Trump releases message on WWII victory over Japan
In the message, released Thursday, Trump praised American troops' "sacrifice and bravery" in "the deadliest war in human history" and pledged to maintain his administration's foreign policy of "peace through strength" to ensure that the United States remains "the greatest country on earth."
Japan "has become our strongest ally in the Pacific" and hosts more than 50,000 American troops who stand guard against "new totalitarian regimes and their expansive ambitions," he said, underscoring the importance of U.S.-Japan relations.
The message also noted that "peace is never promised, but is earned through sacrifice, defended with strength."
In February, Trump issued a statement marking 80 years since the Battle of Iwo Jima, a fierce battle between Japan and the United States on the Pacific island of Ioto in the late stage of WWII.
In May, he issued a presidential proclamation to designate May 8 as the Victory Day for WWII. In the war, Nazi Germany surrendered to the U.S.-led Allied powers on May 8, 1945. In the proclamation, Trump did not touch on the United States' battles with Japan during the war.
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Yomiuri Shimbun
16 minutes ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
A Night in D.C. after Trump's National Guard Deployment
The sunlight dimmed along this stretch of U Street to the familiar soundtrack of a city ready for the weekend: rumbling buses taking home tired commuters, high heels clacking along sticky sidewalks and chattering crowds ready to order their first round. Then a group gathered on a street corner with pots and pans, jingling them as the darkness grew closer. They whooped and cheered for a few minutes, a brief moment of joyful resistance seeking to counteract the image of the crime-riddled city described by the president. Among the clubgoers in miniskirts and sweat-soaked T-shirts, there were federal agents hopping in and out of unmarked cars. A protester held a sign reading 'America has no kings.' Police officers were met with boos and phones ready to record. Welcome to the first Friday night in D.C. since President Donald Trump announced he was placing the local police under federal control and sending in National Guard troops to a city where 9 of 10 voters cast ballots for his opponent. The next morning, the White House would announce that their overnight operation yielded 52 arrests and the seizure of three illegal firearms. Twenty-two multiagency teams were deployed throughout the city. Trump justified the exertion of executive power to reduce crime by depicting the city as a lawless wasteland, despite violent crime reaching 30-year lows. But many of those gathered around the bars and clubs in Northwest Washington on Friday night said they felt more unsettled by the federal presence than any other safety concerns. Washington Post journalists spent Friday night in a popular section of U Street – a nightlife hub that is among the areas of the city with the highest number of crimes reported this year. Earlier this summer, D.C. police implemented a youth curfew over concerns about rowdy crowds in some areas. Nearby, two nights earlier, a mix of local and federal authorities pulled over drivers for seat belt violations or broken taillights while onlookers chanted: 'Go home, fascists.' On Friday, crowds were smaller, bartenders and club managers said, and they wondered if patrons were staying inside to avoid federal authorities. And yet, there were still people ready to party. The largest police response The Post witnessed Friday night was over a claim of a stolen bike. It was around 8:30 p.m., and the sky was ink blue. One couple heading home from an event at a nearby synagogue looked on with furrowed brows. They spotted a few D.C. police cruisers blocking traffic and agents donning vests labeled 'HSI' – Homeland Security Investigations. They hadn't seen that before, not here. A pair of French tourists, in D.C. for the first time and looking for a bar, paused when they saw the police cruisers and growing crowd. Earlier, they'd strolled by the White House, marveled at the Capitol, and now they were trying to make sense of the flashing lights. They'd loosely followed the week's headlines and were still thrilled to be visiting. 'We're on vacation, so we try to cut [out] the news,' Solène Le Toullec said, and they walked on. At the sight of local and federal law enforcement throughout the night, people pooled on the sidewalk – watching, filming, booing. 'Get out!' 'Go!' 'Quit!' Such interactions played out again and again as the night drew on. Onlookers heckled the police as they did their job and applauded as officers left. Across the street, security guard Ashley Nash stood with arms crossed outside the fried chicken spot she shepherds, unfazed by the flashing lights and sirens. She welcomed the extra police presence. 