Japan

TOKYO, August 11. /TASS/: A group of former Japanese citizens of the Southern Kuril Islands has returned to Japan after the third visa-free trip by a charter flight to Kunashir and Iturup, NHK TV channel reported on Sunday.

The delegation consisted of nearly 70 people, including staff members of the Japanese Foreign Ministry. The flight was performed by a special plane of Russia’s Aurora airline.

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s government spokesman says his country’s downgrading of South Korea’s trade status is not intended as retaliation for disputes over court rulings ordering Japanese companies to pay compensation for their treatment of Korean laborers during World War II.

A decision by the Cabinet last Friday to drop South Korea from a list of countries granted preferred trade status became official Wednesday when it was published in Japan’s official gazette “kampo.” The measure will take effect on Aug. 28.

TOKYO, August 6. /TASS/: Missiles launched by North Korea on tuesday have not reached Japan's territorial waters or its exclusive economic zone, the country's defense ministry said.

"Missiles have nor reached our country's territorial waters or exclusive economic zone," the defense ministry said.

TOKYO (AP) — The Latest on Japan downgrading South Korea’s trade status (all times local):

7:10 p.m.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is meeting with his Japanese and South Korean counterparts in a bid to try to defuse a brewing crisis between the two key U.S. allies.

TOKYO, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry Hiroshige Seko said on Wednesday that the Japanese government has maintained its stance to remove South Korea from a list of nations entitled to simplified export procedures.

Japan has already tightened regulations earlier this month on its export to South Korea of three materials vital to make memory chips and display panels, which are the mainstay of the South Korean export.

The government will decide whether to exclude South Korea from the list as early as Friday at a cabinet meeting.

31 July 2019; DW: A Japanese researcher is set to become the first scientist to develop live animals that contain human organs. Hiromitsu Nakauchi plans to insert human stem cells into rats and then transfer the cells into other animals.

Japan has become the first country to allow the birthing of human-animal embryos to create human organs.

TOKYO (AP) — Global shares were mostly lower Wednesday as investors looked cautiously ahead to a key policy update from the U.S. Federal Reserve later in the day.

France’s CAC 40 was little changed but inched down less than 0.1% to 5,510.52. Germany’s DAX edged up 0.1% to 12,163.90, while Britain’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.3% to 7,621.38.

U.S. shares were set to drift higher with Dow futures up 0.2% to 27,226. S&P 500 futures were up nearly 0.2% to 3,017.20.

TOKYO, July 29. /TASS/: Japan’s All Nippon Airways (ANA) plans to launch regular flights between the Japanese capital of Tokyo and Russia’s Far Eastern city of Vladivostok in March 2020, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Monday.

According to the paper, ANA "is expected to offer several flights a week between the Tokyo area's Narita Airport and the Pacific port city using small aircraft with about 200 seats."

TOKYO (AP) — Antagonisms between South Korea and Japan are already at the boiling point. They’re bound to deepen with Tokyo’s plan to expand controls over exports of sensitive materials by dropping its neighbor from a list of 27 countries granted preferential trade status.

The decision, expected soon, will ripple across the high-tech sector, further shaking up supply chains already rattled by trade tensions between the U.S. and China.

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were mostly lower Monday as investors watched for developments in the trade conflict between the U.S. and China, with talks set to continue this week.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 edged down 0.3% in early trading to 21,584.96. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.2% to 6,806.40. South Korea’s Kospi lost 1.4% to 2,037.47. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 0.8% to 28,161.35, while the Shanghai Composite inched down less than 0.1% to 28,161.35.