Latest news with #Yamaguchi
Asharq Al-Awsat
3 days ago
- Business
- Asharq Al-Awsat
After Trump, Shinzo Abe's Widow Meets Putin
Russian leader Vladimir Putin hosted the widow of assassinated former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, the Kremlin said, five months after then US president-elect Donald Trump welcomed her at Mar-a-Lago. Akie Abe was not in Russia in an official capacity, and Tokyo -- whose relations with Moscow are frosty -- said Friday it had not communicated with the 62-year-old about the visit, AFP said. Putin said it had been Shinzo Abe's "dream" to conclude "a peace treaty between our nations", according to a Kremlin statement in English published on Thursday. "The current situation differs; we will not address that aspect today," Putin said, offering Abe flowers and reportedly his presidential limousine to go to a ballet at the Bolshoi Theatre. While Putin made a trip to Shinzo Abe's little-visited home prefecture Yamaguchi in 2016, Japan-Russia relations -- while never warm -- have deteriorated sharply since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Akie Abe, who also met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in September, said her late husband had met Putin no fewer than 27 times. "I might add that even after the onset of the challenging situation concerning Ukraine, my husband hoped to meet with you. Regrettably, circumstances prevented further meetings: his life was cut short," the Kremlin quoted Abe as saying. Born to a wealthy Japanese family, she married Shinzo Abe in 1987 and rose to prominence during his terms as prime minister from 2006-7 and 2012-20. As Japan's longest-serving premier, Abe became one of the country's most recognizable political figures, known for cultivating international alliances and his "Abenomics" economic strategy. He was shot and killed while speaking at a political campaign rally on July 8, 2022. Shinzo Abe was also close to Trump during the US president's first term, gifting him a gold-colored golf club that the American admitted in 2023 to temporarily misplacing.
NHK
3 days ago
- General
- NHK
Putin meets widow of former Japanese Prime Minister Abe in Moscow
Russian President Vladimir Putin has met Abe Akie, the widow of the late Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo in Moscow. The meeting took place at the Kremlin on Thursday. It is not clear what brought Abe to the capital to meet the Russian leader. Abe touched on Putin's visit in 2016 to Yamaguchi Prefecture in western Japan for summit talks with her husband. The prefecture was the former prime minister's home constituency. She described Russia as a "very important neighbour for Japan," and said she would be happy if cultural exchanges between the two countries could develop. Putin said Russia remembers the late prime minister's contribution to the development of Russian-Japanese cooperation. He said Abe's dream was concluding a peace treaty between the two nations, and noted that the Japanese leader "pursued it earnestly." Putin added, "We made significant progress together on this path." After the meeting, Putin provided his private vehicle, the Aurus Senat limousine, to take Abe to the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. Abe met then US President-elect Donald Trump in the United States last December, shortly before he took office. She later gave a speech and said she would like to serve as a bridge with other countries.
New York Times
4 days ago
- Lifestyle
- New York Times
Shintaro Inoue's unorthodox journey from Japan to junior college to Kansas State
Shintaro Inoue left Japan and the seaside community of Yamaguchi, with its mountain views and hot springs, three years ago for the harsh plains of Western Nebraska. All for an opportunity to advance in baseball. Inoue's story is not akin to that of Rintaro Sasaki, the record-setting Japanese slugger whose father coached Shohei Ohtani in high school. The 20-year-old Sasaki bypassed a premier spot in Japan's NPB to sign with Stanford, where he's enjoyed modest success as a freshman this spring. Advertisement Some six inches shorter than Sasaki and 60 pounds lighter, Inoue left Japan for the first time in 2022, and arrived in Scottsbluff, Neb. on the windswept eastern edge of the Rocky Mountain foothills, population 14,000. With limited paths to progress in the sport he'd played since age 4, Inoue connected through a placement service with the coach at Western Nebraska Community College, Mike Jones. Inoue shattered the school's career record with 28 home runs in two seasons before landing at Kansas State last fall. In his first year of Division I play, Inoue, 21, has thrived as the Wildcats' leadoff hitter and shortstop. He's hitting .283 with nine home runs and 30 RBIs, and he's the only regular in the Kansas State lineup with more walks (41) than strikeouts (39). K-State enters the NCAA Tournament as a No. 3 seed in the Austin Regional. The Wildcats play UTSA on Friday at 7 p.m. (ET). 'He's a super talented defender,' Kansas State coach Pete Hughes said. 'He's got bat speed. And his baseball acumen is through the roof.' Hughes lauded Inoue for his ability to conquer communication challenges. Upon his arrival in Manhattan, Kan., Inoue used an earbud connected to a translator box during team meetings and instructional sessions. Within a few weeks, he set it aside. Teammates and coaches can communicate with Inoue via text message, which provides an instant translation. They rely on visual scouting reports. His English has improved dramatically. In a recent 20-minute interview with The Athletic, he spoke entirely in English. 'He's highly skilled at making you believe that he knows what you're saying,' Hughes said. Baseball has its own language, with few barriers. 