s Crozer Theological Seminary . Chester, John’s United Methodist Church, Texas Tech, Red Raiders, T, ”, Christian Science Church, Red Sox, Christian, Christian Science, Bethany Church, Packers, Nashville, Church, Nazarene, Nissan, Tennessee Titans, Lilly Endowment Inc, AP Locations: CHESTER, Pa, Philadelphia, Delaware, Calvary, Lubbock , Texas, St, Boston, Fenway, Green Bay , Wisconsin, Nashville, Haiti, Kenya, “

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

☆ Japan Seeks to Dissolve Moon Church After Pleas of Shinzo Abe Assassination Suspect
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( Peter Landers | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

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Persons: Dow Jones, abe Locations: asia, japan

☆ Asia stocks slump as bond selloff spooks markets
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-04 | by ( Tom Westbrook | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The spike in Treasury yields lifted the dollar to new heights with only the yen showing some fight amid speculation the Japanese authorities might be intervening behind the scenes. The yen breached the 150-per-dollar level in the London afternoon on Tuesday before suddenly shooting to 147.3. There was no confirmation from Tokyo, where Japan's finance minister and top currency diplomat have made no direct comment on the move. In commodity markets, the stronger dollar has helped put the brakes on oil prices and higher yields have weighed on gold. Brent crude futures were last steady at $90.87 a barrel, having hit an 11-month high of $97.69 last week.

Persons: Issei Kato, it's, Mel Siew, Ryota Abe, Kit Juckes, Tom Westbrook, Jamie Freed, Kim Coghill Organizations: U.S ., REUTERS, Japan's Nikkei, Muzinich, Co, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, New Zealand, Federal, Treasury, Brent, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan, Asia, SINGAPORE, London, Pacific, Singapore, Taiwan, Malaysian

The tale provides an unlikely, ghastly background to the original 1858 ambrotype created during the future nation-saving Civil War president's ascendancy, an image which the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum has added to its collection, officials said Tuesday. “Original images of Abraham Lincoln are extraordinarily rare, and images with a fascinating back story like this are even more rare," said Christina Shutt, executive director of the library and museum. The photo ... is a physical reminder of his kind spirit and concern for others,” said Ian Hunt, head of acquisitions for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. Hunt, also with the library and museum, sees “a man of conviction" while noting that Lincoln would have been exhausted by the campaign trail. “This is the Lincoln that the voters of Illinois would have been familiar with,” Hunt said.

Persons: Stephen A, Douglas, Abraham Lincoln, Lincoln, Charles Lame, ambrotype, Christina Shutt, “ Lincoln, Charles Lame’s, Lame, Mary Davidson, Louis, Daniel Gilmer, Calvin Jackson, Robert Scanland, LeRoy H, Fischer, amputate Lame's, Lame's, “, ”, Ian Hunt, Horseflies, Gilmer, Hunt, ” Hunt, Daniel Chester French Organizations: Ill, U.S, Senate, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library, Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, of Congress, Lincoln Memorial Locations: SPRINGFIELD, Illinois, Hendersonville , Tennessee, Springfield, Pittsfield, St, Lincoln, Chickamauga, Washington

Stock incentives are seen positively by the market "as higher stock prices directly boost such incentives," she said. Sony, which introduced stock incentives years ago for some management levels, recently changed its framework to make the incentives more attractive, a spokesperson said. "The stock incentives are aimed at beefing up engagement with employees and promoting their interest in raising corporate value." Today, employee stock incentives are also a way for companies to replace cross-shareholdings, a common practice where companies take stakes in partners to cement relationships and avoid activist investors. Despite its increasing popularity, just a quarter of top 100 Japanese companies have employee stock incentives compared to more than 80% in the United States or Germany, data by consulting firm Human Resources Governance Leaders shows.

