#JAPAN

Taiwan pays the price as Lai Ching-te clings to power with U.S. arms

Uganda: Opposition figure Kizza Besigye denied bail

Venezuela passes bill criminalizing oil tanker seizures

Flood warnings issued for parts of the NT and QLD as monsoon trough brings heavy rain

'10 year ago today the floods changed everything in a moment'

China tightens border controls as global mpox risk rises with new strain

Suspected murder-suicide of woman and sons linked to another death

A 27-year-old man found dead in an apartment in Tokyo’s Nerima Ward on Monday is believed to have been in a relationship with a woman who died in an apparent murder-suicide three days earlier, according to investigative sources. The Metropolitan Police Department is investigating the death of Shintaro Nakakubo, a company employee, who was living in the apartment leased under the name of Yuka Nomura, 36. Nomura and her three sons — who were ages 9, 11 and 16 — were found uncon

No more free food, no more last-minute voting, after controversial law change

No more free food, no more last-minute voting, after controversial law change The Government has locked in controversial election law changes, which will ban last-minute voter enrolment and free food near polling stations. Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith shepherded through his electoral law changes on Tuesday night, which passed Parliament’s final hurdle. The Government used urgency to speed up the process last week, and required MPs stay late into the night to consider the l

Japan lifts quake advisory but urges continued caution

The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) lifted a special advisory for further earthquakes and tsunamis in the Hokkaido and Sanriku coastal areas at the end of Monday, one week after it was initially issued. On Dec. 8, a magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck off the east coast of Aomori Prefecture, causing severe shaking with a maximum seismic intensity of upper 6 on the Japanese shindo scale in the city of Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture. Tsunami warnings and advisories were issued fro

China to reimpose ban on Japanese seafood imports amid row over Taiwan, reports say

China will reimpose a ban on imports of Japanese seafood products, media reports said Wednesday, as the diplomatic row over Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's recent comments on Taiwan escalated and officials girded for a prolonged dispute. The ban would effectively be a return to one put in place in August 2023, following Japan’s release of treated wastewater from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. Tokyo and Beijing reached an agreement in September last year to resume im

Takaichi and Xi reaffirm pledge in first meet to pursue ‘mutually beneficial’ ties

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi allayed fears she would take a more hawkish approach to Beijing in her first meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, conveying instead her will to “deepen their personal relationship” and promote a “mutually beneficial relationship based on common strategic interests.” The two leaders met on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in the city of Gyeongju in South Korea on Friday as part of efforts to reassure each

Takaichi to make diplomatic debut at ASEAN summit in Malaysia

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who took office Tuesday, departed for Kuala Lumpur on Saturday as she makes her diplomatic debut during meetings related to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations over the weekend. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi arrives for an extraordinary session of parliament in Tokyo on Friday Takaichi will emphasize the importance of Japan's "Free and Open Indo-Pacific" (FOIP) initiative as well as free trade, aiming to demonstrate Tokyo's presence in th