Latest news with #石破茂
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Japan's ispace fails second lunar landing mission
Japan'sprivate moon mission was aborted on Friday after it was presumed that the unmanned Resilience spacecraft had crashed. Tokyo-based startup ispace had launched the mission in hopes of becoming the first private company outside the United States to achieve a controlled lunar landing. The Resilience spacecraft had begun its final descent, successfully firing its main engine "as planned to begin deceleration," ispace said. Mission control reported that the craft's position was "nearly vertical," but contact was then lost. ispace stated that the spacecraft had likely failed to decelerate sufficiently to reach the speed required for a soft lunar landing. "Based on the currently available data... it is currently assumed that the lander likely performed a hard landing. It is unlikely that communication with the lander will be restored, so it has been decided to conclude the mission," ispace said in a statement. As of 8:00 a.m. on June 6, 2025, mission controllers have determined that it is unlikely that communication with the lander will be restored and therefore completing Success 9 is not achievable. It has been decided to conclude the mission.'Given that there is currently no… — ispace (@ispace_inc) June 6, 2025 Before signing off, the livestream announcers said, "never quit the lunar quest." Less than two minutes before the scheduled landing, the once-celebratory gathering of 500 ispace employees, shareholders, sponsors, and government officials fell into stunned silence as contact with the spacecraft was lost. "Expectations for ispace will not waver," Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba posted on X. ispaceによる月面着陸は、残念ながら成功には至りませんが、この挑戦が持つ価値は一時的にできるものではありません。 ispaceに対する期待が揺らぐことはありません。そのためにも、すぐに課題を検証し、次なる飛躍につなげていただきたいと願っています。 — 石破茂 (@shigeruishiba) June 6, 2025 Two years ago, another lunar missionby the company had also ended in a crash. CEO Takeshi Hakamada told reporters he took the second failed attempt "seriously" and intended to use the outcome to inform future missions. He said they had a "strong will to move on, although we have to carefully analyze what happened." Resilience carried a four-wheeled rover built by ispace's Luxembourg subsidiary, along with five external payloads valued at a total of $16 million. The planned landing site was Mare Frigoris, a plain about 900 km (560 miles) from the moon's north pole. Lunar landings remain challenging due to the moon's rugged terrain. To date, only five nations have successfully achieved soft lunar landings: Russia, US, China, India and Japan. Private companies have recently entered the race to the moon, and ispace would have been the third such company to achieve it. The mission wanted to collect two lunar soil samples and sell them to NASA for $5,000 (€4373). In January, Resilience shared a SpaceX rocket launch with Firefly's Blue Ghost lander, which touched down successfully in March. A moon landing attempt by US-based company Intuitive Machines failed in March this year. Edited by: Louis Oelofse
NHK
a day ago
- Business
- NHK
Japan panel to probe cause of soaring rice price
Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru has assembled a top-level task force to investigate the ongoing rice crisis. He is calling for long-term solutions that bring down the price of the country's staple grain. Prime Minister Ishiba is heading the ministerial panel. It will hold its first meeting on Thursday. The panel will investigate what caused the price surge and how the government has handled the situation. Its ultimate goal is to fix problems in the supply system. This is the government's latest attempt to stabilize rice prices. Agriculture Minister Koizumi Shinjiro last week began selling stockpiled rice through no-bid contracts, a first in the country. Ishiba said earlier that the government needs to ensure a continuous supply of the grain. "It is necessary to provide rice at a price that will reassure consumers," he said. "For that to happen, sustainable production needs to be achieved through improving efficiency." Agriculture Minister Koizumi also stressed the need to get to the root of the problem. "I think it is important at the ministerial meeting to thoroughly examine why this latest surge in rice prices happened," he said. Ministers will focus on mid- to long-term policies. Possible topics include increasing exports, production adjustments and subsidies for farmers.
NHK
7 days ago
- Business
- NHK
Japanese, Cambodian PMs agree to tackle cross-border crime
Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru has met his Cambodian counterpart Hun Manet. They agreed to strengthen economic and security ties, and jointly tackle cross-border crimes such as phone scams. The meeting took place on Friday in Tokyo. Ishiba said Cambodia is an important partner for Japan. He called for closer cooperation in light of what he described as the unpredictable state of global affairs. In response, Manet acknowledged Japan's contribution to the development of Cambodia and called for strengthening cooperation. The two leaders also agreed to maintain and strengthen the free trading system. Ishiba and Manet said Japanese and Cambodian police will jointly tackle cross-border issues such as online and telephone fraud. Authorities in Cambodia recently detained about 30 people over scam allegations, including Japanese nationals. At a joint conference, Ishiba pledged to further promote bilateral ties to address common challenges and help to achieve global peace and stability.
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
AP Top Extended Financial Headlines at 12:57 a.m. EDT
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has expressed determination to defend rules-based, free and multilateral trade systems and work to expand the main Asia-Pacific trade group at a time of tension over U.S. tariffs
The Independent
29-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Japan's Ishiba warns against tension over tariffs and vows to expand Asia-Pacific trade group
Japanese Prime Minsiter Shigeru Ishiba on Thursday showed his determination to defend rules-based free and multilateral trade systems and take a leadership role to expand the Asia-Pacific trade group at a time of deepening tensions and divisions over U.S. tariffs and trade wars. 'High tariffs will not bring economic prosperity," Ishiba told a global forum in Tokyo. "A prosperity built on sacrifices by someone or another country will not make a strong economy." Japan seeks to work with the U.S. on investment, job creation and manufacturing high quality products for the prosperity of America and the rest of the world, he said. His comment comes as Japan's chief tariff negotiator Ryosei Akazawa travels to Washington, D.C., for a fourth round of talks attempting to convince the U.S. to drop all recent tariff measures. So far Japan has not been successful in gaining U.S. concessions and is reportedly considering purchases of more U.S. farm products and defense equipment as bargaining chips. Akazawa told reporters that defense equipment purchases could 'come into view' during the talks because Japan's purhases of defense equipment would contriubute to the U.S. trade surplus, though Japanese security policy is not subject to "a deal' with another country. Ishiba also called on other countries in Asia, a global hub of growth, to show 'the importance of rules-based, free and fair economic order," and said the way to demonstrate it is the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, or CPTPP. Ishiba pledged Japan will work toward further expanding and upgrading the framework, which not only contributes to the economy but also to peace and prosperity. The 12-nation CPTPP includes Japan, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. The U.S. is not a member. While Tokyo is strengthening economic ties with Southeast Asia and Europe, Japan still considers the United States as its lynchpin of security policies and is not walking away from their alliance.
