Kyodo News Digest: June 8, 2025
KYODO NEWS - 7 minutes ago - 09:02 | All, Japan, World
The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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Japan, EU eye launch of "competitive alliance" scheme to boost trade
BRUSSELS - Japan and the European Union are preparing to launch an "alliance" framework to beef up their companies' competitiveness by promoting trade and economic security cooperation, diplomatic sources said Saturday, facing concerns over U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs and Chinese trade practices.
The creation of the "Japan-EU Competitiveness Alliance" is expected to be announced at a regular summit meeting being arranged for July, when Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is likely to host European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, they said.
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Japan opposition lawmaker says rice reserves mostly go to chickens
TOKYO - A lawmaker of Japan's main opposition party said Saturday that government rice reserves recently put on sale are mostly consumed by chickens, doubling down on remarks that could be perceived as insensitive to people who have snapped up the old rice due to cheaper prices.
Kazuhiro Haraguchi of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan made the remarks at a gathering in southwestern Japan to shore up support ahead of the upper house election, even after Yuichiro Tamaki, leader of another opposition party, apologized a week ago for likening the stockpiles to "animal feed."
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Tennis: Oda, Kamiji win French Open wheelchair singles
PARIS - Japan's Tokito Oda won his third consecutive French Open wheelchair tennis singles title Saturday, defeating Britain's Alfie Hewett 6-4, 7-6(6).
Earlier in the day, Japanese compatriot Yui Kamiji claimed her fifth wheelchair singles title and first in five years with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Aniek van Koot of the Netherlands.
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Japan, U.S. yet to find common ground on tariffs but want quick deal
WASHINGTON - Japan and the United States have "yet to find common ground" on tariff issues, Tokyo's top negotiator said Friday, indicating that there remain many differences between the sides, but they still aim to clinch a win-win deal in mid-June.
After holding talks with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in Washington, Ryosei Akazawa told reporters that he believes "further progress" was made.
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Over half of rice producing firms feel store rice prices "too high"
TOKYO - Over half of large-scale rice producers feel that store prices for rice are "too high," a recent survey conducted by an association of agricultural corporations showed, indicating that many of them share concerns with consumers about the elevated cost of the staple food in Japan.
As households increasingly complain about rice prices that have doubled over the past year, more than 40 percent of respondents worried that consumers may start shunning the product.
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New South Korea President Lee to make diplomatic debut at G7 summit
SEOUL - Newly elected South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has accepted an invitation to the upcoming Group of Seven summit taking place in Canada later this month, the presidential office said Saturday.
Lee's attendance at the G7 meeting, to be held over three days from June 15 in Alberta, Canada, will mark his debut on the diplomatic stage. He took office on Wednesday following his victory in the country's 21st presidential election.
Video: Parade at Hyakumangoku Festival in Ishikawa Prefecture
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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.
2 hours ago
DPFP Eager to Discuss No-Confidence Motion with CDP
News from Japan Politics Jun 8, 2025 12:39 (JST) Osaka/Miyazaki/Tokyo, June 8 (Jiji Press)--Democratic Party for the People leader Yuichiro Tamaki has said the party will decide whether to submit a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's cabinet jointly with the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan through discussions with the biggest opposition party. "I would like to hear the CDP's thoughts and strategy regarding whether it will or will not submit a no-confidence motion," Tamaki told a press conference in the city of Osaka, western Japan, on Saturday. "We are not in a situation where we can fully trust the Ishiba administration," he said. Meanwhile, former CDP head Yukio Edano indicated a cautious stance. "If we think only about our party, we should certainly submit (a no-confidence motion)," Edano told reporters in the southwestern city of Miyazaki the same day. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