'The rules of baseball don't change across languages much,' Wildcats associate head coach Austin Wates said. 'He's a smart baseball player.' Inoue said he's adept at 'thinking baseball.' The basics of the game translate well from Japan to the United States. But the style Kansas State employs required him to adjust. Advertisement The Wildcats play with an urgency that's new to Inoue, according to Hughes. The Kansas State coach demands aggressiveness from his players, but Inoue's nature is to avoid risks in the game. They've worked to find a comfortable middle ground. Inoue is deeply entrenched in a routine he established in his early years. He's talked at length with K-State teammate Maximus Martin, his best friend among the Wildcats, about the practice habits Inoue learned in his home country. He took hundreds of swings per day and worked his arm at a rate that would alarm American coaches. Aspects of his intricate routine remain. For example, at the same time on the clock before every game, Inoue places his thumbs on the horizon to help his eyes acclimate to the hitting background. 'He's probably the only guy on the team, the only person I've played with, who does the same thing every day,' Martin said. 'We all have our routines, but it's not every single day, every game. Some days you're just not feeling it.' Inoue said he always feels it. Without the routine, nothing clicks. 'That's not my thing,' Hughes said, 'but we allow him to be himself within our program.' Staying true to himself got Inoue here in the first place. 'The junior college road to Division I baseball is tough enough as it is for domestic kids, never mind someone from Japan,' Hughes said. 'I've never been to Western Nebraska Community College, but I've got to think it was an eye-opener for Shintaro. 'As a result, you've got a pretty resilient kid who can survive wherever you put him.' Wates, the K-State assistant, discovered Inoue at a junior college showcase in Lawrence, Kan., after the 2023 season. The Wildcats' roster lists Inoue at 5 feet 8, but he's an inch or two shy of that. Any concerns about his size disappeared when Wates watched the left-handed hitting Inoue drive a ball to left field off the wall at that first sighting. Advertisement 'He's short, but he's pretty well built,' Wates said. 'He has enough athleticism to do what he needs to do (to play middle infield). Not an elite athlete by any means, but he's got fast hands. So if you get away from the traditional wiry shortstop and you just evaluate the hands and the bat speed and the ability to barrel the ball, you get a really nice player. 'And that's what he's been.' Inoue played 34 games this season at second base. The Wildcats moved Martin, who has made tentative plans to visit Japan this summer with Inoue, from shortstop to center field in mid-April. Inoue took over at shortstop. Martin, a possible early-round pick in the 2025 MLB Draft in July, started his collegiate career at Rutgers. He transferred to Georgia State and then to K-State, where he's hitting .337 with 14 homers. Even Martin is wowed by Inoue's skill at adjusting. Before every inning, K-State shortstop Maximus Martin and Japanese second baseman Shintaro Inoue share a hug and bow together@caroline_soro asked Martin about the gesture: "I know in Japan, when they play baseball, they usually bow before they step on the field…I'm just… — Landon Reinhardt (@landonian87) April 5, 2025 Jones, the Western Nebraska coach, said Inoue 'gives off nothing but a positive vibe every day.' He hit a home run in an alumni exhibition game that traveled an estimated 485 feet. 'His time here was a joy,' Jones said. 'It was wonderful. It was a great experience for all of his teammates to have somebody give us a different perspective on the game.' Inoue doesn't drive in the United States. He doesn't have an American phone number. When Wates attempted to bring Inoue to Manhattan for an official recruiting visit, the logistics didn't work. So, Inoue conducted a virtual visit. 'I think it actually was a blessing in disguise,' Wates said. 'His mom was on the call.' Advertisement They used Google Translate to communicate on FaceTime. At Kansas State, Inoue connected with a group of 10 to 15 Japanese students. He meets them routinely for meals. Some of the students have watched him play for the Wildcats. 'That's very helpful to me,' Inoue said. Any little bit of home helps. He has communicated with former UC Irvine infielder Jo Oyama, a similarly statured Japanese player who took the juco-to-Division I route. When Inoue struggled early this season, he sought advice from Oyama. The 24-year-old Oyama, who has played this year for an independent team in Canada, encouraged Inoue to keep doing what he's doing. As always, stick with the routine. Inoue said he modeled his game as a kid after Ichiro Suzuki. Similarities exist in their swings. 'It's handsy and whippy,' Hughes said. 'He's little, but he's got a strong lower half. He gets the power from whipping his hands. He can hit everything.' Of late, Inoue has looked up to Masataka Yoshida, the 31-year-old Red Sox outfielder and designated hitter. He wants to play professionally — in the United States or at home in the NPB — after finishing up at Kansas State next season. 'I think I can do it,' Inoue said. So do nearly all who've encountered him over the past three seasons. (Top photo courtesy of Kansas State Athletics)
Yomiuri Shimbun
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Aichi Rice Production Under Siege from Warming Climate; Record Heat Stunts Crop Growth, Causes Greater Pest Activity
