Latest news with #KYODO
Japan Today
6 hours ago
- Politics
- Japan Today
Ishiba eyes better ties with S Korea after meeting foreign chief
Title: Japan South Korea Image ID: 25210332700673 Article: Japan's Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya, right, shakes hands with South Korea's Foreign Minister Cho Hyun at the start of their meeting at the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo, Japan on Tuesday,. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Wednesday expressed his desire to maintain the "good" momentum in relations with South Korea, as he met with visiting Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, who assumed his post earlier in the month. During their first meeting at his office, Ishiba also stressed the importance of deepening trilateral cooperation with the United States, according to the Japanese government. Bilateral and trilateral cooperation have taken on greater importance in addressing North Korea's missile and nuclear weapons development, while Tokyo is also seeking to resolve the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by Pyongyang in the 1970s and 1980s. Before meeting with Ishiba for about 15 minutes, Cho, on his first overseas trip as foreign minister, held talks with Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya on Tuesday and said he wants to develop "future-oriented" bilateral ties. "Japan and South Korea are important neighbors who must work together as partners to tackle various global challenges," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said at a press conference. Ties between Tokyo and Seoul have been improving in recent years after a difficult period due to issues related to wartime history and territory. The Korean Peninsula was under Japanese colonial rule between 1910 and 1945. On the margins of the Group of Seven leaders' summit in Canada in June, Ishiba and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung agreed to develop stable ties, including by visiting each other's countries for talks. © KYODO
Japan Today
a day ago
- Politics
- Japan Today
China warns against Japan's 1st space defense guidelines
China on Tuesday warned against Japan's first guidelines set out the previous day to enhance its defense in outer space, opposing the move as "an excuse for its military expansion." Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told reporters that Japan and the United States are cooperating to strengthen space defense in a way that poses risks to safety in outer space, saying, "China firmly opposes Japan increasing threats to other countries" through the implementation of the guidelines. The remark comes after Japan's Defense Ministry on Monday unveiled its "space domain defense guidelines," warning that some countries, including China and Russia, are advancing the development of "killer satellites" designed to neutralize or destroy other countries' space assets. Guo said China is committed to upholding the peaceful use of space and opposes an arms race in outer space. In the defense guidelines, the Japanese ministry wrote "outer space has been turning into a battle area," highlighting the importance of strengthening the ability to defend satellites and securing communications that use them. © KYODO
Japan Today
a day ago
- Health
- Japan Today
Japan whooping cough cases hit record above 50,000
Colony of the Bordetella pertussis bacterium that causes pertussis, a whooping cough. The number of whooping cough cases in Japan this year has surpassed 50,000 for the first time since comparable data became available in 2018, figures from a national health research institute showed Tuesday. Preliminary data from the Japan Institute for Health Security showed that the number of cases reported by hospitals and clinics across the country in the July 14-20 period reached 3,908, marking a record-high for the fifth consecutive week. It brought the cumulative total to 52,490, topping the previous record of 16,845 cases in the whole of 2019. A highly infectious bacterial disease, whooping cough, also known as pertussis, begins with cold-like symptoms and gradually progresses to severe coughing. Infants are particularly susceptible to developing severe complications, such as pneumonia and encephalitis, which can prove fatal. © KYODO
Japan Forward
a day ago
- Sport
- Japan Forward
Fencer Koki Kano Claims Gold at 2025 World Championships
Reporting on Koki Kano, Japan's first world champion in an individual fencing event, and additional news updates on volleyball, basketball and tennis. Koki Kano holds his gold medal after winning the men's epee competition at the 2025 World Fencing Championships in Tbilisi, Georgia, on July 27. (©KYODO) Koki Kano continues to raise the standard of excellence for Japanese fencers. The two-time Olympian triumphed in dramatic fashion in the men's epee final at the 2025 World Fencing Championships in Tbilisi, Georgia, beating Hungary's Gergely Siklosi 10-9 in overtime on Sunday, July 27. In the high-stakes pressure of overtime, Kano relied on his skilled fencing fundamentals and tactical brilliance to conquer Siklosi. What was the decisive maneuver? Kano secured the title with a straightforward thrust to Siklosi's chest, giving him his 10th point of the back-and-forth match. To reach the gold-medal match against Siklosi, Kano outpointed compatriot Masaru Yamada 15-8 in the semifinals at the Olympic Palace. He also topped Team Japan representative Akira Komata in the quarterfinals. Japan's Koki Kano (right) competes against Hungary's Gergely Siklosi in the men's individual epee final in Tbilisi. (KYODO) Kano, 27, was ecstatic after his victorious achievement against Siklosi, calling Sunday "a wonderful day for me." "I couldn't get a medal this season until now," Kano said, according to the International Fencing Federation website. "While the Olympics is only once every four years, the World [Fencing] Championships are a very important competition. All matches were difficult for me, and the final was only one touch." He continued: "Siklosi was so strong, it was all mental. Now my goal [in 2028] is to get the individual and team gold medals in Los Angeles." Koki Kano became an Olympic gold medalist for the first time at the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics in July 2021, helping lead Japan to the title in the men's team epee competition. Three years later, the Aichi Prefecture native became an Olympic champion in an individual event, defeating France's Yannick Borel 15-9 in the