Japan

Global shares rise after Wall Street rally led by tech stock

TOKYO (AP) — Global shares rose Wednesday following a rally on Wall Street led by technology companies.

Benchmarks edged up in Europe in early trading, while shares finished higher across Asia despite worries about rising energy costs. The dollar gained against the Japanese yen while U.S. futures fell.

France’s benchmark CAC 40 rose 0.1% in early trading to 6,667.05, while Germany’s DAX gained 0.3% to 14,516.18. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.3% to 7,500.58. The futures for the Dow industrials and S&P 500 were 0.1% lower.

Japan protests Russian halt to World War Two peace treaty talks

March 22 (Reuters) - Japan reacted angrily on Tuesday after Russia withdrew from peace treaty talks with Japan and froze joint economic projects related to the disputed Kuril islands because of Japanese sanctions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Russia and Japan have not formally ended World War Two hostilities because of their standoff over islands, seized by the Soviet Union at the end of World War Two, just off Japan's northernmost island of Hokkaido.

The islands are known in Russia as the Kurils and in Japan as the Northern Territories.

Japan: Tokyo, 8 other prefectures brace for blackouts amid supply crunch in wake of powerful quake

TOKYO, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Japan's industry ministry said on Tuesday that a power outage could occur at around 8 p.m. local time, with as many as 3 million households affected in Tokyo and other areas in Japan's east and northeast.

The latest warning from the government follows Industry Minister Koichi Hagiuda earlier Tuesday urging people living in Tokyo and eight other prefectures to lower the amount of electricity they consume due to a 7.4-magnitude earthquake that struck last week knocking out some thermal power plants.

Magnitude 5.5 quake hits Japan's northeast, no tsunami warning

TOKYO, March 18 (Reuters) - An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.5 hit parts of Iwate prefecture in northeastern Japan late on Friday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

The earthquake, which had an intensity of 5+ on Japan's 1-7 intensity scale, was 20 km deep, JMA said. No tsunami warning was issued.

The quake followed a powerful magnitude 7.4 quake that jolted the area late on Wednesday.

China-style diplomacy "better than" West's, says Ugandan president

TOKYO, March 17 (Xinhua) -- Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has praised China's style of diplomacy, saying it is "much better" than the "double standards" held by the West.

Museveni said in an interview with Nikkei that he sees "double standards" in the Western response to Russia's military operation in Ukraine, and China's approach of not interfering in others' domestic affairs is "much better," the news outlet reported on Thursday.

He rejected allegations that "Beijing expands its influence by drawing smaller economies into 'debt traps'."

Cleanup begins after 7.4 quake shakes north Japan, killing 4

TOKYO (AP) — Residents in Fukushima and Miyagi were cleaning their homes after a sleepless night following a powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake that struck off the northern Japanese coasts, smashing furniture, knocking out power and killing four people.

The region is part of an area devastated by a deadly 9.0 quake and tsunami 11 years ago that caused nuclear reactor meltdowns, spewing massive radiation that still makes some parts uninhabitable.

Earthquake jolts Japan's northeast coast, cuts power in Tokyo

TOKYO, March 16 (Reuters) - A powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 7.3 jolted Japan's northeast coast on Wednesday, shaking buildings as far away as Tokyo where it left hundreds of thousands without power, and reviving memories of a devastating quake 11 years earlier.

The tremor hit off the coast of Fukushima prefecture, some 275 kilometres (170 miles) northeast of Tokyo and at a depth of 60 kilometres, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said.

Hong Kong shares soar 9% on China pledge to support economy

TOKYO (AP) — Hong Kong’s share benchmark, the Hang Seng index, soared 9% on Wednesday after a senior Chinese official said Beijing would provide more support for the slowing Chinese economy.

The surge was a reprieve from recent heavy selling of Chinese technology companies and other pressures that had taken the Hang Seng to six-year lows.

Officials at a Cabinet meeting in Beijing promised to “invigorate the economy” with “supporting measures” for the struggling real estate and other steps, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

Japanese PM calls for party unity for upcoming upper house election

TOKYO, March 13 (Xinhua) -- Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Sunday urged ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) lawmakers to unite as one to win the upcoming House of Councilors election and ensure a stable coalition government.

Kishida, president of the LDP, made the remarks at a party convention, emphasizing the importance of its coalition with its smaller partner Komeito.

He dismissed an emerging view that the relationship between the LDP and Komeito has become awkward over cooperation in the election, which will possibly be held in July.

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