Japan

TOKYO, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Japan on Thursday partially resumed international flights, with a chartered plane leaving Narita Airport near Tokyo bound for Vietnam.

The flight is the first of three arranged by the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Vietnam and operated by Vietnam Airlines that will depart from Narita Airport from Thursday through Saturday.

The plane departed Japan with 150 passengers aboard, all of whom were provided with protective gowns and face masks for the flight as a measure to help prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

TOKYO, June 22. /TASS/: Last year, Washington demanded that Japan earmark $8 bln annually for the upkeep of American military bases in the Asian country which is four and a half times more than the current amount, the Kyodo news agency reported on Monday citing the memoir of Trump’s ex-National Security Advisor John Bolton entitled: "The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir". Kyodo claims that it possesses a manuscript of this book.

TOKYO, June 22 (Xinhua) -- The disapproval rating for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Cabinet rose to its highest point since the launch of his second administration in December 2012, a nationwide poll showed Monday.

According to the survey conducted by Japan's public broadcaster NHK between Friday and Sunday of people aged 18 or older, the disapproval rating for Abe's Cabinet rose 4 points to 49 percent, while the approval rate dropped one point from last month to 36 percent.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Public support for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s cabinet rose by nine percentage points to 36% despite the recent arrest of his former justice minister on suspicion of vote-buying, a poll by the Mainichi Shimbun daily showed on Sunday.

The approval rating had fallen to 27% in the paper’s previous survey conducted soon after a senior Tokyo prosecutor who was seen close to the premier resigned in late May for gambling during Japan’s coronavirus state of emergency.

A drop in voter support below 30% is often seen as a danger sign.

TOKYO (AP) — Japan may have contained its coronavirus outbreaks for now but the country needs better crisis management and a digital transformation to prepare for future shocks, Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike says.

“We have to sort out the problems and start preparing now for a possible next wave,” Koike said in an interview with The Associated Press. “I will firmly strengthen the system.”

TOKYO, June 16 (Xinhua) -- Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Haruhiko Kuroda on Tuesday said that amid the harsh virus-induced financial environment, the bank stood poised to unroll further easing measures as necessary, although conceded that Japan's economic situation and outlook remained severe.

"We won't hesitate to take additional easing steps as needed. That means we are ready to expand our lending facilities if necessary," Kuroda told a press conference after the conclusion of the BOJ's policy setting meeting.

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares rose Tuesday, cheered by fresh moves by the U.S. Federal Reserve to support markets battered by the coronavirus pandemic.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 3.2% to 22,212.62. South Korea’s Kospi gained 4.5% to 2,123.35, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 jumped 3.7% to 5,932.40. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 2.6% to 24,403.92. The Shanghai Composite edged up 0.9% to 2,916.07.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan will resume fiscal reform once the economy overcomes the hit from the coronavirus pandemic, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said, brushing aside calls by some lawmakers to keep spending permanently with money printed by the central bank.

The government has pledged to spend a combined $2.2 trillion in two stimulus packages to cushion the economic blow from the pandemic, while the central bank has pledged to buy unlimited amounts of bonds to cap borrowing costs at zero.

TOKYO (AP) — Shares were mostly lower in Asia on Monday on concern over a resurgence of coronavirus cases and pessimism after Wall Street posted its worst week in nearly three months.

Benchmarks in Tokyo, Sydney and Shanghai fell after China reported an outbreak of new infections in Beijing and reimposed precautions to prevent it from spreading.

TOKYO, June 14 (NNN-NHK) – An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.3, struck off the northwest coast of the Amamioshima Island, of Japan’s Kagoshima Prefecture today, Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), said.

The temblor occurred at around 0:51 a.m. local time, with its epicentre at a latitude of 28.8 degrees north and a longitude of 128.3 degrees east, and at a depth of 160 km.

The quake logged 4 in some parts of Kagoshima Prefecture, on the Japanese seismic intensity scale which peaks at 7.

So far no tsunami warning has been issued.