Latest news with #Saitama
Kyodo News
a day ago
- Sport
- Kyodo News
Rugby: Brave Lupus aim to retain League One title in trademark style
KYODO NEWS - 9 hours ago - 20:51 | Sports, Rugby, All Defending champions Brave Lupus Tokyo are unlikely to part from their tried-and-tested game plan when they battle the Kubota Spears in the Japan Rugby League One final, lock Warner Dearns indicated Friday. Speaking ahead of Sunday's championship decider at Tokyo's National Stadium, Japan international Dearns said they would continue emphasizing the expansive, attacking rugby that yielded a league-best 741 points on their way to first place in the regular season. "We're a team that moves the ball," Dearns said. "If we can attack with the style that we have honed, we can win." The Todd Blackadder-coached team will also be confident of their defensive resilience after stopping the Kobe Steelers from scoring a try in a 31-3 semifinal rout last weekend. Their attacking movement has been underpinned by the playmaking of former All Black flyhalf Richie Mo'unga, the reigning League One MVP, who heads into the final on the back of a man-of-the-match performance against Kobe. Captain and No. 8 Michael Leitch and fullback Takuro Matsunaga are among the other linchpins in a Brave Lupus starting XV who will enter as favorites after winning as underdogs last year against the Saitama Wild Knights in front of some 56,000 at the Tokyo Olympic venue. "The cheering was so loud, it felt like the ground was shaking," Matsunaga said. "It won't come as a surprise this time around, so I will be able to enjoy it." After finishing the season third, the Frans Ludeke-coached Spears have had to contend with an extra round of playoff rugby, followed by a grueling semifinal win against Saitama. The 2022-2023 champions will aim to continue their strong defensive play, exemplified by hard-tackling South African hooker Malcolm Marx, who was at the forefront of both playoff wins. Scrumhalf Shinobu Fujiwara will also look for another big performance after scoring a brace of tries last weekend against a Saitama side that was expected to advance to their fourth straight League One final. "I want to read the situation quickly and perform at my best without rushing things," Fujiwara said. Related coverage: Rugby: Spears hold off Sungoliath to reach League One semis Japan Rugby League One to give domestic players more time on pitch Rugby: Sam Cane leads playoff-chasing Sungoliath to vital win over Toyota
The Mainichi
a day ago
- Sport
- The Mainichi
Rugby: Brave Lupus aim to retain League One title in trademark style
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Defending champions Brave Lupus Tokyo are unlikely to part from their tried-and-tested game plan when they battle the Kubota Spears in the Japan Rugby League One final, lock Warner Dearns indicated Friday. Speaking ahead of Sunday's championship decider at Tokyo's National Stadium, Japan international Dearns said they would continue emphasizing the expansive, attacking rugby that yielded a league-best 741 points on their way to first place in the regular season. "We're a team that moves the ball," Dearns said. "If we can attack with the style that we have honed, we can win." The Todd Blackadder-coached team will also be confident of their defensive resilience after stopping the Kobe Steelers from scoring a try in a 31-3 semifinal rout last weekend. Their attacking movement has been underpinned by the playmaking of former All Black flyhalf Richie Mo'unga, the reigning League One MVP, who heads into the final on the back of a man-of-the-match performance against Kobe. Captain and No. 8 Michael Leitch and fullback Takuro Matsunaga are among the other linchpins in a Brave Lupus starting XV who will enter as favorites after winning as underdogs last year against the Saitama Wild Knights in front of some 56,000 at the Tokyo Olympic venue. "The cheering was so loud, it felt like the ground was shaking," Matsunaga said. "It won't come as a surprise this time around, so I will be able to enjoy it." After finishing the season third, the Frans Ludeke-coached Spears have had to contend with an extra round of playoff rugby, followed by a grueling semifinal win against Saitama. The 2022-2023 champions will aim to continue their strong defensive play, exemplified by hard-tackling South African hooker Malcolm Marx, who was at the forefront of both playoff wins. Scrumhalf Shinobu Fujiwara will also look for another big performance after scoring a brace of tries last weekend against a Saitama side that was expected to advance to their fourth straight League One final. "I want to read the situation quickly and perform at my best without rushing things," Fujiwara said.
