Kyodo News Digest: Aug. 10, 2025
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Firms believing Japan economy growing falls to 30% amid tariff woes
TOKYO - Just a third of major Japanese firms said the domestic economy was continuing to grow, falling from the 71 percent that said so in January, reflecting uncertainty over the tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump, a Kyodo News survey showed recently.
In the survey of 113 companies, just 33 percent said they expect moderate growth, while those that responded they were either "concerned" or "somewhat concerned" regarding the levies hit 68 percent.
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Astronaut Onishi returns to Earth after 5-month mission to ISS
WASHINGTON - Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi along with three fellow crew members returned to Earth on Saturday after spending around five months orbiting the planet aboard the International Space Station.
"Thank you very much to everyone who supported me during my long stay on the ISS," Onishi, 49, posted on the social media platform X. Onishi, from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, along with two Americans and one Russian, departed the station on SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule on Friday afternoon.
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Nagasaki warns of impending nuclear war on 80th A-bomb anniversary
NAGASAKI - Nagasaki on Saturday warned of the intensifying threat of nuclear war as it marked the 80th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing, urging the world to learn from history and ensure the southwestern Japanese city remains the last to suffer such devastation.
"This existential crisis of humanity has become imminent to each and every one of us living on Earth," Mayor Shiro Suzuki said in the Peace Declaration read during the annual memorial ceremony, laying out a bleak outlook for the world that is plagued with a "vicious cycle of confrontation and fragmentation."
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Japan summer holiday travel rush underway as trains, flights full
TOKYO - Japan's summer holiday travel rush got underway Saturday, with many shinkansen bullet train services and flights fully booked as people returned to their hometowns or set off on domestic and overseas vacations.
JR Tokyo Station was crowded from the early morning as all seats on the Nozomi shinkansen bullet train services to the major metropolises of Nagoya, Osaka and Fukuoka were booked out, with long lines of passengers seeking unreserved seats on other trains.
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Football: Komori brace gives Urawa win at Yokohama FC
YOKOHAMA - Hiiro Komori scored early in each half as Urawa Reds grabbed a 2-1 win away to Yokohama FC on Saturday in the J-League first division.
Urawa moved up to 41 points, five behind leaders Vissel Kobe, before six matches are played Sunday. Yokohama FC remained at the bottom of the table with 19 points, having lost seven straight.
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Baseball: Hawks beat Fighters to extend PL lead
FUKUOKA - Hotaka Yamakawa and Jeter Downs both homered to back a strong outing from Kohei Arihara as the SoftBank Hawks beat the Nippon Ham Fighters 4-1 on Saturday.
The win, in the opener of a crucial three-game home series, saw the Hawks extend their lead at the top of the Pacific League standings to two games over the second-place Fighters.
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White House confirms Japan, like EU, exempt from tariff stacking
WASHINGTON - A White House official on Friday confirmed that imports from Japan, like those from the European Union, will be exempt from tariff stacking, meaning the United States will not add a new 15 percent rate set for the Asian country on top of preexisting duties.
The confirmation came a day after Japan's top tariff negotiator Ryosei Akazawa said U.S. President Donald Trump's team had acknowledged that his executive order on so-called reciprocal duties signed last week was inaccurate and did not properly reflect a trade deal Tokyo and Washington struck on July 22.
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Video: Eve of Yosakoi dance festival
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The Mainichi
2 hours ago
- The Mainichi
Russia and Ukraine hold fast to their demands ahead of a planned Putin-Trump summit
The threats, pressure and ultimatums have come and gone, but Russian President Vladimir Putin has maintained Moscow's uncompromising demands in the war in Ukraine, raising fears he could use a planned summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in Alaska to coerce Kyiv into accepting an unfavorable deal. The maximalist demands reflect Putin's determination to reach the goals he set when he launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. Putin sees a possible meeting with Trump as a chance to negotiate a broad deal that would not only cement Russia's territorial gains but also keep Ukraine from joining NATO and hosting any Western troops, allowing Moscow to gradually pull the country back into its orbit. The Kremlin leader believes time is on his side as the exhausted and outgunned Ukrainian forces are struggling to stem Russian advances in many sectors of the over 1,000-kilometer front line while swarms of Russian missiles and drones batter Ukrainian cities. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also has stood firm in his positions, agreeing to a ceasefire proposed by Trump while reaffirming the country's refusal to abandon seeking NATO membership and rejecting acknowledgment of Russia's annexation of any of its regions. A look at Russian and Ukrainian visions of a peace deal and how a Putin-Trump summit could evolve: Russia's position In a memorandum presented at talks in Istanbul in June, Russia offered Ukraine two options for establishing a 30-day ceasefire. One demanded Ukraine withdraw its forces from Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson -- the four regions Moscow illegally annexed in September 2022 but never fully captured. As an alternate condition for a ceasefire, Russia made a "package proposal" for Ukraine to halt mobilization efforts, freeze Western arms deliveries and ban any third-country forces on its soil. Moscow also suggested Ukraine end martial law and hold elections, after which the countries could sign a comprehensive peace treaty. Once there's a truce, Moscow wants a deal to include the "international legal recognition" of