Japan

NAGOYA, November 23. /TASS/: Japan should recognize Russia's sovereignty over the Southern Kuril Islands so that both countries can move towards signing a peace treaty, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters on Saturday.

Russia’s top diplomat thus commented on a statement by Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga that the Japanese government would continue negotiations with Russia on a peace treaty proceeding from its baseline position: first to settle the territorial problem and then to conclude a peace treaty.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Pope Francis arrived on Saturday in Japan, the second leg of a week-long Asian trip whose main aim is to bring an anti-nuclear message to Nagasaki and Hiroshima, the world’s only cities to suffer atomic bombing in wartime.

Francis, a determined anti-nuclear campaigner who will read a message on nuclear weapons in Nagasaki, will also meet survivors of the March 11, 2011 nuclear meltdown at Fukushima, the world’s worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986.

NAGOYA, Japan (Reuters) - Japan and South Korea agreed on Saturday to hold formal talks next month, taking a step towards improving relations strained by decades of bitterness over their wartime past and now exacerbated by a simmering trade dispute.

The decision to return to the table came a day after Seoul made a last-minute decision to stick to an intelligence-sharing deal with Japan. Seoul on Saturday hailed its own move as a “breakthrough” after months of worsening relations.

NAGOYA, Japan, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said here on Saturday that the Group of 20 (G20) should take the lead in championing multilateralism.

Addressing the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting, Wang said the global economic momentum is slowing with increased downside risks, and the world is full of uncertainties with growing unilateralism and protectionism.

"We can not sit by idly and should take actions," he said, noting that multilateralism is key to solving various global issues.

NAGOYA, Japan (Reuters) - Japan’s foreign minister agreed on Friday to visit Russia next month for talks about a formal World War Two peace treaty, a ministry official said, following a decades-old dispute that has prevented the countries from reaching a pact.

Toshimitsu Motegi agreed with counterpart Sergei Lavrov to visit Russia in mid-December and discuss the issue, the official said at a briefing on the sidelines of a meeting of the Group of 20 (G20) nations in the central Japanese city of Nagoya.

TOKYO, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) -- Japanese Prime Minster Shinzo Abe on Tuesday became the joint longest-serving prime minister along with Taro Katsura, having served at the helm for 2,886 days amid a number of setbacks including scandal-driven public mistrust, constitutional controversies and diplomatic impasses.

On Wednesday, Abe is set to become Japan's longest-serving prime minister, marking a new record in Japan's political history, having held the top post for almost seven years after he won the premiership in 2012, having also held the position briefly between 2006 and 2007.

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares are mixed Monday in a cautious mode after Wall Street closed out the week with milestones as the Dow Jones Industrial Average crossed 28,000 for the first time and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit record highs.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 inched up nearly 0.2% to 23,344.06 in morning trading. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.5% to 6,760.60. South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.2% to 2,157.19. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 1.3% to 26,657.14, while the Shanghai Composite was up nearly 0.2% at 2,896.47.

TOKYO (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump has asked Japan to quadruple annual payments for U.S. forces stationed there to around $8 billion, Foreign Policy reported, part of Washington’s efforts to press its allies to increase their defense spending.

The current agreement that covers the 54,000 U.S. troops stationed in Japan expires in March 2021.

TOKYO, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- Business lobbies from Japan and South Korea agreed here on Friday that the continuation of dialogue was important as is the cooperation by both sides towards future-oriented relations.

The agreement was made amid strained political ties between both countries related to an ongoing wartime labor dispute that has spilled over into a tit-for-tat trade spat.

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako waved and smiled from an open car in a parade Sunday marking Naruhito’s enthronement as hundreds of thousands of delighted well-wishers cheered, waved small flags and took photos from packed sidewalks.

Security was extremely tight, with police setting up 40 checkpoints leading to the parade area. Selfie sticks, bottles and banners — and even shouting — were not allowed inside the restricted zone. Residents in high-rise apartment buildings along the road were advised not to look down from their windows or balconies.