Kyodo News
a day ago
- Sport
- Kyodo News
Rugby: Brave Lupus aim to retain League One title in trademark style
KYODO NEWS - 7 minutes ago - 20:51 | Sports, Rugby, All Defending champions Brave Lupus Tokyo are unlikely to part from their tried-and-tested game plan when they battle the Kubota Spears in the Japan Rugby League One final, lock Warner Dearns indicated Friday. Speaking ahead of Sunday's championship decider at Tokyo's National Stadium, Japan international Dearns said they would continue emphasizing the expansive, attacking rugby that yielded a league-best 741 points on their way to first place in the regular season. "We're a team that moves the ball," Dearns said. "If we can attack with the style that we have honed, we can win." The Todd Blackadder-coached team will also be confident of their defensive resilience after stopping the Kobe Steelers from scoring a try in a 31-3 semifinal rout last weekend. Their attacking movement has been underpinned by the playmaking of former All Black flyhalf Richie Mo'unga, the reigning League One MVP, who heads into the final on the back of a man-of-the-match performance against Kobe. Captain and No. 8 Michael Leitch and fullback Takuro Matsunaga are among the other linchpins in a Brave Lupus starting XV who will enter as favorites after winning as underdogs last year against the Saitama Wild Knights in front of some 56,000 at the Tokyo Olympic venue. "The cheering was so loud, it felt like the ground was shaking," Matsunaga said. "It won't come as a surprise this time around, so I will be able to enjoy it." After finishing the season third, the Frans Ludeke-coached Spears have had to contend with an extra round of playoff rugby, followed by a grueling semifinal win against Saitama. The 2022-2023 champions will aim to continue their strong defensive play, exemplified by hard-tackling South African hooker Malcolm Marx, who was at the forefront of both playoff wins. Scrumhalf Shinobu Fujiwara will also look for another big performance after scoring a brace of tries last weekend against a Saitama side that was expected to advance to their fourth straight League One final. "I want to read the situation quickly and perform at my best without rushing things," Fujiwara said. Related coverage: Rugby: Spears hold off Sungoliath to reach League One semis Japan Rugby League One to give domestic players more time on pitch Rugby: Sam Cane leads playoff-chasing Sungoliath to vital win over Toyota
The Independent
a day ago
- Automotive
- The Independent
MNCs foresee tailwinds for vibrancy
The momentum generated by China's policies aimed at stabilising foreign investment, combined with the rapid growth of green and artificial intelligence-driven economies, will deliver strong tailwinds for foreign companies in China this year, said foreign business executives. With rising global economic headwinds and uncertainty over United States' trade policies, many global enterprises are opting to consolidate their presence in China, with plans to maintain or expand investment. China's stable and business-friendly environment supported a modest rebound in foreign direct investment in March, with actual FDI inflows into the Chinese mainland increasing by 13.2 per cent year-on-year, data from the Ministry of Commerce showed. Marelli Holdings Co Ltd, a Saitama, Japan-headquartered multinational automotive parts manufacturer with more than 50 manufacturing facilities across the world, will expand its engineering team from 800 to 1,000 in China over the next three years. 'Many opportunities arise from Chinese automakers' rapid shift towards electrification and intelligence, especially in the form of software-defined vehicles, which are setting new benchmarks for speed, scale and innovation,' said David Slump, the group's president and CEO. With China and the US agreeing to de-escalate trade tensions in May, Slump said that these two countries are major markets for Marelli. 'We are closely monitoring and assessing the situation, and are committed to minimising any impact on our operations and customers,' said Slump. He added that the company is already exporting advanced products and solutions from China to other markets, including Europe, Mexico and Southeast Asia. Also upbeat about the Chinese market, British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca announced in March an investment of $2.5 billion (£1.9 billion) to establish in Beijing its sixth global strategic R&D centre, and further expand its biotech innovation partnerships and local manufacturing capabilities. The new facility will advance early-stage research and clinical development and will be enabled by a new AI and data science laboratory. Susan Galbraith, executive vice-president, oncology R&D, AstraZeneca, said that having two of its six global strategic R&D centres in China reflects the group's confidence in China's world-class biomedical innovation ecosystem and reinforces the nation's critical role in its global R&D strategy. Ji Wenhua, a professor at the Academy of China Open Economy Studies, which is part of the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, said that China's well-developed industrial bases, strong supply chain resilience and policy emphasis on innovation continue to make it an attractive destination for global capital. According to China's 2025 Action Plan for Stabilising Foreign Investment, the country will support pilot regions in effectively implementing opening-up policies related to areas such as value-added telecommunication, biotechnology and wholly foreign-owned hospitals, providing whole-journey services for foreign-invested projects in these sectors. The action plan also supports foreign businesses to participate in China's new industrialisation, with a focus on high-tech fields. Global capital has been welcomed in service sectors such as elderly care, culture and tourism, sports, healthcare, vocational education and finance. As part of its strategy to strengthen operations in China, US express transportation service provider FedEx Corp announced in mid-May that it would enhance its international export services from Shanghai. The cutoff times for same-day outbound shipments from Shanghai to Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East, India and Africa will be further extended. The foreign trade value of foreign-invested businesses reached 4.1 trillion yuan (£423.81 billion) in China between January and April, up 1.9 per cent year-on-year, accounting for 29 per cent of China's total foreign trade value, statistics from the General Administration of Customs showed.