its annexations of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and the four regions in 2022. Russia says a peace treaty should have Ukraine declare its neutral status between Russia and the West, abandon its bid to join NATO, limit the size of its armed forces and recognize Russian as an official language on par with Ukrainian -- conditions reflecting Putin's earliest goals. It also demands Ukraine ban the "glorification and propaganda of Nazism and neo-Nazism" and dissolve nationalist groups. Since the war began, Putin has falsely alleged that neo-Nazi groups were shaping Ukrainian politics under Zelenskyy, who is Jewish. They were fiercely dismissed by Kyiv and its Western allies. In Russia's view, a comprehensive peace treaty should see both countries lift all sanctions and restrictions, abandon any claims to compensation for wartime damage, resume trade and communications, and reestablish diplomatic ties. Asked Thursday whether Moscow has signaled any willingness to compromise to make a meeting with Trump possible, Putin's foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov responded that there haven't been any shifts in the Russian position. Ukraine's position The memorandum that Ukraine presented to Moscow in Istanbul emphasized the need for a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire to set stage for peace negotiations. It reaffirmed Ukraine's consistent rejection of Russian demands for neutral status as an attack on its sovereignty, declaring it is free to choose its alliances and adding that its NATO membership will depend on consensus with the alliance. It emphasized Kyiv's rejection of any restrictions on the size and other parameters of its armed forces, as well as curbs on the presence of foreign troops on its soil. Ukraine's memorandum also opposed recognizing any Russian territorial gains, while describing the current line of contact as a starting point in negotiations. The document noted the need for international security guarantees to ensure the implementation of peace agreements and prevent further aggression. Kyiv's peace proposal also demanded the return of all deported and illegally displaced children and a total prisoner exchange. It held the door open to gradual lifting of some of the sanctions against Russia if it abides by the agreement. Trump's positions Trump has often spoken admiringly of Putin and even echoed his talking points on the war. He had a harsh confrontation with Zelenskyy in the Oval Office on Feb. 28, but later warmed his tone. As Putin resisted a ceasefire and continued his aerial bombardments, Trump showed exasperation with the Kremlin leader, threatening Moscow with new sanctions. Although Trump expressed disappointment with Putin, his agreement to meet him without Zelenskyy at the table raised worries in Ukraine and its European allies, who fear it could allow the Russian to get Trump on his side and strong-arm Ukraine into concessions. Trump said without giving details that "there'll be some swapping of territories, to the betterment of both" Russia and Ukraine as part of any peace deal that he will discuss with Putin when they meet Friday. Putin repeatedly warned Ukraine will face tougher conditions for peace if it doesn't accept Moscow's demands as Russian troops forge into other regions to build what he described as a "buffer zone." Some observers suggested Russia could trade those recent gains for the territories of the four annexed by Moscow still under Ukrainian control. "That is potentially a situation that gives Putin a tremendous amount of leeway as long as he can use that leverage to force the Ukrainians into a deal that they may not like and to sideline the Europeans effectively," Sam Greene of King's College London said. "The question is, will Trump sign up to that and will he actually have the leverage to force the Ukrainians and the Europeans to accept it?" Putin could accept a temporary truce to win Trump's sympathy as he seeks to achieve broader goals, Greene said. "He could accept a ceasefire so long as it's one that leaves him in control, in which there's no real deterrence against renewed aggression somewhere down the line," he said. "He understands that his only route to getting there runs via Trump." In a possible indication he thinks a ceasefire or peace deal could be close, Putin called the leaders of China, India, South Africa and several ex-Soviet nations in an apparent effort to inform these allies about prospective agreements. Tatiana Stanovaya of the Carnegie Russia and Eurasia Center argued Putin wouldn't budge on his goals. "However these conditions are worded, they amount to the same demand: Ukraine stops resisting, the West halts arms supplies, and Kyiv accepts Russia's terms, which effectively amount to a de facto capitulation," she posted on X. "The Russian side can frame this in a dozen different ways, creating the impression that Moscow is open to concessions and serious negotiation. It has been doing so for some time, but the core position remains unchanged: Russia wants Kyiv to surrender." She predicted Putin might agree to meet Zelenskyy but noted the Kremlin leader would only accept such a meeting "if there is a prearranged agenda and predetermined outcomes, which remains difficult to imagine." "The likely scenario is that this peace effort will fail once again," she said. "This would be a negative outcome for Ukraine, but it would not deliver Ukraine to Putin on a plate either, at least not in the way he wants it. The conflict, alternating between open warfare and periods of simmering tension, appears likely to persist for the foreseeable future." (AP)
Japan Today
2 hours ago
- Japan Today
Japan concerned about Israeli plan to take control of Gaza City
Mounted police disperse demonstrators blocking a highway during a protest demanding the release of all hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip and calling for an end to the war, in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Saturday night. Japan is "strongly concerned" about Israel's decision to take control of Gaza City, Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya said. The minister's statement came after Israel's security cabinet approved a plan to take over the northern city of the war-torn Gaza Strip, drawing criticism from other countries and the United Nations. "Japan is strongly concerned that this decision will further exacerbate the already dire humanitarian situation in Gaza," Iwaya said, urging "all parties to return to negotiations" and to work toward a ceasefire and the release of hostages. "Japan opposes any actions, such as this plan, that undermine the realization of a two-state solution" for Israel and Palestine, Iwaya said. The conflict in the Palestinian region began after the militant group Hamas launched an attack in Israel and took hostages in October 2023, prompting massive Israeli retaliation. Many people in the Gaza Strip are facing starvation as the conflict continues. © KYODO