'It's needed in these times right now,' she said. Groups in miniskirts teetered past as the sky darkened. Harry Wright, 29, walked out of Service Bar and paused in the evening humidity. The bar's general manager, he scanned the outdoor seating, where friends clustered around tables, ringing in the weekend with cocktails. It was a pleasant sight in what otherwise had been a heavy week. He'd heard from a co-worker who didn't feel safe to walk to work because of the heightened law enforcement presence. He knew the community was on edge. The hospitality and food industries, he said, are 'fueled by immigrants and people of color and queer people, and those are the people who feel the least safe in the city right now.' Trump has described his federal intervention in D.C. as a crusade against crime. In its first week, the main targets have increasingly been immigrants and those experiencing homelessness. Videos of local detainments have reverberated through group chats and social media. 'We, for a living, take care of people and work really hard to make others feel welcome in our space,' Wright said. To have loved ones no longer feel 'comfortable and welcome in the city they live in is really, really upsetting.' Around 10 p.m., Perry Singletary stood outside Nellie's, illuminated by the gay bar's blue signage. 'This area in general is just unsafe,' she said, adding that her car was broken into two months ago. 'There's someone being jumped. There's a fight. There's carjackings.' Still, she wasn't sure what else local leaders could do and thought the president's response was 'extreme.' But as she scanned the block and quiet sidewalk, she appreciated the calm. 'It is nice to see a police presence outside, because it's been quiet out here for the last week, and it's usually not,' she said. Outside a Metro station entrance, a group of friends spotted a cluster of khaki-clad U.S. marshals and began to record. One agent pulled out a phone and recorded, too. 'We're out here on the streets of Washington, D.C., to keep the citizens as safe as possible from a mandate down from the president telling us that we're going to keep the city's streets safe, because there's murders, rapists, robbers and all of this stuff going on,' the marshal said. A few blocks over, a gaggle of folks assembled outside a Subway. It was here that a Justice Department employee allegedly threw a sandwich at a federal law enforcement officer late Sunday in a scene that made him a hero in some corners of the internet. He has since been fired and faces felony charges. 'This is the Subway,' said a man in shorts and a cap, having seen the viral clip of the hurled hoagie. Brian Downing, 26, took a selfie with three friends just before 11 o'clock. Visiting from Chesapeake, Virginia, they considered canceling their trip earlier this week when, scrolling through TikTok, they came across a video of a checkpoint two nights before and two blocks north. Law enforcement stopped dozens of cars in front of a popular chain bakery, a veterinary clinic and a high-end outdoor apparel store. At least two people were detained – one man speaking Spanish was loaded into an unmarked pickup. A woman was handcuffed while the crowd, gathered on the sidewalks, booed and yelled at officers to 'read the Constitution.' Others hastily made signs and stood on nearby corners to warn people to steer clear. But Downing and his friends had already booked their Airbnb. Plus, they didn't want to be robbed of a good time. 'Glad to be here,' he said. Four blocks down, Andrew Fraser, 21, waited with a cluster of friends to get into El Rey. They'd also thought about staying in tonight. Considering the heavier law enforcement presence and potential for tensions to spill over, they'd asked: Is it worth it? But, Fraser said, 'we don't want our way of life to be stopped before it has to be.' The tensions weren't going to stop them from celebrating a friend's birthday. Sarah Gammoh, 25, and Stewart Hahn, 31, emerged from a table at The Saloon, a bar where they had just celebrated with loved ones. They married today and were determined to have a good time. 'We didn't let it stop us,' Hahn said. Sarah nodded in agreement, clutching two bouquets of flowers. Around midnight, Mark Rutstein, 51, walked into Crush, the bar he co-owns, and sighed. The dance floor was almost empty. Upstairs, it was maybe a third full. Two nights earlier, they'd closed more than an hour early, after, he said, a heavy law enforcement presence nearby drove people away. And now it was Friday night, and the crowd hadn't materialized. He thought of his 47 employees, his overhead costs and his breakeven. He thought of the president's rhetoric calling D.C. 'one of the most dangerous cities anywhere in the world' – a description he feared was keeping visitors away. The immigration crackdown was keeping people away too, he was sure. 'I don't know how local businesses are going to survive this,' he said. Inside Ben's Chili Bowl, tables of friends gorged on fries laden with cheese and half smokes. At a nearby bar hosting a Donna Summer theme night, the dance floor had, at one point, just one person. Meanwhile, Jasmine Curtis, 28, settled into a red camping chair, tinfoil trays of honey jerk salmon, yams, green beans, rice and wings arranged on a plastic folding table in front of her. Occasionally, the block was set aglow with the blue and red of a passing police cruiser. She's been on edge this week, she said, staying home with her two sons amid the heightened police presence. But on Friday she ventured out for her usual perch just off U Street, scooping steaming food into takeout trays for hungry bargoers. It was 2:38 a.m., and she had three more servings to sell.
