Latest news with #Kono
Japan Today
6 days ago
- Business
- Japan Today
China's Li seeks cooperation with Japan amid tariff war with U.S.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang has called for deepening cooperation with Japan to counter "challenges to the world" posed by U.S. high tariffs as he met a Japanese business delegation led by former House of Representatives Speaker Yohei Kono, a group member said. Li also told the group consisting of some 100 business representatives and other members that he "attaches great importance" to a request from Tokyo to lease some more Chinese giant pandas as all the pandas currently living in Japan are set to return home by February next year, the member said. Kono asked Li to visit Japan for a summit meeting involving the leaders of Japan, China and South Korea, which Tokyo aims to host later this year, and proposed the premier take some pandas with him on that occasion. According to the member, Li smiled and called it "an important proposal." In the talks with the delegation from the Japanese Association for the Promotion of International Trade, held at the Great Hall of the People on Tuesday, China's No. 2 leader after President Xi Jinping pointed to the rise of unilateralism and protectionism, in an apparent reference to the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, according to the member. "The door of the Chinese market is always open to Japanese businesses. We hope to see more investment" from Japan, he was quoted as saying. The premier said the two Asian neighbors should "expand the scale of trade and investment and achieve a higher level of mutual benefit and win-win results" under the current international situation, state-run China Central Television said. Kono requested Beijing to ease export restrictions on rare earths used in production of chip materials and ensure the safety of Japanese nationals living in China, the delegate said. Recent stabbing incidents and a murder case involving Japanese citizens in China have sent shockwaves through the Japanese community in the country. The delegation members include Okinawa Vice Gov. Hajime Oshiro. The association last sent a delegation to Beijing in July 2024, when its members met with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng. The 2023 delegation held talks with Li. The group, which arrived in Beijing on Monday, will return to Japan next Sunday after visiting the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in southern China, which borders Vietnam. © KYODO
The Mainichi
6 days ago
- Business
- The Mainichi
China's Li seeks cooperation with Japan amid tariff war with US
BEIJING (Kyodo) -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang called Tuesday for deepening cooperation with Japan to counter "challenges to the world" posed by U.S. high tariffs as he met a Japanese business delegation led by former House of Representatives Speaker Yohei Kono, a group member said. Li also told the group consisting of some 100 business representatives and other members that he "attaches great importance" to a request from Tokyo to lease some more Chinese giant pandas as all the pandas currently living in Japan are set to return home by February next year, the member said. Kono asked Li to visit Japan for a summit meeting involving the leaders of Japan, China and South Korea, which Tokyo aims to host later this year, and proposed the premier take some pandas with him on that occasion. According to the member, Li smiled and called it "an important proposal." In the talks with the delegation from the Japanese Association for the Promotion of International Trade, held at the Great Hall of the People, China's No. 2 leader after President Xi Jinping pointed to the rise of unilateralism and protectionism, in an apparent reference to the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, according to the member. "The door of the Chinese market is always open to Japanese businesses. We hope to see more investment" from Japan, he was quoted as saying. The premier said the two Asian neighbors should "expand the scale of trade and investment and achieve a higher level of mutual benefit and win-win results" under the current international situation, state-run China Central Television said. Kono requested Beijing to ease export restrictions on rare earths used in production of chip materials and ensure the safety of Japanese nationals living in China, the delegate said. Recent stabbing incidents and a murder case involving Japanese citizens in China have sent shockwaves through the Japanese community in the country. The delegation members include Okinawa Vice Gov. Hajime Oshiro. The association last sent a delegation to Beijing in July 2024, when its members met with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng. The 2023 delegation held talks with Li. The group, which arrived in Beijing on Monday, will return to Japan next Sunday after visiting the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in southern China, which borders Vietnam.