Persons: Kim Kyung, Motomi Hashimoto, Hitoshi Tanimura, Shintaro Takano, Shinzo Abe, Shinji Ishikawa, Makiko Yamazaki, Ritsuko Shimizu, Miral Organizations: Nikkei, REUTERS, Rights, ANA Holdings, ANA, Sony Group, Tokyo Stock Exchange, Nomura Securities, Reuters, Sony, Human Resources, Leaders, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan, Omron, United States, Germany

☆ Japan PM to Include Five Women in Cabinet - Media
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Sept. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's cabinet will include five female ministers, the same number as in two previous administrations, Japanese media reported on Wednesday, as the premier seeks to boost his sagging ratings with fresh faces. About 43% of respondents disapproved of Kishida's leadership while 36% approved, according to a poll by public broadcaster NHK conducted last week. Yoko Kamikawa, a former justice minister who oversaw the execution of the Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult that carried out a deadly sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway in 1995, will become foreign minister, the media outlets said. The number of women in cabinet is the same as previous cabinets led by former premiers Junichiro Koizumi and Shinzo Abe. Kishida has also appointed pro-Taiwan politician Minoru Kihara to head the defence ministry, while retaining Shunichi Suzuki as finance minister and Yasutoshi Nishimura as economic minister, the media outlets said.

Persons: Fumio Kishida's, Kishida, Yoko Kamikawa, Sanae, Junichiro Koizumi, Shinzo Abe, Minoru Kihara, Suzuki, Yasutoshi Nishimura, Sakura Murakami, Miral Fahmy Organizations: NHK Locations: TOKYO, Tokyo, Taiwan

☆ Japan PM to keep his chief cabinet secretary in cabinet reshuffle -Yomiuri
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TOKYO, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has decided to keep Hirokazu Matsuno in his current post as chief cabinet secretary, a key ministerial position, during a cabinet reshuffle, the Yomiuri newspaper reported on Tuesday. The Yomiuri said core members of his cabinet and party leadership will remain unchanged, as Kishida also plans to keep former premier Taro Aso as party vice president and former foreign minister Toshimitsu Motegi as party secretary-general. Kishida, also the head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), has said he plans to reshuffle his cabinet and conduct a personnel change of party leadership as early as Wednesday. Shinzo Abe and Yoshihide Suga, two prime ministers before Kishida, both served as chief cabinet secretary before becoming premier. Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Christopher CushingOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Fumio Kishida, Kishida, Taro Aso, Toshimitsu Motegi, Shinzo Abe, Yoshihide Suga, Kiyoshi Takenaka, Christian Schmollinger, Christopher Cushing Organizations: Yomiuri, Liberal Democratic Party, Kishida, Thomson Locations: TOKYO

☆ The Artistry of Her Baskets Is Complex. So Is the Story Around Them.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( Marc Tracy | More About Marc Tracy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

“It’s not right for the rest of us to tell our basket weavers how to weave their baskets,” he said. For Horton, the professor, Keyser’s story is important to understanding her baskets, if not in the way the Cohns intended. Image Abe Cohn outside of his Emporium in Carson City, Nev., in 1923, holding two of Louisa Keyser’s baskets. Another, titled “Brotherhood of Men,” was the one the Ellis Gallery sold in 2007 for $1.2 million. Then as now, the degikup evident in four of the show’s baskets is a source of much of the enthusiasm around them.

Persons: Herman Fillmore, “ It’s, ”, Horton, Abe Cohn, Louisa Keyser’s, Donald Ellis, Ellis, Keyser, “ Organizations: of, Ellis Locations: Washoe Tribe, Nevada, California, Washoe, Carson City, Nev, “

The Liberian MSC UNITED VIII container ship transits in the expanded canal through Cocoli Locks at the Panama Canal, on the outskirts of Panama City, Panama March 10, 2023. The Panama Canal Authority last week opened two additional slots per day for vessels without booking to transit to help clear bottlenecks on both sides of the interoceanic corridor. As of Tuesday, 125 booked and non-booked vessels were waiting to pass, down from more than 160 ships two weeks ago, according to official numbers. However, the average wait time for vessels to pass has risen to between 10 and 11 days this month, from 6-7 days last month. The waiting surpasses 17 days for cargo vessels and liquefied petroleum gas carriers, and is almost 13 days for tankers.

