Kyodo News Digest: June 22, 2025
KYODO NEWS - 10 hours ago - 00:26 | All, World, Japan
The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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PM Ishiba's LDP set to post record-low results in Tokyo assembly vote
TOKYO - Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's Liberal Democratic Party is expected to post record-low results in Sunday's Tokyo assembly election, regarded as a bellwether for the July House of Councillors race, as he struggles to steer a minority government in national politics.
Tomin First no Kai, a regional party established by Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike, is likely to become the biggest force in the 127-member assembly, underscoring the appeal of her policies centered on quality of life. Tomin translates to Tokyoites.
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U.S. enters war with Iran, Trump says key nuclear sites wiped out
WASHINGTON - U.S. airstrikes have "completely and totally obliterated" Iran's three key nuclear facilities, President Donald Trump said Saturday as Washington entered Israel's war against the Islamic Republic, threatening more attacks if Tehran does not change course.
Trump said the U.S. objective in conducting "massive precision" strikes on the facilities was "the destruction of Iran's nuclear enrichment capacity and a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world's No. 1 state sponsor of terror."
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Japan vigilant amid Iran conflict, mum on support for U.S. attacks
TOKYO - Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Sunday that Japan is monitoring with "grave concern" the developments in the Middle East after the United States attacked Iranian nuclear facilities, though he refrained from expressing immediate support for the military action taken by its closest ally.
Speaking to reporters, Ishiba underscored the importance of de-escalating the situation while stressing that Iran's nuclear development must be "blocked."
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Most Japanese worried about Mideast war's impact on daily lives: poll
TOKYO - Most people in Japan are worried about how the outbreak of war in the Middle East could impact their daily lives, given the country's heavy dependence on the region for oil, a Kyodo News survey showed Sunday.
In the nationwide telephone poll, a total of 83.7 percent of respondents said they have concerns about the repercussions of the escalating Israel-Iran war.
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2 Japanese men among 14 prisoners released by Belarus
MOSCOW - Two Japanese nationals have been released from detention in Belarus and are in good health, a Japanese government source said Sunday.
Belarusian state-run media reported Saturday that President Aleksandr Lukashenko decided to pardon 14 people, including two Japanese citizens, at the request of U.S. counterpart Donald Trump.
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Chinese ships spotted near Senkakus for record 216th straight day
NAHA, Japan - Chinese coast guard ships were spotted near the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea for the 216th consecutive day, the Japan Coast Guard said Sunday, marking the longest streak since Japan placed the islets under state control in 2012.
The uninhabited islets, which China claims and calls Diaoyu, have remained a source of friction between the Asian neighbors.
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Mt. Shinmoe in southwestern Japan erupts, alert level maintained
FUKUOKA - Mt. Shinmoe on the southwestern Japanese island of Kyushu erupted Sunday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
The 1,421-meter volcano straddling Kagoshima and Miyazaki prefectures erupted around 4:37 p.m. and spewed smoke as high as 500 meters, the agency said.
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Kyodo News
36 minutes ago
- Kyodo News
Japan appears to show some support for U.S. strikes on Iran nuke sites
KYODO NEWS - 18 minutes ago - 14:01 | All, Japan, World The Japanese government on Monday appeared to show some support for U.S. strikes on Iran's key nuclear sites over the weekend, saying that they signaled Washington's resolve to block Tehran from racing toward possession of nuclear weapons. Noting that the "the most important thing" is to de-escalate the situation over Iran's nuclear activities, Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya said in a statement, "Japan understands that the U.S. action demonstrates its determination to de-escalate the situation while preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons." He also acknowledged that the United States has been "seriously pursuing dialogue" amid difficult circumstances surrounding the Iranian nuclear issue. Japan continues to "strongly hope that the path to dialogue will be reopened" between the United States and Iran, while vowing "all necessary diplomatic efforts in cooperation with the international community" toward peace and stability in the Middle East, the foreign minister added. The United States conducted airstrikes on three key Iranian nuclear facilities early Sunday, joining its ally Israel's conflict with Iran that began after Israeli forces attacked nuclear and military targets in its regional archrival on June 13. Japan has traditionally maintained amicable ties with Iran even as its security alliance with the United States has remained strong. Stability in the Middle East is important for resource-scarce Japan, given its heavy dependence on the region for crude oil. Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba refrained from expressing immediate support for the U.S. military action, while underscoring the importance of de-escalating the situation and maintaining Japan's position that Iranian possession of nuclear weapons should never be allowed. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi did not say whether the statement by the foreign minister was a clear show of backing for the U.S. attack, only reiterating the words from the statement when for clarification by a reporter during a press conference Monday. Related coverage: Most Japanese worried about Mideast war's impact on daily lives: poll Japan vigilant amid Iran conflict, mum on support for U.S. attacks U.S. enters war with Iran, Trump says key nuclear sites wiped out
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Nikkei Asia
38 minutes ago
- Nikkei Asia
Iran tensions push up energy, defense stocks in Japan while yen falls
Markets Similar moves seen in Hong Kong and South Korea; oil futures climb Inpex's gas project off the coast of Australia: the company's shares went up around 2% at one point on Monday. (Inpex) JADA NAGUMO TOKYO -- Shares in energy and defense companies shot up in Tokyo and other Asian markets Monday morning as Israel-Iran tensions escalate in a conflict that the U.S. has now entered after striking key Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend. President Donald Trump has described the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites as "a spectacular military success." Washington's involvement follows an air war between Iran and Israel.
