Dutch king to visit Japan next week for World Expo in Osaka
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands will visit Japan next week to attend the World Exposition being held in the western city of Osaka, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.
During his two-day stay from May 21, the king is also scheduled to have dinner with Japan's Emperor Naruhito, the ministry said, adding that the visit is expected to further deepen the friendly relations between the two countries.
Dutch Foreign Trade and Development Minister Reinette Klever will accompany the king, while Economic Affairs Minister Dirk Beljaarts will also make a trip to Japan around the same time, with the latter set to lead an economic mission focusing on high tech and digitalization, according to the ministry.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Mainichi
an hour ago
- The Mainichi
Driven by war, persecution, asylum seekers in Japan still far from securing freedom
TOKYO -- While refugee applicants in Japan who have been ordered deported can apply for "provisional release" from detention, they are not allowed to travel across prefectural borders nor can they join the national health insurance system or work in the country. According to the Immigration Services Agency of Japan, there were 12,373 people who applied for refugee status in this country in 2024, of which only 190 were granted it. This reporter followed people on provisional release while they waited for, with a glimmer of hope, recognition as refugees. Ruby (a pseudonym), an asylum seeker from Sri Lanka, is on temporary release after arriving in Japan in 2002. He served as a bodyguard for a key figure of a political party he supported in his country, but was attacked by an adversary force while traveling by bus to work as a guard in 1996, and underwent surgery on his right arm for gunshot wounds. Sensing his life was in danger, he sought refuge in Japan. He is hoping to continue staying here, saying the force that assaulted him is still in operation in his country. Under the revised Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act that came into effect in June 2024, foreign nationals can apply for refugee status no more than twice in principle. Deportation is suspended during refugee recognition procedures. As Ruby's third refugee application was not granted, he could be deported anytime. He has moved from Arrupe Refugee Center, a shelter in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, where he lived for five years, to a welfare facility in the Tokyo suburban city of Machida. Once every month, he turns up at the Tokyo Regional Immigration Services Bureau in the capital's Minato Ward to go thorough procedures for renewing his provisional release status, but due to fears of possible deportation at the time, he is losing sleep night after night. Odanibe Ovie Lucky, a 49-year-old Nigerian man applying for refugee status for a third time, is also living in fear of deportation. After participating in an antigovernment rally in Nigeria, he left the country in 2000. He currently lives in Japan with his 47-year-old Japanese wife. The couple met in 2016, when Lucky spoke to her at a park in the Ikebukuro district of Tokyo. As his wife had never been abroad, her first impression of him was "scary." But after talking with him, she was attracted by his kind and cheerful nature, and found herself going out with him. In March 2017, Lucky was detained at an immigration facility. "I want to support him steadily," she thought, and filed a marriage report on her own that May. Although her husband was released in December, she developed depression due to fears that he could be detained again, leaving them separated. While the wife is on welfare, it is difficult to cover the living expenses for the two of them. "We've been married for eight years. She's been with me no matter how hard a time I was going through. I want to make her feel at ease, even if only a little. I've got no other choice but to keep appealing (for my asylum) without giving up," Lucky told the Mainichi Shimbun. A Yugoslavian asylum seeker, Florim, 55, is living in Arrupe Refugee Center while on provisional release and waiting for his second refugee application, which he filed in 2019, to be accepted. Florim had his parents killed in front of him during the civil war in Yugoslavia. As if driven away, he moved from one country to another, including Hungary, Poland, Germany and the Netherlands. Desiring to live outside Europe to avoid coming across former Yugoslavia citizens, he decided to settle in Japan in 2000 when he was 29. Amid the chaos, Florim wasn't carrying a passport with him and was detained at Narita Airport for allegedly using a fake passport upon entry. He was kept in detention at an immigration facility until 2009, and developed post-traumatic stress disorder there. Later at a house in Matsudo, Chiba Prefecture, that was arranged for him by a refugee support group, Florim got