Persons: Aris Martinez, Gustavo Petro, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Abe Eshkenazi, Elida Moreno, Marianna Parraga, Marguerita Choy Organizations: Liberian MSC UNITED, REUTERS, PANAMA CITY, Panama Canal Authority, Reuters, Tuesday, Panama, U.S, U.S ., Association for Supply Chain Management, Thomson Locations: Cocoli, Panama, Panama City, PANAMA, Asia, South America, Europe, China, U.S . West Coast, Chicago, Houston

☆ Japan lodges protest with Russia over suspension of tax treaties
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Japan's Education Minister Hirokazu Matsuno speaks at a news conference at Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's official residence in Tokyo, Japan, August 3, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File PhotoTOKYO, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said on Wednesday that Japan has lodged a protest with Russia over Moscow's suspension of tax treaties. "Japan lodged a protest against Russia through diplomatic channels and asked them to withdraw their decision," he said. Matsuno also said that the government would closely examine Russia's decision, and would collect information on the situation of Japanese companies there and take appropriate action. Reporting by Kaori Kaneko; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Gerry DoyleOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Hirokazu Matsuno, Shinzo, Kim Kyung, Vladimir Putin, Russia's, Matsuno, Kaori Kaneko, Christopher Cushing, Gerry Doyle Organizations: Japan's, REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan, Russia

☆ An independent candidacy by Kyrsten Sinema could help Democrats win the 2024 Arizona Senate race as she appears to pull more support from Republicans than from her old party, a new poll says
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

For months, Democrats have worried about a three-way Senate race in Arizona giving the GOP a boost. But a new Emerson College poll shows Democrats ahead in three-way matchups that include Sinema. But in a three-way race with Gallego, Lamb, and Sinema, the Democratic candidate leads with 36% support, followed by Lamb at 29% and Sinema with 21% support — while 15% of respondents were undecided. And in a three-way contest with Gallego, Wright, and Sinema, the congressman leads with 37% support, with Sinema at 26% and Wright with 25% support. One of the more fascinating elements of the polling is Sinema's continued popularity with a sizable bloc of Republicans, a dynamic similar to her 2018 Senate victory when she ran as a Democrat.

Persons: Arizona Sen, Kyrsten Sinema, Sinema, Ruben Gallego, who's, Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb, Gallego, Lamb, Brian Wright, Wright, Martha McSally, Emerson, Kari Lake, Blake Masters, Abe Hamadeh, Jim Lamon, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Trump, Cornel Organizations: GOP, Emerson College, Republicans, Service, Democratic Party, Independent, Democratic, Gallego, Pinal County Sheriff, Republican, Democrat, Sinema, Arizona Senate, Emerson, Biden, Cornel West Locations: Arizona, Wall, Silicon, Phoenix, Pinal County

☆ Threads user count falls to new lows, highlighting retention challenges
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

The data from market research firms Similarweb and Sensor Tower highlight the challenges facing Meta as it seeks to exploit the opening created by the chaos surrounding Twitter’s management. Threads’ daily active user count is down 82% from launch as of July 31, according to Sensor Tower, with just eight million users accessing the app each day. On its launch day, Threads users opened the app an average of 14 times and spent an average of 19 minutes scrolling through it, the company reported. The steepest drop-off occurred in the two weeks immediately following Threads’ launch. According to Sensor Tower, Threads’ daily active user count is still falling at a rate of roughly 1% per day.

