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A giant Christmas tree is lit up at the Universal Studios Japan amusement park in the western Japan city of Osaka on Nov. 19, 2024. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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Japan sees foreign visitors top 30 mil. in Jan.-Oct. at fastest pace
TOKYO – The number of foreign visitors to Japan surpassed 30 million in the period between January and October, marking the fastest pace ever, and is poised to break the annual record amid a boom in inbound tourism, government data showed Wednesday.
The total stood at 30,192,600 during the 10-month period, crossing the 30 million threshold for the first time since 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic began in early 2020, the Japan National Tourism Organization said.
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Japan PM Ishiba hopes to work with Trump, not confront him
RIO DE JANEIRO – Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Tuesday he will pursue cooperation, not confrontation, with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump as a mutual effort to deepen the longtime bilateral alliance should benefit not just the two nations but the wider Indo-Pacific region.
Ishiba’s remarks came as he wrapped up a South American trip to Peru and Brazil. The Japanese leader hoped to travel from there to the United States for a meeting with Trump, which would have been the first with the Republican since he won the presidential election in early November.
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G20 summit ends with internal rifts showing ahead of Trump’s return
RIO DE JANEIRO – The Group of 20 leaders on Tuesday wrapped up their two-day meeting, underscoring the need for collective action to combat climate change, poverty and other global challenges.
While the leaders managed to issue a joint statement covering a wide range of topics, they mostly stuck to generalities ahead of the expected return of Donald Trump as U.S. president, with the forum already split in recent years over Russia’s war in Ukraine.
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Japan government ordered to pay damages over noise at Atsugi air base
YOKOHAMA – A Japanese court on Wednesday ordered the government to pay damages to residents around Atsugi air base near Tokyo over excessive noise but rejected their call for suspending Self-Defense Forces and U.S. military flights.
The Yokohama District Court ordered the state to pay approximately 5.9 billion yen ($38 million) for past disturbances but rejected the plaintiffs’ demand for compensation for future noise pollution.
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Tokyo prosecutors drop assault case against Kenyan Olympic medalist
TOKYO – Prosecutors on Wednesday dropped their case against former Kenyan marathon runner and two-time Olympic medalist Eric Wainaina, who had been accused of assaulting a woman and a station worker in the capital in March.
The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office did not provide a reason for dropping the charges against Wainaina. The 50-year-old former athlete won a bronze medal in Atlanta in 1996 and silver in Sydney in 2000.
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Japan coalition accepts opposition party’s demand over stimulus steps
TOKYO – Japan’s minority government accepted on Wednesday an opposition party’s demand to raise the tax-free income threshold, paving the way for compilation of an inflation relief package.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner Komeito are set to finalize measures to mitigate the negative impact of rising prices before gaining Cabinet approval, possibly on Friday.
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H.K. media tycoon Lai says he opposes violence in high-profile trial
HONG KONG – Jimmy Lai, the jailed founder of the now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, testified Wednesday in his high-profile national security trial in Hong Kong, saying that he has “always opposed violence,” a value he says also guided the newspaper.
The media tycoon was arrested in 2020 during the Hong Kong government’s crackdown on pro-democracy activists, following mass protests the previous year against a government-proposed China extradition bill that shook the territory.
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Japan PM Ishiba criticized for “bad manners” at APEC summit
TOKYO – Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is being criticized online by people in Japan for his “bad manners” after footage of the APEC forum summit in Peru showed him greeting other leaders while remaining seated.
Footage showed Ishiba checking his smartphone while seated as leaders including Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau and Malaysia’s Anwar Ibrahim approached him. Ishiba looked up from his phone and shook hands but did not stand up.
Video: First snowfall of season on Mt. Daisen in Tottori Prefecture