The Yomiuri Shimbun A rice producer plants early-season Akita Komachi rice in Yatomi, Aichi Prefecture, on April 11. NAGOYA — Amid nationwide high rice prices, Aichi Prefecture is striving to increase rice production. The prefecture, though, faces a formidable threat from pests, whose damage is intensified by global warming, making it more difficult to combat them. The prefecture has set its production target for this year at about 131,800 tons — an increase of about 5,400 tons from the previous year and the highest since 2018 — with the aim of using this increased output to bring down soaring prices. Even now, when farmers across the prefecture are only at the stage of early-season planting, they are already contending with challenges like pest damage, a problem believed to be aggravated by global warming. On April 11 in Yatomi in the prefecture, employees of YTAgri, a rice farming business owning about 70 hectares of paddies, planted 400 trays of Akita Komachi rice seedlings, anticipating a harvest of about 12 tons in early August. Last year, YTAgri produced about 336 tons of rice. Ryota Yamaguchi, the representative of the company, said emphatically: 'The best way we can help consumers facing this rice shortage is to maximize production. While we can't instantly expand our planted area, we will dedicate ourselves to boosting yields.' Aiming to produce 380 tons this year, the company is investing in its paddies, fortifying them through measures like increased fertilization for larger ears of rice and strict pest and disease management. Nevertheless, Yamaguchi worries: 'Fertilizer costs are 1.5 times what they were five years ago. Fuel prices are rising too, which is another headache.' Aiming to hold down spiking rice prices, the central government, which had previously set national production targets, shifted this responsibility to the prefectural level in 2018. The targets set by the Aichi Prefecture's agricultural regeneration council, a group established by the prefectural government and producer organizations, were previously on a slight downward trend, from about 131,300 tons each year between 2018 and 2022 to about 129,000 tons in 2023, and then to roughly 126,400 tons in 2024. However, this year's target is about 131,800 tons, up by about 5,400 tons from last year. The prefecture reported that last year's rice harvest was only 124,300 tons as a result of poor growth due to high temperatures and other factors. Furthermore, the first-ever temporary Nankai Trough earthquake warning, issued last summer, is thought to have intensified the rice shortage by prompting increased household stockpiling. In addition to impacting rice growth, global warming is posing another problem for producers by contributing to a surge in pests. Courtesy of Aichi Prefectural Agricultural Research Center Invasive giant apple snails are seen in Aichi Prefecture. The invasive giant apple snail, not native to Japan, poses a significant threat, as it voraciously consumes young, tender rice seedlings within two to three weeks of planting and deposits large, toxic egg masses. A survey last year by the Aichi Prefectural Agricultural Research Center found the giant apple snail in a record 35.4% of 130 studied rice paddies. In the Mikawa region, some farmers reported planting rice seedlings one day and finding them entirely consumed the following morning. Another serious issue is the damage caused by rice stink bugs, which feed by piercing rice ears and sucking their sap around the summer before harvest, leading to blackening and reduced rice quality. In some areas, the population of these bugs has reached 10 times the normal level. The Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry explains that this increase stems from a larger number of bugs surviving the winter because of global warming. JA Aichi Economic Federation reports that the proportion of top-grade rice harvested in the prefecture fell from the usual 80% to 40% for the 2023 and 2024 crops due to rice stink bug damage and other causes. 'Reduced yield and quality directly cut into profits. Although we can't predict the extent of the damage, we will quickly share information with producers and work with local governments to offer effective pest control guidance when outbreaks occur,' a federation official said.
The Mainichi
19-05-2025
- Business
- The Mainichi
Tokyo stocks fall as US downgrade fuels fears over stronger yen
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Tokyo stocks dropped Monday, weighed down by the selling of some exporters as the downgrading of U.S. debt by a major credit rating agency raised concerns about the yen's further appreciation against the U.S. dollar. The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended down 255.09 points, or 0.68 percent, from Friday at 37,498.63. The broader Topix index finished 2.06 points, or 0.08 percent, lower at 2,738.39. On the top-tier Prime Market, decliners were led by marine transportation, oil and coal product, and insurance issues. The dollar fell to the upper 144 yen range in Tokyo, pressured by selling after Moody's on Friday downgraded its U.S. credit rating by one notch from top triple-A rating. Stocks declined as some export-oriented machinery and electronics issues were sold on the firmer yen, which decreases exporters' overseas profits when repatriated, with the move by the rating agency fueling fears about the yen's further gain versus the dollar. "Rising (U.S.) interest rates stemming from concerns about fiscal health leads to a weaker dollar, thus having a negative impact on Japanese stocks," said Masahiro Yamaguchi, head of investment research at SMBC Trust Bank. "Investors were worried about U.S. fiscal health even before the downgrade, giving upward pressure on interest rates," Yamaguchi said, adding that the rating agency's decision further raised concerns about deteriorating financial strength in the world's largest economy. Shares of companies that have a strong business base in China were also sold after Chinese data showed retail sales growth slowed in April, brokers said.
