Japan

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were trading mixed Wednesday as Japan’s benchmark jumped on the news of solid economic growth data, while the rest of the region was mired in uncertainty.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 gained nearly 0.7% in early trading to 30,039.41. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.5% to 7,198.90, after a better-than-expected wage increase report. The wage price index rose 3.7% year on year. But that could mean an interest rate hike in coming months, according to some analysts.

TOKYO (AP) — About 1,500 trees were cut down to build the $1.4 billion National Stadium for the Tokyo Olympics.

Almost two years after the Games ended, the graceful stadium sits largely unused, has no major tenant, and could cost taxpayers a reported $15 million annually in upkeep. In the interim, the Tokyo Games have been sullied by a string of bribery scandals and insider deals.

HIROSHIMA, Japan, May 16 (Reuters) - Standing at the front of a dimly lit room in the basement of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, Teruko Yahata's voice broke as she recalled the morning her world changed, on August 6, 1945.

"All of a sudden, the entire sky flashed and was illuminated in bluish-white, as if the heavens had become one huge, fluorescent light," the 85-year-old, speaking in English, told an audience of British tourists on a recent Tuesday.

"I immediately fell to the ground and lost consciousness."

TOKYO (AP) — Amid the high-level efforts to deal with a raft of global emergencies, this weekend’s Group of 7 summit of rich democracies will also see an unusual diplomatic reconciliation as the leaders of Japan and South Korea look to continue mending ties that have been marked for years by animosity and bickering.

HIROSHIMA, May 14 (NNN-NHK) – Hundreds of Japanese citizens took to the streets in the Japanese city of Hiroshima over the weekend, to protest against the upcoming Group of Seven (G7) summit.

Protests are also being held along the streets today, starting at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, a cenotaph where an atomic bomb was dropped by the U.S. at the end of World War II.

TOKYO, May 14 (NNN-NHK) – Five people were taken to hospital yesterday, after a car plowed into a supermarket in central Japan, according to local police.

At about 9:45 a.m. local time, a passenger car driven by an 80-year-old man slammed into the front of a supermarket in Inazawa of Aichi Prefecture.

Local police reported that all five individuals injured in the incident were female and aged between 60s and 70s. While one of them sustained serious injuries, the remaining four suffered only minor injuries.

TOKYO, May 14 (Xinhua) -- Earthquakes with a preliminary magnitude of up to 5.9 struck Japanese islands including Kozushima on Sunday, according to the weather agency.

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), the temblor, measuring 3 on Japan's seismic intensity scale which peaks at 7, occurred at 5:12 p.m. local time (0812 GMT) at a depth of 10 km.

The temblor's epicenter was located in the adjacent sea of Hachijojima Island at a latitude of 33.4 degrees north and a longitude of 139.3 degrees east.

TOKYO, May 13 (Xinhua) -- Five people were taken to the hospital Saturday after a car plowed into a supermarket in central Japan, according to local police.

At about 9:45 a.m. local time, a passenger car driven by an 80-year-old man slammed into the front of a supermarket in Inazawa of Aichi Prefecture.

Local police reported that all five individuals injured in the incident were female and aged between 60s and 70s. While one of them sustained serious injuries, the remaining four suffered only minor injuries.

Japanese and South Korean officials held hourslong talks into early Saturday and agreed on a visit later this month by South Korean experts to the Fukushima nuclear plant before it begins the controversial release of treated but radioactive water into the sea. The safety of the water is a major sticking point as the two sides work to improve long-strained ties.

NIIGATA, Japan (AP) — The Group of Seven’s top financial leaders united Saturday in their support for Ukraine and their determination to enforce sanctions against Russia for its aggression but stopped short of any overt mention of China.

The finance ministers and central bank chiefs ended three days of talks in Niigata, Japan, with a joint statement pledging to bring inflation under control, help countries struggling with onerous debts and strengthen financial systems.