Latest news with #OfficeoftheU.N.
Kyodo News
9 hours ago
- Business
- Kyodo News
Japan firm supporting refugees to donate glasses to war-torn Ukraine
KYODO NEWS - 4 hours ago - 09:25 | All, Japan A Japanese company that makes glasses will donate 5,100 pairs of spectacles to people displaced by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Fuji Megane Co., which has been supporting refugees for more than 40 years, will distribute the glasses through the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. The glasses, which include 1,670 pairs for children, will be given to the beneficiaries following an onsite eye examination. The Sapporo-based company's dedication to helping refugees stems from the experience of its 82-year-old president, Akio Kanai. Born in Japan-ruled Sakhalin, Kanai was 2 years old when on Aug. 16, 1945, the day after Japan's surrender in World War II, he, fled to Japan's northern main island of Hokkaido along with his mother and older brother due to an advance by the Soviet military on Sakhalin. In a recent telephone interview, Kanai said, "I want to support people in Ukraine," citing his experience as an evacuee. Fuji Megane has supported refugees around the world since 1983, donating a total of 180,000 pairs of glasses to people in countries such as Thailand, Nepal and Azerbaijan. Kanai became the first Japanese person to receive the Nansen Refugee Award, dubbed the Nobel Prize for refugee support, from the U.N. refugee agency in 2006. The prize honors individuals and groups that have taken extraordinary actions to protect refugees. Related coverage: Japan PM throws support behind Ukraine to achieve lasting peace FEATURE: Ukrainian kids practice sumo free from missile attack fears Japan to accept 2 from Gaza for medical treatment amid Israel attacks
The Mainichi
11 hours ago
- Business
- The Mainichi
Japan firm supporting refugees to donate glasses to war-torn Ukraine
MOSCOW (Kyodo) -- A Japanese company that makes glasses will donate 5,100 pairs of spectacles to people displaced by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Fuji Megane Co., which has been supporting refugees for more than 40 years, will distribute the glasses through the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. The glasses, which include 1,670 pairs for children, will be given to the beneficiaries following an onsite eye examination. The Sapporo-based company's dedication to helping refugees stems from the experience of its 82-year-old president, Akio Kanai. Born in Japan-ruled Sakhalin, Kanai was 2 years old when on Aug. 16, 1945, the day after Japan's surrender in World War II, he, fled to Japan's northern main island of Hokkaido along with his mother and older brother due to an advance by the Soviet military on Sakhalin. In a recent telephone interview, Kanai said, "I want to support people in Ukraine," citing his experience as an evacuee. Fuji Megane has supported refugees around the world since 1983, donating a total of 180,000 pairs of glasses to people in countries such as Thailand, Nepal and Azerbaijan. Kanai became the first Japanese person to receive the Nansen Refugee Award, dubbed the Nobel Prize for refugee support, from the U.N. refugee agency in 2006. The prize honors individuals and groups that have taken extraordinary actions to protect refugees.
Kyodo News
13 hours ago
- Business
- Kyodo News
Japan firm supporting refugees to donate glasses to war-torn Ukraine
KYODO NEWS - 4 minutes ago - 09:25 | All, Japan A Japanese company that makes glasses will donate 5,100 pairs of spectacles to people displaced by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Fuji Megane Co., which has been supporting refugees for more than 40 years, will distribute the glasses through the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. The glasses, which include 1,670 pairs for children, will be given to the beneficiaries following an onsite eye examination. The Sapporo-based company's dedication to helping refugees stems from the experience of its 82-year-old president, Akio Kanai. Born in Japan-ruled Sakhalin, Kanai was 2 years old when on Aug. 16, 1945, the day after Japan's surrender in World War II, he, fled to Japan's northern main island of Hokkaido along with his mother and older brother due to an advance by the Soviet military on Sakhalin. In a recent telephone interview, Kanai said, "I want to support people in Ukraine," citing his experience as an evacuee. Fuji Megane has supported refugees around the world since 1983, donating a total of 180,000 pairs of glasses to people in countries such as Thailand, Nepal and Azerbaijan. Kanai became the first Japanese person to receive the Nansen Refugee Award, dubbed the Nobel Prize for refugee support, from the U.N. refugee agency in 2006. The prize honors individuals and groups that have taken extraordinary actions to protect refugees. Related coverage: Japan PM throws support behind Ukraine to achieve lasting peace FEATURE: Ukrainian kids practice sumo free from missile attack fears Japan to accept 2 from Gaza for medical treatment amid Israel attacks
Toronto Star
16-05-2025
- Toronto Star
UN agency, Rohingya refugees allege Indian authorities cast dozens of them into the sea near Myanmar
NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian authorities allegedly forced dozens of Rohingya refugees off a naval vessel into the sea near Myanmar last week after providing them with life jackets, a United Nations agency, family members of the refugees and their lawyer said. The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, in a statement on Thursday, said at least 40 Rohingya refugees were detained in New Delhi and cast into the sea by the Indian navy near the maritime border with Myanmar. The refugees — including children, women and older people — swam ashore, but their whereabouts in Myanmar remain unknown, the agency said.
Japan Times
29-01-2025
- Politics
- Japan Times
Japan hits back at U.N. panel over imperial law review recommendation
Japan has hit back at a U.N. panel over its recommendation to revise the Imperial House Law by denying it access to the country's voluntary contributions to the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights. Tokyo has excluded the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women from the list of recipients of the funds, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Toshihiro Kitamura told a news conference Wednesday. The office, which handles affairs related to the panel, was notified of the measure on Monday. The U.N. committee recommended in a report last October that Japan should revise the Imperial House Law, which allows only male descendants from the paternal line of the imperial family to become emperor. Tokyo has urged it to withdraw the recommendation, saying that "succession to the imperial throne is a matter affecting the foundations of the nation, and it is inappropriate for the committee to take up the Imperial House Law." The recommendation has not been revoked. Kitamura said that the measure against the committee "will show the Japanese government's position more clearly." But he added that the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights has not allocated Japanese voluntary contributions to activities related to the committee at least since 2005.