Persons: Abe Yousef, David Carr, Mark Zuckerberg, ”, we’re, Zuckerberg Organizations: DC CNN, Twitter, Similarweb Locations: Washington

☆ Some at Bank of Japan baulked at ex-chief Kuroda's 'bazooka' stimulus, 2013 meeting minutes show
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Leika Kihara | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Haruhiko Kuroda speaks during a news conference after attending the Monetary Policy Meeting at BOJ headquarters in Tokyo, Japan January 18, 2023, in this photo released by Kyodo. TOKYO, July 31 (Reuters) - Some Bank of Japan (BOJ) policymakers baulked at former chief Haruhiko Kuroda's idea of deploying a "bazooka" massive stimulus a decade ago, unconvinced central banks had the power to jolt public perceptions, accounts of the meeting released on Monday showed. Former banker Koji Ishida said he would propose reviewing the stimulus programme if no tangible results were seen one year into its launch, the minutes showed. Since then, the BOJ has capped long-term borrowing costs at about zero and has pledged to maintain ultra-low interest rates until its 2% inflation target is sustainably met and accompanied by wage growth. After serving two, five-year terms, Kuroda stepped down from the top BOJ post in March.

Persons: Haruhiko Kuroda, baulked, Haruhiko, Shinzo Abe, Kuroda, Masaaki Shirakawa, Hiroshi Nakaso, Takahide Kiuchi, Takehiro Sato, Sato, Koji Ishida, Leika Kihara, Jamie Freed Organizations: Bank of Japan, Kyodo ., Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan, Kyodo . TOKYO

☆ A history of the Mar-a-Lago club, the site at the center of Donald Trump's confidential documents case
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-29 | by ( Sebastian Cahill | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

When the White House refused it, citing high maintenance costs, Donald Trump purchased the estate. The 20-acre Mar-a-Lago property, meaning "Sea to Lake" in Spanish, is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean and Lake Worth. While in office, he referred to the estate as the "Winter White House." Former White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham alleges Trump casually presented some of the documents to guests of the estate. Tuesday, Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump nominee, will preside over Trump's first pretrial hearing for the case.

Persons: Donald Trump, Donald Trump's, Marjorie Merriweather, Michael Luongo, Trump, Xi Jinping, Shinzo Abe, Stephanie Grisham, Aileen Cannon, Trump's Organizations: White, Service, Lago, Postum Cereal Company, NPR, Smithsonian Magazine, Palm, Post, Mar, Country, Town, White House Press, Trump Locations: Lago, Wall, Silicon, Lake Worth, Palm Beach, Florida, Syria, Mar, Palm

Tokyo CNN —Japan’s population crisis is accelerating, with the number of nationals falling by more than 800,000 in the past year – echoing similar trends seen in other East Asian countries. As of January 1 this year, Japan’s total population stood at 125.4 million, including both Japanese and foreign residents, according to data released on Wednesday by Japan’s internal affairs ministry. The number of foreign residents rose by nearly 289,500 compared to the previous year – a significant increase of more than 10%. But the number of Japanese residents shrank by 800,523, marking the 14th consecutive year of contraction since a peak in 2009, said the ministry. However, due to the rise in foreign residents, the capital Tokyo saw a slight increase in overall population of all residents regardless of nationality.

Persons: Fumio Kishida, –, Shinzo Abe Organizations: Tokyo CNN, CNN Locations: Tokyo, Japan, China, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan

☆ Dollar teeters near one-year low; euro scales 17-month peak
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Rae Wee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

FILE PHOTO: U.S. dollars are counted out by a banker counting currency at a bank in Westminster, Colorado November 3, 2009. “I think the dollar can stay under selling pressure,” said Carol Kong, a currency strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia. Money markets have largely priced in a 25-basis-point rate hike from the Fed at its policy meeting later this month, though see rates coming down as early as December. Conversely, investors expect the European Central Bank and the Bank of England to have further to go in their rate-hike cycle. Elsewhere, the Japanese yen rose marginally to 138.66 per dollar and remains more than 4% clear of a seven-month low it hit last month.

