ASDF C-2 Planes Depart for Djibouti Amid Middle East Tensions
MIHO AIR BASE, Tottori — Two C-2 transport aircraft of the Air Self-Defense Force departed the Miho Air Base in Tottori Prefecture on Saturday afternoon bound for Djibouti in East Africa in preparation for the evacuation of Japanese nationals from Israel and Iran amidst ongoing military conflicts.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Nikkei Asia
37 minutes ago
- Nikkei Asia
Israel-Iran war threatens India's regional energy, transport links
Security guards with sniffer dogs patrol in the port of Chabahar, in southeastern Iran in 2017. © AP KIRAN SHARMA NEW DELHI -- The increasingly escalating Israel-Iran conflict, coupled with the U.S. announcing its bombing of Iran's nuclear sites on Saturday, puts at risk India's regional connectivity projects -- including one leveraging Iran's port of Chabahar -- and its energy security, experts warn. "An escalation of conflict in the Middle East puts Indian interests in jeopardy," Harsh V. Pant, vice president of the Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation (ORF), a think tank, told Nikkei Asia before the American B-2 stealth bombers conducted strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites. Pointing out that New Delhi has "good relations" with both countries, he said, "India's energy security is linked to the stability in the Middle East. ... So India has no interest in the widening of this conflict and the conflict continuing in the region."
an hour ago
Belarus Frees 14 Prisoners Including 2 Japanese Nationals
News from Japan World Jun 22, 2025 12:19 (JST) Tokyo, June 22 (Jiji Press)--Belarus has freed 14 prisoners including two Japanese nationals, as well as opposition figure Sergey Tikhanovsky, according to Russia's state-run Tass news agency and other media outlets citing a spokesperson for Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. One of the Japanese citizens is believed to be Masatoshi Nakanishi, who lives in the southeastern state of Gomel and teaches Japanese at a national university there. Nakanishi was detained in July last year, including for allegedly taking a photo of a railway. In March, a local court sentenced him to seven years in prison for espionage. The other Japanese national was detained last December for allegedly photographing an overpass on a main road. The freed prisoners also include Polish, Latvian, Estonian, Swedish and U.S. citizens. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
Japan Today
an hour ago
- Japan Today
Matcha's moment in peril as Trump tariff threat looms over industry
Volunteer tea leaf pickers queue to get bags of leaves weighed at a Kokaen tea farm in Toyota, Aichi Prefecture, on May 14. By Toma Mochizuki A breeze carries murmurs and quiet laughter between the rows of bright green tea leaves that are growing in dappled shade as workers harvest the plants that are destined to become matcha. The Kokaen tea farm in Toyota, Aichi Prefecture, is just one of the many across Japan that has benefited from the sudden surge in interest in powdered green tea, but the industry is now facing uncertainty caused by U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff salvos. "Global demand for matcha, especially from the United States is extremely high. If the tariffs are imposed, it is likely to affect sales," said Yoshitaka Noba, the third-generation owner of Kokaen. Founded by Noba's grandfather Takakichi in 1945, Kokaen is one of the few remaining tea farms in the region better known for hosting Toyota Motor Corp and its factories. Nishio, the neighboring city, is especially known for green tea. Japanese green tea exports have surged in the past few years, marking a record 36.4 billion yen in 2024, more than triple the value of ten years earlier. According to the Finance Ministry, the United States took 44.2 percent of those exports, significantly more than Germany which, at 9.2 percent, was second. Production, however, has lagged behind demand. Some 75,200 tons were grown in 2023, down by more than 20 percent compared to 15 years ago, according to the Japanese Association of Tea Production. Experts attribute the decrease to myriad reasons, including the country's rapidly declining population. The Japanese government has been incentivizing farmers to switch from other tea varieties to tencha, a tea leaf typically ground to make matcha, as international demand soars. While tencha production in 2023 grew to 4,176 tons, more than twice that of 2014, it nonetheless only makes up 5.6 percent of all aracha, or unprocessed tea. The shift to tencha has been slow as investing in new machinery, including what is required to powder the leaves, can cost hundreds of millions of yen. The process itself is very labor intensive, according to Noba. "Tea farmers may hesitate to turn to matcha production as it's difficult to ascertain whether this is a temporary fad or whether it will end up sticking around for longer," he said. Tencha is usually harvested between April and May. Kokaen manages eight farms totaling 1.6 hectares, hiring people to pick leaves from one of its locations spanning less than a hectare, while the remaining farms are harvested using machinery. "Our business relies heavily on what we produce in this one month," Noba said. The global popularity has been a boon to the Japanese tea industry, thanks in large part to matcha being a rich source of nutrients, vitamins and amino acids. "There was a growing interest in health during the coronavirus pandemic, and people turned to matcha as they had an impression of it as being beneficial," said Yukiko Motohara from the Japan Food Product Overseas Promotion Center -- part of the Japan External Trade Organization. Its popularity has been supplemented by its use in sweets as well, Motohara said. JFOODO, which specializes in promoting various Japanese foodstuffs including sake and miso, has thrown its weight behind Japanese tea since 2017. While matcha has been mainly sold in luxury supermarkets in the United States, Motohara believes that its popularity will likely grow as it becomes more widely available. However, despite the ever-increasing attention from abroad, businesses dependent on exports to the United States have been wary about the potential effects of tariffs on profits as uncertainty mars future decisions. Tea, for example, is currently exempt from import taxes. In what he has labeled "reciprocal tariffs," Trump unleashed a baseline 10 percent duty for almost all nations in the world and additional, higher country-specific levies for about 60 major trading partners that have trade surpluses with the United States. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development recently cut its global economic growth outlook for 2025. The tariff hikes have been paused for 90 days until early July to allow for negotiations, with Japan having sent its envoy to Washington multiple times in a bid to reach an agreement. "Tea is not a necessity, it is considered a luxury item and is therefore influenced by economic conditions. If the U.S. economy suddenly deteriorates, the value of what we produce may also suddenly drop," Noba said. In order to maintain the ongoing popularity of matcha abroad, JFOODO's Motohara suggests that consumers should focus on the rich history and artisan skills behind producing high-quality Japanese green tea -- tariffs be damned. Kokaen's Noba agrees, but also hopes the tariff situation can be resolved sooner rather than later. "Matcha isn't produced in the United States, so those who want the tea will purchase it (from us) regardless of tariffs," Noba said. "But it would be nice for the levies to be withdrawn, for the world to become one in which we are able to deliver our product as freely as possible to anyone who wants it." © KYODO