Japan Today
17-05-2025
- Automotive
- Japan Today
Japanese gov't considering more restrictions on foreign driver's license conversions
By SoraNews24 Last year, we reported on a trend wherein Chinese nationals, who already have Chinese driver's licenses, come to Japan for a week or so on a tourist visa and pick up a Japanese driver's license while here. You might wonder why someone who lives in China would want both a Chinese and a Japanese driver's license, and the reason is that China doesn't have as many international driver's license agreements as Japan does, meaning that it's easier for Chinese nationals to convert their Japanese license into an international driving permit when going to a third country than it is to do the same with a Chinese license. Going to another country to get a driver's license seems like it ought to be a major hassle, considering you'd need to return there to renew it and apply for international permits. But, it's surprisingly easy in Japan. With the low yen, travel has never been more affordable from a lot of countries, and the system is set up so that converting another country's license to a Japanese one only requires a short test that's easier than the soul-crushing one Japanese people endure by leaps and bounds. ▼ Staying well in your lane but making a slightly wide right turn to clear that tight curb? Sorry, you fail. Image: SoraNews24 In fact, it's so easy that one doesn't even need a permanent address to apply for one; a hotel address would suffice. Possibly for all of these reasons, the number of foreign license conversions has been steadily rising from 30,381 in 2014 to 75,905 in 2024. This is causing some politicians to wonder if it's too easy. Manabu Sakai, head of the National Public Safety Commission, said 'the written test is too simple' and announced that it would be looked into. Meanwhile, former cabinet member and outspoken MP Taro Kono seems to have gone one step further and announced that the National Police Agency is already stopping issuance for Chinese license seekers who do not have residence in Japan. ▼ 'The National Police Agency has made it clear that Chinese nationals who do not have a residence card in Japan will no longer be able to exchange their Chinese driver's license for a Japanese one. They will also ensure that the law will be applied to cases where the rules were followed too loosely in the past.' Although Kono seems certain that a policy is already in place, there haven't been any announcements regarding driver's licenses on the National Police Agency website. Also, a report on driver's license statistics in Japan, published two days after Kono's post, says that the agency is still investigating the matter. Some social media users were also confused by Kono's apparent proclamation, while most comments online seemed to agree that something ought to be done about the current situation. 'Where can I see this announcement by the National Police Agency?' 'When will this go into effect?' 'They're going to review past licenses too?' 'Just stop it altogether and cancel all past licenses given out this way.' 'The people who got them before had no fixed address. How are you going to find them?' 'It's impossible to cancel existing ones, but easy to stop renewing them.' 'This is a matter of life and death, so I can't believe that it's so easy to get a license with a quick test.' 'They really should take care of this as soon as possible.' 'If they have to take the same test Japanese people do, that would be fine.' It does make sense that people holding essentially the same license and presumably sharing the same road should have acquired their licenses by the same standards. Perhaps raising the bar for foreign conversions and lowering the bar for domestic licenses to meet each other halfway might be a step in the right direction. Source: The Sankei Shimbun, X/@konotarogomame, Hachima Kiko, Yahoo! News Read more stories from SoraNews24. -- Chinese drivers flocking to Japan for quick and easy route to international licenses -- Getting a driver's license in Japan the hard way: The first written test -- Getting a driver's license in Japan the hard way: The End External Link © SoraNews24
CBS News
27-04-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Japan's population is shrinking. Here's what it means – and what some are doing about it.
Modern Japan sounds like a sci-fi premise: the incredible shrinking country. Japan may have one of the longest national life expectancies, about 85 years, and the world's largest city, Tokyo. But the nation's population has been in decline for 15 years. Last year, more than two people died for every baby born — a net loss of almost a million people. And now, the island nation is on pace to shrink in half by this century's end. The diminishing population is Japan's most urgent problem, says Taro Kono, a longtime high-ranking minister in Japan's parliament. Kono, nearly elected prime minister in 2021, said he intends to seek the highest office again and believes the country should prioritize combating the population decline. He says this issue impacts every sector: the economy, education, housing, national defense and the culture of Japan. "There are less and less number of a young generation," Kono said. "And all the burdens are on the young generation. And they won't be able to sustain. So society is going to be breaking up. Economy is just going to stagnate." Last year, Japan's military recruited only half the people it needed, Kono said. There's a labor shortage in every industry, including in the government, he added. Japan is the world's fourth largest economy, but it won't be able to sustain if the population keeps declining, Kono said. Japan's societal changes and implosion of marriage Japan's falling population is owed, in part, to a spike in the success of women in the workforce. A greater percentage of Japanese women hold jobs than their American counterparts. Japan's famously punishing work culture, coupled with a men-first social culture, makes it extremely difficult to balance career and family. Japanese-American writer Roland Kelts says Japan also has "an implosion of marriage." Jon Wertheim and Roland Kelts 60 Minutes He told 60 Minutes the days of omiai, arranged marriage which governed Japanese marriages up through the 1980s, are behind us. "The corporate guys would marry the office ladies," Kelts said. "And this was all set up. It's gone now. And the office ladies make more money than the corporate guys. So now, you have this shift in economics that has not been reflected in social norms." This shift is reflected in Japan's marriage rates: in 2023, fewer than 500,000 Japanese couples married, the lowest number since 1917, according to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan. Japan adapts to parties of one A growing number of businesses in Japan now cater to single customers. There are ramen restaurants meant for dining in solitude, solo karaoke clubs, and bars only open to those arriving stag. There are also solo weddings, which have all the normal trappings — bride, dress, bouquet, photographer, but no groom. Alternative romance is also in vogue in Japan. Akihiko Kondo, 42, told 60 Minutes he married the anime character Miku in a formal ceremony in 2018. Kondo spoke with 60 Minutes about his love for Miku, and served her green tea while he spoke. Akihiko Kondo says he married the anime character Miku in a formal ceremony in 2018. 