NHK
2 hours ago
- NHK
Over 300 memorandums between Japan and African nations eyed at TICAD
The Japanese government and companies plan to exchange more than 300 memorandums with their counterparts from Africa who are visiting Japan to attend the Tokyo International Conference on African Development, or TICAD. The Japan-led conference will take place over three days from Wednesday in Yokohama, near Tokyo. Sources say the Japanese government and firms plan to sign the memorandums with their partners from Africa in a bid to deepen relations with them. Some of them are designed to help the governments of African nations import Japanese products in seven fields, such as healthcare and agriculture. Japanese financial institutions will provide loans to governments in Africa via the African Export-Import Bank. Insurance companies affiliated with the Japanese government are to underwrite the loans to facilitate the transactions. In one case, the Kenyan government is expected to obtain a loan insured for hundreds of millions dollars so that it can be used as a subsidy to promote investments from Japanese automakers and others. Africa, with its growing population, is viewed as a growth market amid uncertainty for the outlook for Japanese exports due to the Trump administration's tariff measures.
Kyodo News
2 hours ago
- Kyodo News
Fatal explosion at U.S. Steel's plant raises questions about its future, despite heavy investment
HARRISBURG, Pa. - The fatal explosion last week at U.S. Steel's Pittsburgh-area coal-processing plant has revived debate about its future just as the iconic American company was emerging from a long period of uncertainty. The fortunes of steelmaking in the U.S. — along with profits, share prices and steel prices — have been buoyed by years of friendly administrations in Washington that slapped tariffs on foreign imports and bolstered the industry's anti-competitive trade cases against China. Most recently, President Donald Trump's administration postponed new hazardous air pollution requirements for the nation's roughly dozen coke plants, like Clairton, and he approved U.S. Steel's nearly $15 billion acquisition by Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel. Nippon Steel's promised infusion of cash has brought vows that steelmaking will continue in the Mon Valley, a river valley south of Pittsburgh long synonymous with steelmaking. 'We're investing money here. And we wouldn't have done the deal with Nippon Steel if we weren't absolutely sure that we were going to have an enduring future here in the Mon Valley," David Burritt, U.S. Steel's CEO, told a news conference the day after the explosion. 'You can count on this facility to be around for a long, long time.' Will the explosion change anything? The explosion killed two workers and hospitalized 10 with a blast so powerful that it took hours to find two missing workers beneath charred wreckage and rubble. The cause is under investigation. The plant is considered the largest coking operation in North America and, along with a blast furnace and finishing mill up the Monongahela River, is one of a handful of integrated steelmaking operations left in the U.S. The explosion now could test Nippon Steel's resolve in propping up the nearly 110-year-old Clairton plant, or at least force it to spend more than it had anticipated. Nippon Steel didn't respond to a question as to whether the explosion will change its approach to the plant. Rather, a spokesperson for the company said its 'commitment to the Mon Valley remains strong' and that it sent 'technical experts to work with the local teams in the Clairton Plant, and to provide our full support.' Meanwhile, Burritt said he had talked to top Nippon Steel officials after the explosion and that 'this facility and the Mon Valley are here to stay.' U.S. Steel officials maintain that safety is their top priority and that they spend $100 million a year on environmental compliance at Clairton alone. However, repairing Clairton could be expensive, an investigation into the explosion could