Japan Today
2 hours ago
- Japan Today
Japan at nuclear crossroads 80 years after A-bombings as survivors age
Mitsuhiro Hayashida, whose grandfather survived the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, conducts training through his organization Peace Education Lab Nagasaki. (Photo not for sale)(Photo courtesy of Mitsuhiro Hayashida)(For editorial use only)(Photo use permitted only for the story concerned)(Kyodo) ==Kyodo By Donican Lam Eighty years after the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan faces with growing urgency the question of how to carry forward the moral voice for ridding the world of nuclear weapons as generational memory fades and nuclear risks rise amid the advancement of technology. Atomic bomb survivors, who have helped shape the nuclear taboo over the past decades, are now on average over the age of 86, meaning that the generation of those who witnessed firsthand the horrific effects of nuclear weapons is nearing its end, leaving a void increasingly difficult to fill. Positioned close to an assertive China and North Korea that is honing its nuclear capabilities, the Japanese government is unlikely to give up its reliance on the U.S. nuclear deterrent anytime soon, despite viewing its mission as advocating for a world without nuclear weapons. Following this week's 80th atomic bomb commemorative events, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said at a press conference Saturday that the government is committed to defending the country and its people, while at the same time working to eliminate nuclear weapons. "So how do we balance these two issues? I firmly believe that we have to fulfill both responsibilities," he said. Heigo Sato, a professor with expertise on security issues at Takushoku University in Tokyo, said Japan, the only country to have suffered nuclear attacks in war, should continue to play a key role in leading global efforts toward nuclear disarmament through what he calls a "multiple-pronged approach," given the challenges seen in international treaties regarding nuclear weapons. While the U.N. nuclear ban treaty lacks the support of nuclear weapon states, a broader arms control regime based on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty is increasingly under strain. In June, the United States carried out air strikes on Iran to degrade its nuclear programs, leading Tehran to issue threats to withdraw from the NPT. "We should neither be too dominated by talks on nuclear deterrence, nor be obsessed with the nuclear ban treaty," Sato said, suggesting that other approaches could include reinforcing a system to prevent nuclear proliferation or "fostering an international social movement that rejects nuclear weapons." As nuclear weapon states continue to modernize and expand their arsenals amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, conflicts in the Midde East and other geopolitical tensions, the landscape could be further complicated as artificial intelligence is eventually incorporated into nuclear command and control systems. Melissa Parke of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, which won the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize, warned of a "perilous" nuclear age in which AI, rather than human judgment, drives decision-making. She argues that this technological detachment makes it all the more urgent that policymakers heed the messages of those who have experienced the consequences of nuclear weapons firsthand. "We need global leaders to be listening to the hibakusha (survivors) about the reality of what nuclear weapons actually do to people. They talk in very abstract terms about nuclear weapons and nuclear deterrence," said Parke. "But the reality is actually what the hibakusha are talking about." The testimonies of the survivors to convey the humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons can only increase its significance as time passes, with both the Hiroshima and Nagasaki city governments training future generations to become "storytellers" to carry forward the account. But Sato is doubtful about the effectiveness of such efforts, saying that future storytellers are "no different from a game of telephone" as they are essentially recounting someone else's story. "As with any game of telephone, the further along the chain you go, the more the message gets distorted or loses impact," he said. Mitsuhiro Hayashida, whose grandfather survived the atomic blast in Nagasaki, said a broader understanding of history, including Japan's aggression in the lead-up to and during World War II, will help encourage the youth to link the stories with present day action to realize peace. In contrast to Germany, where children study the history of World War II in the hope of preventing future atrocities, the discourse in Japan tends to focus on victimhood, he said. "We need to explain the atomic bombings not just as isolated events, but in connection with the broader history of the war -- why that war happened, and what kind of reflection followed in postwar Japan," said the 33-year-old, who founded Peace Education Lab Nagasaki in 2023 to provide such training. While the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize last year to Nihon Hidankyo, Japan's leading group of atomic bomb survivors, has helped to reinvigorate citizens' movements and individual activists, a significant impact on a government policy level has yet to be seen. Terumi Tanaka, 93, who has long played a key role in Nihon Hidankyo, said that the government, as a democracy, reflects the will of the people. "If we have a government that supports policies like nuclear deterrence, ultimately, it's the responsibility of the citizens," Tanaka, a co-chair of the group, said at an event in Nagasaki on Friday. For Tanaka, who was exposed to the bombing in the city at age 13, seeing his efforts culminate in the signing and ratification of the nuclear ban treaty by Japan and meaningful steps toward eliminating nuclear weapons is one of his greatest wishes in life. "If we can begin to see a path to abolition, I think I can finally say farewell with peace in my heart," he said. © KYODO