60 Minutes Kondo says he's one of thousands of Japanese in monogamous romantic relationships with fictional characters. Almost half of Japan's millennial singles, ages 18-34, self-report as virgins, compared to barely 20% in the U.S. How Japan is fighting to restore its population To foster relationships, the Tokyo government has taken action. One such initiative: a dating app. "We are promoting for matchmaking by artificial intelligence," Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike told 60 Minutes. And the number of applications has been three to four times greater than anticipated, according to the governor. Tokyo has also introduced a four-day workweek for government employees, designed to help working mothers and, hopefully, boost birth rates. "The longer we work, the less children we have," Koike said. "Demography is one of the biggest national issues that we have to tackle." Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike speaks with Jon Wertheim. 60 Minutes While many Japanese leaders agree on the importance of the issue, approaches vary. Hanako Okada, a 44-year-old mother of two who was recently elected to Japan's parliament, said confronting the population problem doesn't require dating apps or shortened workweeks, but a sweeping mindset change. "The total fertility rate for 2024 was reported to hit an all-time low," Okada told 60 Minutes. "The continuing slide in the birth rate clearly indicates our current policy isn't working at all." Ninety-two percent of Japan's population lives in urban areas, a way of living that Okada sees as unsustainable for population growth. She wants people to move out of cities and back to rural towns and villages to build lives and have families. Okada led the charge, moving back to her rural hometown of Aomori, a rapidly aging northern prefecture known for its apple orchards. Per one study, Aomori is one of hundreds of Japanese towns at risk of disappearing by 2050. "Aomori is my hometown," Okada said. "The precipitous drop in population—and vitality—of this city is deeply troubling not just personally, but from a national perspective. If our regions collapse, it imperils our country's strength. I thought, 'We can't allow this situation to go on.'" Okada hopes to help create interesting jobs with decent pay in rural areas, so that the young people will come. Her thinking: Once they come, and experience the space, the slower rhythms and the quality of life, they'll be motivated to start families. Okada is hopeful. "The values of our younger generation are gradually shifting," Okada said. "Tokyo is no longer the be-all, end-all." Ichinono: The Puppet Village Many communities in Japan are fading. 60 Minutes visited Ichinono, a village located an hour and a half west of Kyoto with a population just shy of 50 people. 60 Minutes met Shinichi Murayama — a longtime Ichinono resident and the town's unofficial puppet master. Murayama oversees the making and scattering of life-like puppets around Ichinono, repopulating a depopulating community. "Puppets are no substitute for people, of course. But making them cheers us up," Murayama said. Murayama has seen the population of Ichinono continue to decrease; he is deeply worried about the future of his village. He remembers when the town was filled with kids. Now, instead, puppets fill the playground. This made the birth of Kuranosuke Kato, the youngest Ichinono resident and first child born in the village in more than 20 years, all the more meaningful. The Kato family in Ichinono 60 Minutes His parents recently exchanged city life for a spacious home in Ichinono. Dad Toshiki does IT work from home, while mom Rie, a midwife, hopes to open a local maternity ward. "We've got a mountain and a river to explore. We make our own toys and grow our own vegetables. For a kid, there's plenty of ways to have fun here," Toshiki Kato said in Japanese. The Katos hope others will follow, and that Kuranosuke will have friends and classmates among all the town's puppets. "I want Japanese people to become more aware of this lifestyle, which is closer to our traditional way of living, Kato said.
Japan Times
23-04-2025
- Business
- Japan Times
Japan must correct Trump's false data for trade talks, says Kono
Before Japan can proceed with trade talks with Washington, authorities must first correct several misunderstandings held by U.S. President Donald Trump, former foreign minister and previous digital transformation minister Taro Kono said Wednesday. "President Trump could flip according to how the market reacts to it and what he's quoting, the facts, numbers, are quite wrong. So we need to first correct his misunderstanding to put our proposal on the table,' Kono said in an interview. He recalled how Trump expressed similar misunderstandings about the U.S.-Japan security alliance and Japan's auto industry when he visited Washington with then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during Trump's first term in office. Serving as Japan's foreign minister at the time, Kono said the incorrect assumptions were corrected, but now need to be rectified again. "It's like deja vu,' he said. Japan and the United States have started formal trade negotiations after Trump slapped a 24% across-the-board tariff on Japanese imports and a 25% levy on cars, steel and aluminum. The 24% tariff is currently on hold as Tokyo and Washington negotiate, though a 10% baseline charge still applies. A Japanese delegation is expected to hold its second round of trade talks with their U.S. counterparts later this month, while Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato is set to meet U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent this week. "We definitely need to finish this negotiation, but we shouldn't rush in,' Kono said. Kono said matters related to regional security shouldn't be discussed as part of the trade talks, nor should the question of how best to manage relationships with China. "We need to be very careful about economic security issues, and the supply chain involving China,' he said. "How we are going to trade, how we are going to do to China collectively among the West, that is also a separate issue.' A Japanese delegation is in Beijing this week, where Tetsuo Saito, the chief of the ruling party's junior coalition partner Komeito, was set to deliver a letter from Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to Chinese President Xi Jinping. The gesture highlights Japan's desire to balance managing its relationships with China, its largest trading partner, and with the U.S., its sole formal security ally. Turning to currencies, Kono said that Trump appears to want a weak dollar. "I think the market will fix the exchange rate accordingly.'