Kyodo News
an hour ago
- Kyodo News
FOCUS: China's "panda diplomacy" in focus as zero moment may come in Japan
By Keita Nakamura, KYODO NEWS - 4 hours ago - 09:38 | World, All, Japan China's "panda diplomacy" is drawing renewed attention with Japan's first zero giant panda moment in over half a century approaching, amid an intensifying Sino-U.S. rivalry that could provide an incentive for Beijing to stabilize its oft-strained ties with Tokyo. China's decisions on leasing the bear species abroad are usually revealed in high-level bilateral talks. Foreign affairs experts say a new loan may be announced late fall this year during a possible visit by a Chinese political leader to Japan, though they doubt the gesture will carry the same diplomatic weight as it once did. Since the first black-and-white animal arrived in Japan in 1972 to commemorate the normalization of diplomatic ties, Chinese pandas have become beloved by the Japanese public, bringing major economic benefits as tourist attractions. The two governments have embraced the bamboo-munching iconic animal's role as a symbol of friendship. China last sent pandas to Japan in February 2011, based on a deal struck at a meeting between then Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and Chinese President Hu Jintao in Tokyo in May 2008. Currently, Japan is home to six pandas, all of which were born domestically but owned by China. Four at the Adventure World leisure complex in the western Japanese town of Shirahama will be handed over to China next Saturday, ahead of the expiration of their loan period in August. The other two at Tokyo's Ueno Zoological Gardens are also due to return to China next February. Emi Mifune, a Komazawa University professor well-versed in Chinese diplomacy, believes China will rent out new pandas instead to Japan as Beijing is "in the middle of an escalating confrontation with the United States and needs to mend relations" with Tokyo. China's relationship with the United States has been cooling in recent years, as Washington maintains a hard-line stance toward China, renewed by tariff-fueled trade salvos by President Donald Trump who returned to the White House in January. She also said Beijing's agreement with Tokyo in late May to begin procedures to resume importing Japanese marine products indicates that China is making visible efforts to improve the relationship, something that a new panda allocation would support. China imposed a ban on Japanese seafood imports in August 2023 in opposition to the release of treated radioactive wastewater from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the sea. The Asian neighbors have long been at loggerheads over historical and territorial issues, including a dispute over the Tokyo-controlled, Beijing-claimed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. China's increasing military activities in the Indo-Pacific region have only stoked tensions. China has long used the panda as a tool of diplomatic outreach and goodwill toward various nations, including the United States, Russia, Australia and South Korea among others. With an eye on fostering "an atmosphere of improving bilateral ties," China may announce a new panda loan, perhaps during the next meeting between Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Mifune speculated. Japan hopes to host a summit with China and South Korea later this year in Tokyo, and Ishiba-Li talks are expected to take place on the sidelines. During a China trip as leader of a business delegation in early June, Yohei Kono, the former Japanese House of Representatives speaker, met with Li and floated the idea of the high-ranking Chinese official bringing pandas with him to Japan. While calling on Japan to promote cooperation to address "challenges posed to the world," such as "U.S. tariff measures," Li told Kono he attaches "great importance" to the panda request as "an important proposal," according to a delegation member. However, on Sept. 3 China will mark 80 years since it declared victory in its 1937-1945 War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, making diplomatic outreach in the approaching period challenging, Mifune said. Mifune also pointed out that China may be unwilling to send pandas to Adventure World in Shirahama during the tenure of the town's pro-Taiwan Mayor Yasuhiro Oe, who took office in May last year in a move that might have led to the four panda's repatriation ahead of schedule. Oe, a former House of Councillors member, has deep ties with Taiwan, with which the Japanese government only maintains unofficial relations. China sees the self-ruled democratic island as a breakaway province to be reunified with the mainland, by force if necessary. Adventure World has engaged in a collaborative project to breed the animal, now classified as "vulnerable" on the global list of at-risk species, with China since 1994. Masaki Ienaga, a professor at Tokyo Woman's Christian University, said that China has used pandas not as a tool to demand other nations "give ground" on bilateral issues, but as a signal that the attitude toward Beijing in the recipient nation is "right and friendly." "Even if China were to give Japan some pandas, it would not mean that Japan has to do a lot of things for it," but how the Japanese public reacts to the arrival of new pandas will matter to Beijing, he said. Ienaga is also skeptical that a new panda loan will have any tangible impact on the Japanese government's diplomatic posture toward China or Japanese public opinion about its neighbor. "Japanese society no longer really looks at pandas through a political lens," as opposed to in 1972 when the animals were accepted "genuinely as a symbol of friendship," Ienaga added. Related coverage: All 4 giant pandas at western Japan zoo to return to China in June Giant panda Eimei dies in China after repatriation from Japan
