Japan on Friday affirmed its pledge to deliver a primary budget surplus by the next fiscal year, reflecting concerns that its exit from the ultra low interest rate environment could boost government ... ( read original story ...)
Move over, Tokyo. Hong Kong is now the most expensive city to build, survey shows
Hong Kong's average building cost this year will rise 4.8% to $4,500 per square meter, ranking it ninth globally and first in Asia, according to Turner & Townsend. The city's construction industry ... ( read original story ...)
Editorial: Debate on Tokyo’s future needed as race to elect governor begins
Campaigning for the Tokyo gubernatorial election has begun with a record 56 people announcing their candidacy. Who should take the helm of this huge c ... ( read original story ...)
Tokyo governor election race kicks off with all eyes on 2 powerful female candidates
Veteran incumbent Yuriko Koike, 71, faces her biggest challenge from prominent opposition lawmaker Renho Saito, 56. ( read original story ...)
Departing Air Force wing commander’s Super Hercules gets a check-up in Tokyo
A U.S. Air Force C-130J Super Hercules looked like a massive mechanical patient on an operating table during a routine two-week inspection at Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo. Stars and Stripes got a ... ( read original story ...)
Tokyo governor elections: Parties disrupt campaigning with excessive candidates and cat pictures
Campaigning began in Tokyo's gubernatorial election on Thursday (Jun 20) with a crowded field of more than 50 candidates. Already, campaign drama is playing out with one party fielding 24 candidates and using cat pictures in place of portraits on banners. ( read original story ...)
Japan Makes It Very Hard to Be Sterilized. These Women Demand Change.
The entrenched rule of Japan’s right - leaning Liberal Democratic Party, along with the country’s deep-rooted traditional family values, have prevented progress in reproductive rights, said Yukako Ohashi, a writer and member of the Women’s Network for Reproductive Freedom. ( read original story ...)
High court upholds life prison term for ex-nurse who killed 3 elderly patients at Yokohama hospital
The Tokyo High Court has upheld a ruling a lower court that sentenced a 37-year-old former nurse at a Yokohama hospital to an indefinite life term in prison for killing three terminally ill patients ... ( read original story ...)
Japan imposes trade curbs on China-based firms for supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine
Japan imposed trade restrictions on China-based companies as part of a fresh round of sanctions against individuals and groups supporting Russia's war on Ukraine, the foreign ministry said in a statement on Friday. ( read original story ...)
Japan has no right to meddle in China-Philippines maritime issues, says Chinese embassy in Japan
Japan is not a party to the South China Sea issue and has no right to intervene in China-Philippines maritime matters, a spokesperson for China's embassy in Japan said on Friday. ( read original story ...)
Asia-Pacific markets set to fall as S&P 500 retreats from record; investors assess Japan inflation data
Asia-Pacific markets are set to open lower after the S&P 500 retreated from its record above the 5,500 level on Thursday. Investors in the region will assess Japan's inflation data for May after the ... ( read original story ...)
Japan’s Inflation Picks Up, Backing Case for BOJ Rate Hike
Japan’s inflation accelerated after the government increased renewable energy-related levies, a result that backs the case for the central bank to consider raising interest rates in coming months. ( read original story ...)
Japan top currency diplomat says ready to act vs speculative FX moves
Japanese authorities are ready to take action against speculative and excessively volatile moves in the currency market that hurt the economy, the country's top currency diplomat Masato Kanda said on ... ( read original story ...)
Andreescu takes down former world No. 1 Osaka to reach the semis in the Netherlands
Bianca Andreescu of Mississauga, Ont., outlasted Japan's Naomi Osaka 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(3), to reach the semifinals of the Libema Open. ( read original story ...)
The race to become Tokyo’s governor begins
As campaigning begins to become the governor of Tokyo, we hear from Tomohiko Taniguchi, a former special adviser to the cabinet of Shinzo Abe, on who’s in the lead to run the world’s most populous city. Then: Canada lists Iran’s Revolutionary Guards ... ( read original story ...)
Tokyo Olympic Star Caeleb Dressel Makes His Debut at US Swim Trials, Advancing in the 100 Free
Caeleb Dressel has made his debut at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials, posting the third-fastest time in the preliminaries of the 100-meter freestyle ( read original story ...)