CTV News
2 days ago
- General
- CTV News
Japan cracks down on ‘sparkly' names for babies like Pikachu or Nike
Hospital staff attend to babies in the nursery ward in Misato city, Saitama prefecture, Japan. (Yamaguchi Haruyoshi//File via CNN Newsource) TOKYO — If you go to Japan, there's a chance you might meet someone with an unusual name – such as 'Nike,' 'Pikachu' or 'Pudding.' While still a minority, these names have grown in popularity over recent decades as parents reject traditional Japanese names for something more unique. But the practice has also drawn criticism – mainly that it's confusing for hospitals, schools and authorities who don't know how to pronounce them. Now the government is cracking down on these so-called 'kirakira' names, which means sparkly or shiny. New rules came into effect on Monday that will limit parents from giving their babies names pronounced in unconventional ways. The news was met with mixed reactions; some social media users argued that kirakira names are an expression of individualism, that they're fairly harmless and don't warrant government regulation. 'They're not children of the nation, right? They're children of their parents,' one person wrote on X after the announcement. Many more, however, welcomed the change – lamenting that children with unusual names might face harassment, or at the very least complications in administrative tasks like registrations or banking. 'Why do certain people put kirakira names on their kids? It just causes those kids to be bullied,' one X user wrote. Another joked sarcastically: 'Please stop restricting kirakira names. Seeing a child's name reveals the intelligence of their parents, which is helpful.' How 'kirakira' names work Japan uses three writing systems – Kanji, which is based on Chinese characters, and two other phonetic systems. Names are typically written in Kanji, and this is where the trouble comes in. Because these Chinese characters were mixed with the existing Japanese language, each Kanji character can be pronounced multiple ways – some with ten or more ways. You decipher the 'right' pronunciation based on context clues and the other characters in a sentence or phrase. In kirakira names, which became more popular from the 1980s onward, parents often choose a name based on the phonetic sound – wanting their child's name to sound like 'Pikachu,' for instance – and pick similar-sounding Kanji characters. The problem is that those characters might not usually be pronounced that way – making it hard, or impossible, for a teacher or nurse to decipher how to properly say a child's name just by looking at its written Kanji form. Some have drawn parallels to how American parents have, increasingly in the past decade, chosen unusual spellings for common names – such as Ashleigh instead of Ashley, or Catelynn instead of Caitlin. The Japanese government's new rules aim to limit this by mandating that only widely accepted pronunciations of kanji characters will be allowed. Parents will need to include the phonetic readings of their baby names in the registry – and if local officials see that the phonetic sound of a name doesn't match how its characters are typically pronounced, they may reject the name or request additional paperwork. The rise of unusual names This is not the first time strict naming rules have sparked debate in Japan. Japan still legally requires married couples to share the same surname, unlike most other major economies that have done away with the tradition. Normally, wives take their husband's name, since same-sex marriages aren't legal in Japan. A movement to change the rules around surnames has been brewing, led by women's rights advocates and those trying to preserve the diversity of Japanese surnames in a nation where a handful of names are becoming increasingly common. First names have afforded more room for experimentation – at least, until the latest rules came in. More and more people have been given unusual names in the last 40 years, according to a 2022 study that analyzed baby names published in local newsletters over the last few decades. The trend suggests a shift toward seeking 'uniqueness and independence' in Japan, the study said – also seen in changes to other parts of Japanese life during that time like family structures and societal values. Girls in particular saw an increase in kirakira names, it added – perhaps suggesting that parents had a stronger 'hope for their daughters to become unique and independent than for their sons.' Japan isn't the only country that has seen an upward trend in unusual baby names. A 2016 study found that American parents picked more unusual names between 2004 and 2015, pointing to the culture's 'increasing individualism.' In China, too, rapid economic growth and upward mobility have meant people today value individualism and autonomy more than previous generations, according to a 2018 study – reflected in the steady rise of parents choosing unique characters in their babies' names. Like in Japan, the study found that Chinese girls were more likely to have unusual names than boys – perhaps reflecting different 'parental expectations.' But it's also common for countries to have rules in place for what names are acceptable. In the U.S., this is often state-by-state; names in California can only use the 26 alphabetical characters of the English language, which briefly posed a problem when Elon Musk and Grimes named their baby 'X Æ A-12.' They eventually changed the name – very slightly – to 'X Æ A-Xii.' In Germany, authorities may strike down a baby name if they find it offensive or potentially harmful to the child's best interests. For example, they've previously barred parents from using 'Borussia,' a reference to a soccer team, or 'Gastritis,' arguing that the names would 'jeopardize the welfare of the child,' according to the official Frankfurt city administration. Meanwhile New Zealand also maintains strict rules that include bans on references to titles, meaning names like 'King' and 'Prince' are routinely rejected.