into a panic at night and attempted to take his own life. With no certificate of his origin, and not knowing which country he belongs to following the breakup of former Yugoslavia, he remains stateless. He continues to undergo treatment for PTSD in Japan. As he was an Albanian resident, he is terrified that he may not be able to receive proper treatment if he returns home. After spending many years in Japan, he has a trusted partner but cannot marry due to his own statelessness. "I have no country to go back to, and the evil effects of the civil war still linger on. I hope Japan will be my last country to live in, and want to experience a free life here," he told the Mainichi, as he wishes for his refugee application to be granted. Mimi (a pseudonym), a Myanmarese woman who came to Japan over a decade ago, lived in Arrupe Refugee Center around the same time as Ruby. She was subsequently given a residency status for specified activities in June 2022 after spending some time on provisional release. She currently works as a full-time caregiver at a welfare facility in Kamakura. Affectionately called "Mimi-chan" by colleagues and users at the facility, she is known as a mood maker and for lively expressions on her face. She recalls that the best moment was when an employee told her, "You're one of our staff members." She questioned, "I don't understand why the (government) response is different when Ruby is a fellow refugee. I want them to at least abolish provisional release and create a system allowing asylum seekers to work. If they can live independently, they can also pay taxes." (Japanese original by Yuki Miyatake, Photo and Video Department)
Yomiuri Shimbun
an hour ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Japan, U.S. to Continue Tariff Negotiations; Progress Made, but No Agreement Reached
The Yomiuri Shimbun Economic revitalization minister Ryosei Akazawa speaks to reporters after Japan-U.S. ministerial talks in Washington on Friday, local time. WASHINGTON — Economic revitalization minister Ryosei Akazawa had a series of talks with U.S. government officials in Washington on Friday as Japan seeks a review of all tariff measures imposed by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump. 'The discussions have progressed,' Akazawa told reporters after the talks. However, he added, 'We haven't found common ground.' Akazawa indicated that Japan would continue to negotiate with the United States with the aim of reaching an agreement at a Japan-U.S. summit on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit scheduled in mid-June. On Friday, Akazawa met for 45 minutes with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who is heading the U.S. side in the tariff negotiations. Only a small number of people including interpreters are reported to have attended the meeting. Akazawa also met with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick for 110 minutes. In the fifth round of ministerial-level talks, Akazawa strongly demanded the elimination of the U.S. tariffs. The two sides also discussed an expansion of trade, non-tariff barriers and cooperation on economic security. For Japan, elimination of the tariffs is a prerequisite for an agreement. The government has made proposals such as expanding imports of U.S. agricultural products and reviewing non-tariff barriers for automobile imports. Japan is also considering cooperating with the United States to strengthen supply chains for rare earths and other materials, with China in mind. Admitting that there is a difference in views between the Japanese and U.S. governments, Akazawa said, 'We will keep working hard to reach an agreement that is beneficial to both countries.' However, he did not mention the future schedule for the tariff negotiations. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Saturday that he planned to meet with Trump on the sidelines of the G7 summit that starts in Canada on June 15. 'I will appreciate if the tariff negotiations make some progress by that time,' Ishiba said to reporters in Gunma Prefecture. 'If they don't, Japan will not rush to reach an agreement at the sacrifice of national interests.' Ishiba had been considering visiting the United States to meet with Trump immediately before the G7 summit. However, with the recent ministerial-level negotiations having failed to bridge the gap between Japan and the United States, some Japanese government officials now believe that it is more likely that the meeting will take place in Canada.
Nikkei Asia
an hour ago
- Nikkei Asia
Japan's Kokuyo touts office design in China with local unit's furniture
SHANGHAI -- Japanese office supplies and furniture company Kokuyo seeks to tap further into the Chinese market, opening a renovated showroom that highlights how its products and those from a Hong Kong subsidiary can be used together in creating comfortable office spaces. The Shanghai showroom, which opened last month, features furniture from both Kokuyo and Lamex.