turn up more problems, and an official from the United Steelworkers union said it's a constant struggle to get U.S. Steel to invest in its plants. Besides that, production at the facility could be affected for some time. The plant has six batteries of ovens and two — where the explosion occurred — were damaged. Two others are on a reduced production schedule because of the explosion. There is no timeline to get the damaged batteries running again, U.S. Steel said. Accidents are nothing new at Clairton Accidents are nothing new at Clairton, which heats coal to high temperatures to make coke, a key component in steelmaking, and produces combustible gases as byproducts. An explosion in February injured two workers. Even as Nippon Steel was closing the deal in June, a breakdown at the plant dealt three days of a rotten egg odor into the air around it from elevated hydrogen sulfide emissions, the environmental group GASP reported. The Breathe Project, a public health organization, said U.S. Steel has been forced to pay $57 million in fines and settlements since Jan. 1, 2020, for problems at the Clairton plant. A lawsuit over a Christmas Eve fire at the Clairton plant in 2018 that saturated the area's air for weeks with sulfur dioxide produced a withering assessment of conditions there. An engineer for the environmental groups that sued wrote that he 'found no indication that U.S. Steel has an effective, comprehensive maintenance program for the Clairton plant.' The Clairton plant, he wrote, is "inherently dangerous because of the combination of its deficient maintenance and its defective design." U.S. Steel settled, agreeing to spend millions on upgrades. Matthew Mehalik, executive director of the Breathe Project, said U.S. Steel has shown more willingness to spend money on fines, lobbying the government and buying back shares to reward shareholders than making its plants safe. Will Clairton be modernized? It's not clear whether Nippon Steel will change Clairton. Central to Trump's approval of the acquisition was Nippon Steel's promises to invest $11 billion into U.S. Steel's aging plants and to give the federal government a say in decisions involving domestic steel production, including plant closings. But much of the $2.2 billion that Nippon Steel has earmarked for the Mon Valley plants is expected to go toward upgrading the finishing mill, or building a new one. For years before the acquisition, U.S. Steel had signaled that the Mon Valley was on the chopping block. That left workers there uncertain whether they'd have jobs in a couple years and whispering that U.S. Steel couldn't fill openings because nobody believed the jobs would exist much longer. Relics of steelmaking's past In many ways, U.S. Steel's Mon Valley plants are relics of steelmaking's past. In the early 1970s, U.S. steel production led the world and was at an all-time high, thanks to 62 coke plants that fed 141 blast furnaces. Nobody in the U.S. has opened a new blast furnace in decades, as foreign competition devastated the American steel industry and coal fell out of favor. Now, China is dominant in steel and heavily invested in coal-based steelmaking. In the U.S., there are barely a dozen coke plants and blast furnaces left, as the country's steelmaking has shifted to cheaper electric arc furnaces that use electricity, not coal. Blast furnaces won't entirely go away, analysts say, since they produce metals that are preferred by automakers, appliance makers and oil and gas exploration firms. Still, Christopher Briem, an economist at the University of Pittsburgh's Center for Social and Urban Research, questioned whether the Clairton plant really will survive much longer, given its age and condition. It could be particularly vulnerable if the economy slides into recession or the fundamentals of the American steel market shift, he said. 'I'm not quite sure it's all set in stone as people believe,' Briem said. 'If the market does not bode well for U.S. Steel, for American steel, is Nippon Steel really going to keep these things?'