final at the Paris Games. Doing so, he won Japan's first-ever Olympic gold in an individual fencing event. In 2022, Kano also became Japan's first fencer in 45 years to win an individual epee title at the Asian Fencing Championships in Seoul. The Waseda University alum collected his second individual title at the Asian Championships a year later in Wuxi, China. Koki Kano Gives Japan Its First Individual Olympic Gold in Fencing Japan's Mayu Ishikawa receives the ball during the third-place match against Poland at the FIVB Women's Volleyball Nations League on July 27 in Lodz, Poland. (COURTESY OF VOLLEYBALL WORLD/via KYODO) Poland outplayed Japan in the third-place match at the 2025 FIVB Women's Volleyball Nations League on Sunday, July 27, winning 25-15, 24-26, 25-16, 25-23. The match, held in Lodz, Poland, was essentially decided at the net, with the hosts registering 15 blocks to Japan's two. Middle blocker Haruyo Shimamura paced Japan with 15 points, including 13 attack points. Mayu Ishikawa finished with 12 points. Japan was the 2024 Volleyball Nations League runner-up. For Poland, Magdalena Stysiak had a match-best 18 points, including a pair of blocks. Also Sunday, 2024 Paris Olympic champion Italy rallied past Brazil in a four-set final, earning a 22-25, 25-18, 25-22, 25-22 victory. As a result, Italy captured its second straight Women's Volleyball Nations League crown. The 2025 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship, a 32-nation tournament from August 22 to September 7 in Thailand, is the next major international competition. Volleyball: Japan Women Aiming for the Nations League Title Japan's 2025 FIBA Asia Cup team poses for photos on July 27 in Tokyo. (KYODO) The Japan men's national team is making preparations for the upcoming 2025 FIBA Asia Cup (August 5-17) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Akatsuki Japan head coach Tom Hovasse has finalized the squad's 12-man roster for the continental tournament. Nine-time All-Star point guard Yuki Togashi of the Chiba Jets is, at age 31, the oldest player on the roster, which was announced on Sunday, July 27. Yuki Togashi (KYODO) Alvark Tokyo's Kai Toews and Okinawa native John Lawrence Harper Jr (Sunrockers Shibuya) are the other point guards. Hovasse selected Yudai Nishida (SeaHorses Mikawa) and Keisei Tominaga (Levanga Hokkaido), who recently participated in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, as the shooting guards. The small forwards are Akira Jacobs (University of Hawaii), Ren Kanechika (Jets), Yudai Baba (free agent) and Hirotaka Yoshii (San-en NeoPhoenix). Jacobs, 21, is the youngest player on Japan's FIBA Asia Cup team. Longtime player Josh Hawkinson (Sunrockers), who made an impact for Akatsuki Japan at the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup and the 2024 Paris Olympics, adds versatility at the power forward and center positions. Centers Toyoshige Kano (Sunrockers) and Koya Kawamata (Nagasaki Velca) also made the team. Japan is in Group B for the group phase of the 16-nation FIBA Asia Cup. Its first-round matches are against Syria (August 6), Iran (August 8) and Guam (August 10). Naomi Osaka participates in an Australian Open practice session as former coach Patrick Mouratoglou looks on in a January 2025 file photo. (Edgar Su/REUTERS) Naomi Osaka and French coach Patrick Mouratoglou have parted ways, the four-time Grand Slam singles champion announced on social media on Monday, July 28. On the same day, Osaka began working with Polish coach Tomasz Wiktorowski in what is being described as a trial period. World No 49 Osaka won her first match with new mentorship, beating Canadian Ariana Arseneault 6-4, 6-2 in the first round of the Canadian Open on Monday in Montreal. Wiktorowski is an ex-coach of former world No 2 Agnieszka Radwanska and Iga Swiatek, a former world No 1. Osaka's partnership with Mouratoglou began after her second-round defeat at the US Open in August 2024. He replaced Winn Fissette. "Merci Patrick," Osaka wrote in an Instagram post. "It was such a great experience learning from you. Wishing you nothing but the best. You are one of the coolest people I've ever met and I'm sure I'll see you around." Osaka, 27, was eliminated in the second round of the Mubadala Citi DC Open on July 24, dropping a 6-4, 6-2 match to Emma Raducanu. It was Mouratoglou's final match as Osaka's coach. Author: Ed Odeven Find Ed on JAPAN Forward' s dedicated website, SportsLook . Follow his [Japan Sports Notebook] on Sundays, [Odds and Evens] during the week, and X (formerly Twitter) ＠ed_odeven .
Japan Today
2 days ago
- Politics
- Japan Today
American views mixed over use of 1945 atomic bombing on Japan: survey
Americans expressed mixed views on whether the atomic bombings of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were justified, a survey by a U.S. research group showed Monday, signaling a possible change in the country's prevailing view that the attacks were necessary to bring a quick end to World War II. The nationwide survey, conducted by Pew Research Center, revealed that 35 percent of American adults think using nuclear weapons in 1945 was justified, while 31 percent thought otherwise. A third said they are not sure. Days before the 80th anniversary of the bombings, the survey found that the gap between those who support the atomic bombings and those who do not has narrowed, particularly because of signs that younger people's perceptions of the attacks have changed. Among those aged 30 to 49, 34 percent believed the bombings were not justified, more than the 29 percent who said they were, while 36 percent reported being unsure. In the 18 to 29 age group, the gap between those opposed to and those supporting the bombs' use widened to 44 percent against 27 percent. In a similar survey carried out by the center a decade ago, 56 percent of Americans justified the use of the bombs. At the time, however, there was no "not sure" option. The latest survey was conducted from June 2 to 8, with a total of 5,044 people responding out of 5,742 sampled. By gender, it showed that 51 percent of men consider the use of the bombs justifiable while 25 percent did not. Among women, the figures were 20 percent and 36 percent. The United States carried out the world's first-ever nuclear attack over Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, and detonated a second atomic bomb above Nagasaki three days later. Japan surrendered six days after the Nagasaki bombing, bringing an end to World War II. © KYODO