Persons: Rick Wilking, ”, Carol Kong, Ryota Abe, China’s, Khoon Goh Organizations: greenback, REUTERS, U.S, Federal Reserve, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, “, Fed, European Central Bank, Bank of England, Bank of Japan, SMBC, Reserve Bank of Australia’s, New Zealand, ANZ Locations: SINGAPORE, Westminster , Colorado, Asia

☆ Dollar teeters near one-year low while euro scales 17-month peak
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

"I think the dollar can stay under selling pressure," said Carol Kong, a currency strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia. Money markets have largely priced in a 25-basis-point rate hike from the Fed at its policy meeting later this month, though see rates coming down as early as December. Conversely, investors expect the European Central Bank and the Bank of England to have further to go in their rate-hike cycle. Elsewhere, the Japanese yen rose marginally to 138.66 per dollar and remains more than 4% clear of a seven-month low it hit last month. The Bank of Japan, or BOJ, holds its monetary policy meeting next week, with investors on the lookout for whether the central bank will start phasing out its ultra-dovish policy stance.

Persons: Carol Kong, Ryota Abe, China's, Khoon Goh Organizations: greenback, U.S, Federal Reserve, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Fed, European Central Bank, Bank of England, Bank of Japan, SMBC, Reserve Bank of Australia's, New Zealand, ANZ Locations: Asia

☆ A Turning Point for Military Spending
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( David Leonhardt | More About David Leonhardt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

But starting in 2012, Shinzo Abe, then the prime minister, began pushing for a new approach, one that he argued was more fitting for modern realities. Japan’s current prime minister, Fumio Kishida, plans to raise defense spending gradually to 2 percent of economic output, and the public reaction has been “remarkably sanguine,” Motoko says. The additional money that countries spend on defense is money they cannot spend on roads, child care, cancer research, refugee resettlement, public parks or clean energy, my colleague Patricia points out. One reason Macron has insisted on raising France’s retirement age despite widespread protests, analysts believe, is a need to leave more money for the military. Those other countries, sensing a more threatening world, are now once again promising to pull their weight.

Persons: Shinzo Abe, Motoko Rich, Fumio Kishida, ” Motoko, Patricia, Macron, — Organizations: North Locations: Japan, Germany, Tokyo, China, North Korea

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

REUTERS/Issei KatoTOKYO, July 8 (Reuters) - Japan on Saturday marked one year since former prime minister Shinzo Abe was gunned down during an election speech by a man angry at his links to the Unification Church. The death of Japan's longest serving prime minister, which was caught on video, rattled a nation unused to gun violence. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and other senior officials and lawmakers joined Abe's widow, Akie, at a private memorial service at a Buddhist temple in Tokyo. Among them was Tsuu Ogawa, 49, a hotel worker, who celebrated her birthday the day that Abe was assassinated. In social media posts before the shooting, he blamed the Unification Church for leaving his mother in financial straits.

Persons: Shinzo Abe, Issei Kato TOKYO, Japan's, Fumio Kishida, Akie, Tsuu Ogawa, Abe, Critics, Atsuhiro Ueda, Kishida, Tetsuya Yamagami, Daishiro Yamagiwa, Tim Kelly, Irene Wang, Kim Coghill Organizations: REUTERS, Unification Church, Liberal Democratic Party, Unification, Korean, Economic, Thomson Locations: Zojoji, Tokyo, Japan

☆ Zoom is 'extremely optimistic' about growth in Asia-Pacific despite weaker outlook
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Goh Chiew Tong | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

watch nowZoom is "doubling down" on its technical investments in the Asia-Pacific region as it seeks to strengthen growth, said the video communications company on Friday. We made a strong commitment about two years ago to really turn on the speed and step on the gas," Abe Smith, Zoom's head of international, told "Squawk Box Asia." watch nowHowever, Smith said Zoom is "extremely optimistic" about the growth of its phone product in Asia Pacific. Zoom's A.I. Zoom's big bet on AI also includes an investment in Anthropic, an AI safety and research company, back in May.

Persons: Abe Smith, Zoom's, Smith Organizations: Microsoft Locations: Asia, Pacific, Singapore, India, Chennai, Bangalore, Asia Pacific, Anthropic

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