Japan LDP heavyweight Hosoda dies after quitting as house speaker

Former Japanese House of Representatives Speaker Hiroyuki Hosoda died Friday at age 79, his office said, less than a month after he left the post due to health reasons while insisting on running in the next general election.

Hosoda, who became lower house chief in November…[Read more]

Japan SDF planes fly to Djibouti to ready for Israel’s evacuation

Three Air Self-Defense Force airplanes left Japan for Djibouti in East Africa on Saturday to prepare for the possible airlifting of Japanese nationals from Israel, where tensions are rising following Palestinian militant group Hamas’s massive attack a week ago.

The ASDF’s KC767…[Read more]

Japan firms should not ‘miss bus’ on India, commerce chief says

India’s vast economic potential has much to offer Japanese companies that move quickly to invest in the market, Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal told Nikkei.

“I do hope Japanese companies will take faster decisions and not miss the bus,” Goyal said in an interview…[Read more]

Germany: Arrest warrant issued for far-right politician

Daniel Halemba, who recently won a seat in Bavaria’s state parliament, is being sought for an undisclosed reason. However, the 22-year-old was part of a student fraternity being investigated for displaying Nazi symbols.

An arrest warrant has been issued for the newly-elected far-right…[Read more]

UN General Assembly calls for humanitarian truce in Gaza

The United Nations General Assembly has voted in favor of a resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian truce in Gaza. The nonbinding resolution was backed by 120 countries, while 45 abstained and 14 voted against it.

Germany risks falling back into recession as car industry sputters

Industrial production in Europe’s biggest economy fell 1.5% in June compared with May, driven by a 3.5% drop in Germany’s vast automotive sector.

The decline in German industrial output, much steeper than forecast by economists, raises the risk that the manufacturing hea…[Read more]

Germany spends big to win $11 billion TSMC chip plant

Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC on Tuesday committed 3.5 billion euros ($3.8 billion) to a factory in Germany, its first in Europe, taking advantage of huge state support for the $11 billion plant as the continent seeks to bring supply chains closer to home.

The plant, which will be TSMC’s third o…[Read more]

Germany’s Day of Libraries tries to keep book interest alive

Though 21st century youngsters may be more likely to have cell phones in their hands instead of books, or turn to a YouTube influencer for inspiration rather than to Shakespeare, Germany is keen to preserve local reading culture.

While most of the gadgets teenagers use nowadays have…[Read more]

Moment bridge brought down in controlled explosion in Germany

A motorway bridge was blown up in a controlled explosion near the town of Beselich in Germany.

The 135m (443ft) long Kerkerbachtal bridge collapsed within seconds after explosives placed on its pillars were detonated.

The bridge, built in 1960, was part of the old route now being…[Read more]

Fushimi Inari Shrine (伏見稲荷大社, Fushimi Inari Taisha) is an important Shinto shrine in southern Kyoto. It is famous for its thousands of vermilion torii gates, which straddle a network of trails behind its main buildings. The trails lead into the wooded forest of the sacred Mount Inari, which stands at 233 meters and belongs to the shrine grou…[Read more]

Kyoto (京都, Kyōto) served as Japan’s capital and the emperor’s residence from 794 until 1868. It is one of the country’s ten largest cities with a population of 1.5 million people and a modern face.

Over the centuries, Kyoto was destroyed by many wars and fires, but due to its exceptional historic value, the city was dropped from the list of targ…[Read more]

Asian shares mostly rise after U.S. stocks wobble as Treasury bond yields veer

TOKYO
Shares mostly rose Tuesday in Asia after Wall Street wobbled to a mixed close as yields on U.S. Treasury bonds fell back after creeping above 5%.

Benchmarks rose in Tokyo, Sydney, Seoul, Shanghai and Taiwan, but fell in Hong Kong.

Rapidly rising yields in the…[Read more]

IMF projects Japan’s GDP to fall to world’s 4th in 2023 after Germany

WASHINGTON
Japan’s nominal gross domestic product in 2023 is expected to slip from third to fourth in the world on a U.S. dollar basis, to be overtaken by Germany, on the back of the yen’s depreciation, recent International Monetary Fund projections showed.

As the nominal GDP…[Read more]

Japan to extend gasoline, energy subsidies through April

TOKYO
The Japanese government is planning to extend subsidies aimed at curbing gasoline and other fuel prices as well as utility bills from the end of this year to the end of April, a source familiar with the matter said Tuesday.

The government will consider phasing out gasoline subsidies…[Read more]

Evacuation of German nationals from Israel underway

Special flights evacuating German nationals from Israel are underway. Germany has been working with Lufthansa to organize repatriation flights for its citizens. The first evacuation flight landed at Frankfurt Airport on Thursday.

Germany supports Morocco with post-earthquake reconstruction

erlin/Marrakech (d.de)- In Marrakech, Germany’s Development Minister Svenja Schulze has announced an initial reconstruction package for those affected by the earthquake in Morocco. “The earthquake hit one of the country’s poorest regions in the Atlas Mountains. Many people died, while…[Read more]

Development Minister welcomes World Bank reforms

Marrakesh (dpa/d.de) Germany’s Development Minister Svenja Schulze has welcomed reforms to the World Bank which aim to increase investments in climate protection and global health in poorer countries. “It puts the World Bank in the position to deal with current challenges,” said Schulze. “In t…[Read more]

Japan’s Self-Defense Forces struggling to recruit new members

A recent open day at a Japanese military base near Tokyo was a fun family outing but, despite the games and snacks, the Self-Defense Forces recruitment stand was bereft of visitors.

“This is the reality. The festival is always packed but no one comes,” confessed one of the two…[Read more]

Japan to send SDF plane to Djibouti to evacuate citizens in Israel

Japan is considering sending Self-Defense Forces’ aircraft to its operating base in Djibouti as part of efforts to evacuate its nationals in Israel, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Friday, amid the fierce conflict between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas.

While Japan…[Read more]